Welcome to the New Year! This is the year I’m dubbing “The Year of Alignment.” I recently rang in 2019 by ditching the concept of making a traditional resolution, and instead, embracing the idea of choosing a “word of the year.”
Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for having a resolution, if that’s your thing. However you choose to package and label a set goal set for the next 365 and applying whatever it takes to set the wheels into motion for personal cultivation is an awesome personal fete. The fact is that coming into the new year, I realized that resolutions simply don’t work for everyone, namely myself, so I logged into the zenith of crowd-sourcing platforms, (aka, social media), to do a bit of a collaborative exercise. I wanted to see how many of my peers still practiced making resolutions, and if anyone had recently abandoned the idea of them. Most importantly, I wanted to uncover whether or not there was an alternative to the traditional approach of “new year, new me” mindset that might be a better solution for me and my fellow resolution-misfits. What I found is that some friends had decided to choose a word to focus on thought the year, and that concept really resonated well with me. Rather than thoughts of failure subconsciously associated with the word “resolution,” (because let’s face it, mid-March is when I usually begin to slack), I’ve honed in on a word to purposefully thread into the everyday for the year that is to come.
The word that I’ve chosen is align, and any variation of it, (alignment, aligning, aligned with, etc). The intention is to center my focus on people, relationships, projects, energy, literature/media, community efforts, and methodologies of self- care that I align with, while forgoing those that I don’t. The ultimate goal is to become more keenly aware of things that enhance life and growth, and to more thoughtfully attend to relationships, professional and career growth outlets, and communal efforts that make both personal and communal enrichment more attainable. By quickly identifying to what and to whom I align with, I can say “no” more comfortably, and “yes” more boldly. Dialing into what we do and do not align with, serves as a springboard to free up space for what matters most. It helps us eliminate the “white noise,” and allows for meaningful time spent and more intentional living.
In keeping in step with my word of the year, I realized that I needed to find a hub that I could plug into; one that I align with and to. Just as organically my word-of-the-year came into mind, so did the opportunity to work with a phenomenal community outreach program that positively impacts the lives of so many. That organization is InStepp, and this is what we align to:
- Community-based non-profit solutions focused on helping communities thrive by empowering women and adolescent girls.
- InStepp helps women succeed both professionally and personally through various education, training and prevention services.
- We provide measurable, sustainable outcomes for clients, which in turn, strengthens the communities we serve.