“Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees.Get out of your comfort zone even if it means being uncomfortable. The road less traveled is sometimes fraught with barricades, bumps and uncharted terrain. But it is on that road where your character is truly tested. And have the courage to accept that you’re not perfect, nothing is and no one is — and that’s OK.” -Katie Couric

Each new year, a friend of mine — instead of creating a long and lofty resolution — chooses one word and makes it her supporting focus for the year. She was told, “choose a word that best supports and soothes you and mentally puts you in a place where you are your best”. What a brilliant idea! When I found this out, I was inspired and immediately began working on choosing a word of my own.

Thinking about my word led me down a squeemish and self-reflective path. Determining ‘your word’ requires staying introspective and still long enough to check in with your gut and truly listen to yourself. You have to be honest about your fears, insecurities and imperfections, as well as what you are striving for in life and why. So, after plenty of discomfort and thinking (of which I will spare you the details), I discovered my word for 2013: grace.

Grace, or in other words giving myself a break, is what I need to keep in mind when I am feeling inadequate in one of the many roles that I, like all of us, play in life — professional, friend, parent, spouse, neighbor… the list is goes on. On the days when I am not feeling “enough”, I will remind myself to give myself grace — that while I can always try my best, it is impossible for me to be or have it all, all at once. Even just thinking about it now makes me breathe a sigh of relief!

So, what supporting and soothing word would remind you to come to a place mentally where you are your best? Is it Worth? Adventure? Openness? Listen? Love? Strength? Rest? Peace? Grow? Patience? Joy? Travel? Family? Friends? Career? Energy? Fun? Financial freedom?…

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Point to Ponder:

What situations in your life do you wish you would respond to differently?

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Action Item:

Choose a word that will support and soothe you and remind you to respond to those situations in a way that reflects you at your best. Write it down and put it somewhere where you will see it on a regular basis.  Then, say it to yourself when necessary!