Setting my North Star for 2023
Do you set intentions at the start of the year?
I gave up on New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago, but recently, mostly inspired by my wonderful friend Tracy Otsuka, I’ve started to adopt a ‘word of the year’.
My word for 2022 was ‘Challenge’. This was an acknowledgement that 2022 was going to be a painful and difficult year, and that I would be able to meet the challenges it was going to bring. At the time, I knew we were very likely to be saying goodbye to my darling mother, but 2022 also brought other challenges. There were times I felt like the weight of them would break me completely.
But they didn’t. I’m still here.
Still straining under the weight of the year. But looking forward now to a new year, and the chance to rebuild my life.
I’ve been reflecting a lot on my values lately, and using them to set my compass for the next step of my journey. The 5 top values that came up for me are
- Empowerment
- Sobriety
- Creativity
- Connection
- Movement
These values are the bedrock of all that is important in my life. I’ve said many times in the past that I want to stop talking about sobriety and addiction, but the flow I find when I do talk and write about this topic suggests otherwise. And so I am going to bring these 5 values together into a new project in 2023…. Watch this space!
And my “word” for the year is going to help me achieve the things I have set my mind on this year. But it isn’t a word. It’s a phrase.
It’s “Empowered Action”.
Empowerment is a very important concept to me.
Empowerment is how I got sober. It’s what I believe is fundamental to successful recovery. Not ‘admitting we are powerless’, but becoming empowered and claiming our own inner power. People have often told me I am strong. And I know I am. But being empowered feels more useful than mere strength. I have been made strong by external events that have forced me to become strong. But empowerment is something I can do. I empower myself, and when I can do that, I can do anything I set my mind to.
But, as Tracy tells us, we need to get into action. I can see the end result so clearly in my mind sometimes I feel like it is already done. And so I can think a thing out of existence. So I need to take action.
And that empowered action will allow me to achieve all my goals this year, and help others in the way I know I can. Empowered action will help me to achieve my potential and my purpose.
Are you setting any intentions for 2023? How do you choose them?
