Choose Your 2017 Theme

Several times throughout the year, we discuss again the themes we chose and how we feel we’re doing. And at year’s end, we do a thorough review of the year gone by, and how well it reflected our theme for the year. It’s a fun and effective practice!

A Revelation

This time, however, instead of focusing my keywords on areas where I want growth, I’ve decided to spend 2017 well and truly attentive to where I already am. I’ve had a couple of very good years in a row. But I don’t feel like I’m spending enough time enjoying it all. Instead, I’m always focused on how to maintain it and goose it even more.

But if you think about it, what’s the point of having goals, unless it’s because you’ll feel great when you achieve them? And if that’s the point, then it kind of requires us to take the time to notice when we do.

What is Success, Anyway?

I’m kind of very off topic, here, but bear with me for this quick sidebar. It’s important. Everyone probably defines success differently, but for me, success in business means making a living doing what I love. And by that standard, I’m already there. Think about how you define success, and then look to see if you might be closer to it than you think. And if you are, celebrate it!

What you pay attention to, grows

I want to relish every goal I achieve in business, and every other wonderful blessing in my life. So my word for 2017 is actually four words. And here they are:

Basking

I will stop to bask in every delicious moment of my life and business: A great review, an unexpected promotion, a moment on one of Amazon’s ever-changing bestseller lists, a day when sales were higher than usual.

And I’ll take time to bask in every wonderful thing in my non-business life, too: an afternoon with children, or the delightful beauty of snow on evergreen boughs after a storm.

Appreciation

I like the definition of “appreciation” that says “to increase in value.” I think a rainbow is worth far more to a person who stops what she’s doing to just stand and look at it for as long as it remains in the sky, than it is to a person who glances up, notices it, smiles and goes back to what she was doing. And far more than it is to a person who never looks up and notices it at all.