Redefine Adventure

2019: This is my year of Adventure and Self-determination where I am Audaciously Redefining my life.

“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”  ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear

 

One of my rituals at this time of year is to tune into a few words that hold the essence of what I want to experience during the year.

I begin by asking myself a series of questions:

*What of kind of person would I like to be in 2019?

*What qualities would I like to embody?

*How would I like to feel?

*What might I like to learn or create?

*What will fulfill me?

After I write a list of words that come to mind, I circle the words that seem to light up and create a short list of these words. Next, I take some time to write about what each word means to me with a short description of the focus that is important and resonant to me. I read the definition, synonyms and antonyms. The antonyms show me the limitations I will be clearing to fully embrace the words. I continue by unraveling and dissecting to embrace and understand them more.

What intention am I really setting in place for the year? Words have power.

 

My four words for 2019 are:

REDEFINE

ADVENTURE

SELF-DETERMINATION

AUDACIOUS

Whenever you set an intention, the opposite begins to show up with layers of clues. The intention points you to the areas where you will release, clear space and finally embrace the words.

You BECOME the intention through the practice of living.

REDEFINE: to consider again especially with the possibility of change or reversal. Rethink. Reconsider.

The antonyms: hide, hesitate, tangle

Questions I ask myself: Where do I hide? Where am I hesitating and why? Whose life is tangled up with mine? What beliefs are tangled with limitation? What area of my life will benefit from new eyes.

ADVENTURE: Exploration of Unknown Territory.

The antonyms: Inertia, inactivity, safety

Questions I ask myself: When do I play it safe? Where do I get stuck with inertia and inactivity? When is inactivity good for me, as in rest and integration? When is inactivity procrastination? How can I tell the difference?

SELF-DETERMINATION: free choice of one’s own acts or states without external compulsion.

The antonyms: pressure, force, constraint

Questions I ask myself: Where do I feel pressured by others to live my life in a different way? How can I change that? What support do I need to relieve the pressure and constraint? Whose voice am I listening to?

AUDACIOUS: the willingness to take bold risks. Spirit and enthusiasm marked by originality and verve.

The antonyms: cowardice, timidity, gentility, meekness.

Questions I ask myself: When am I timid and meek? What scares me? Is that true anymore? How can I create emotional safety so my audacious self will come out and play? When do I judge audacity? How does that limit my verve?

The audacious answers are coming through already as I read the antonyms: When I see those words my courageous, brave, bold self stands up taller and says NO MORE HOLDING BACK!

One answer is not expecting anyone else to have the answers for me and releasing the expectation that my lifestyle will be validated by family members and friends. I am the captain who is steering the ship.

I know this year will include travel, writing, relationships, a new home, a new way of living. The words will support the details and the structure that is needed for action.

 

I also want to share that part of the process is to use this time of year to reflect on the intention of the words from 2018 and how they defined this past year. Although I reviewed the words monthly, this is a time to look at the big picture of who I became this year. Honoring the new parts of me that were present.

My Words for Year 2018 were:

Leadership: guide, direct, influence a new world

Amplification: increase the volume; enlarge and add detail to the stories

Entrancement: a life filled with wonder and delight: entering a new doorway

It will be fun to make a list of how I experienced these words all year long and what was revealed.

I want to emphasize that there is a power of holding an intention with words. Give yourself time to connect with them. The words may be obvious. Clear as the ringing of a bell. If not, give it space to explore during the month of January. Trust the process. Choosing a word for the year and setting an intention is the first step in activating desire. It isn’t a to-do list. It is a to-be list. The words steer the ship, clear the decks, and are the compass leading the way.

Create some space to discover your soul’s desire.

Written by: Andrea Hylen; Heal My Voice