What's Your Word?

If you want to step into the new year with a lighter heart and an energetic stride, consider adopting a word for the year. This simple act can help pinpoint what's important to you; it can be a descriptor of the person you want to be, how you want to navigate life, or the desired look and feel of your mind and body. As long as it is personal to you, it will serve as a guiding star throughout the year, influencing your choices and actions.

It will become a source of inspiration, a reminder of your aspirations, and a focal point for growth and self-discovery. So, choose a word that resonates deeply with your soul, and let it shape your journey in the coming year.

My word for the year is GROWTH.

I took some time over the festive season to reflect on the past year. Like most people, I immediately thought about the negatives, the setbacks, or where I fell short, so I needed to step back, reassess, and analyse my year with the benefit of hindsight so I could move beyond my negative feelings. By stepping back, I could see the gifts, opportunities, and lessons that 2023 gave me.

This retrospection meant being honest with myself, questioning why I made certain choices, and confronting some uncomfortable truths that I found in the cupboards of my mind.  Getting clear on my lacking in skills and understanding and to take responsibility for my contribution to what happened or indeed didnt happen was not easy and took time to process. It was a tough but freeing experience because once I shed light on my choices, actions, and reactions, I could effectively start to address and deal with them.

Choosing ‘growth’ as my word for the year signifies my commitment to embracing every experience, positive or challenging, as a chance for personal development. It reflects my desire to continually evolve, learn, and strive towards a better version of myself. Reflecting on the past year, I recognised that growth is not just about overcoming obstacles but also about cultivating resilience, adapting to change, and finding strength in self-awareness. So, as I embark on 2024, I look forward to the journey, knowing that each step will lead me to a more enriched and fulfilling life.

Read on if you want to dive a bit deeper into my thoughts on ‘growth’ and what it really means.

As you all know, I’m fascinated by the intricacies of life and why we do what we do. My curiosity led me to think about the ‘essence’ of growth. This curiosity led me to some insights from both neuroscience and ancient Chinese wisdom

Let's delve into the fascinating world of neuroscience for a moment. The Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex (ACC) is the brain's powerhouse for generating willpower and driving our capacity to take action. What's intriguing is its web of connections with various brain regions, and both its health and size have a big impact on its effectiveness in instigating and sustaining willpower.

Here's the best bit: Individuals who consistently challenge themselves, whether by shedding unwanted pounds, delving into a new field of study, or tackling a loathed physically demanding activity, tend to have a larger, more efficient ACC. With a bigger ACC comes a better dopamine reward pathway – the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter responsible for driving toward reward, reinforcement and satisfaction.

Think of your brain (including your ACC) as a muscle; it thrives when actively engaged. The good thing is that, much like a muscle, the ACC can be strengthened through effort. So, as you contemplate your aspirations, and a word for the year, ponder not just your capabilities but also your capacity. The key to success lies in nurturing and expanding that capacity. So, I pose a question: how substantial is your ACC, or perhaps, how substantial could it be?

Let’s leap from modern science to ancient wisdom. In my reading, and diving down internet rabbit holes and talking with knowledgeable colleagues I uncovered some Chinese philosophy that helped shape my thinking around growth.

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, only of staying still."

In ancient Chinese thinking the cycle of ‘creation, destruction, and transformation’ is represented by five elements—earth, wood, metal, fire, and water.

The five elements show how things are always changing and interacting. It's a cycle that keeps going, and it teaches us that everything is connected and these elements work together to affect how life moves and changes. 

In the context of personal growth, embracing the creation cycle helps us navigate, guard against stagnation, and ensure that crucial stages are not overlooked.

To spare you from delving too deeply into Chinese philosophy, let me share what I've learned about how the five elements and the cycle of creation, destruction, and transformation can be applied to personal growth.

🪵Wood: The initiation period involves actively clearing out and removing, creating opportunities for the birth of ideas. This stage creates space for growth, renewal, expansion, and flexibility.

🔥Fire: This stage is about taking action, engaging strength with vitality, passion, and transformation. It's a time of pressing into the unknown and creating.

🌱Earth: Acquiring knowledge, gaining learning, and upskilling define the Earth stage. It's about following through and making things work.

🔩Metal: Making decisions, maximising the essentials, and discarding the waste characterize the Metal stage. This is when, clarity, organisation, discernment, and precision come into play. Standing firm in discipline, punctuality and planning because attention to detail is crucial for overcoming obstacles and making decisions.

💧Water: In the Water stage, it's about going with the flow from the decisions made. This phase encourages refraining from self-doubt or revisiting past options. Instead, it's about following through with a calm, steady, and flowing nature. Embracing resilience, perseverance, and unwavering determination is key during this phase.

Our unique characteristics determine our proficiency in the different stages, some we find easy, others we won’t. Without intervention or change, we may revert to familiar paths, finding ourselves walking in circles. This lack of direction hinders growth, and often leaves us with a sense of stagnation, feeling “everything is just the same as last year."

For me, 2024 is the year to grow my ACC, become better at each of the stages and purposefully seek growth. This will increase my sustainability and also ability to serve effectively. Whatever your word for 2024, I encourage you to make a plan and be intentional about what you want from the upcoming year.

On your journey for 2024, I can help with encouragement and guidance, specific expertise and I would love to support you. If you only get one thing from this lengthy update, make it this; "Be not afraid of growing slowly, only of staying still.”