I'm currently part of an end-of-year coaching group called the Holiday Council. The Holiday Council is a three week course that gives time to reflect on the year, and envision the year ahead. The final product of the course is a word of the year, ways of being, and goals for the year.
When I reflect on 2017, the word that comes to mind is resilience. I was grieving the death of my father, I was long distance from my husband, I was in business school and I was training for the Boston Marathon. Then, once I graduated, I moved 3000 miles away from my family and struggled to find my footing. From start to finish, it just felt like a year of survival. There were certainly high points, but I caught myself often with a victim mentality. 2017 was a year that happened to me, and I was often not a willing participant.
For 2018, I want to be more proactive. In 2018, I want to learn how to be authentic. I want to have authentic relationships, with true connections, not just surface level. I want to be authentic with myself, I want to be comfortable to express my full self and not be afraid what people may think. I want it to be the year when I feel a conviction that I am making a difference. It is the year that I stop playing small and jump into the deep unknown. This doesn't mean that I need to quit my job or run away to the circus, it just means that I need to ask more from myself and be more for others. In 2018, I turn 30, and am so inspired by what this time of growth will mean.