Write your next chapter

Happy New Year to you!

There is a certain energy that we experience at the start of a new year that we don’t experience at any other time of the year. It is the energy of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean or starting a new chapter.

I love the metaphor that my life is a book with each year a new chapter and each day a new page. On its pages, my personal story unfolds. It tells the tale of who I was and who I am becoming. It shares my successes and my challenges, how I overcome them and how they shaped me. It shares my dreams and desires and the journey I took to achieve them. Ultimately, it will be the story of my life, and I want it to be a page-turner with a plot twist you didn’t see coming.

When you read a book, the chapters have a number or a chapter heading. Each of my life chapters have a word. I intentionally select this word, and it becomes the context for the year ahead. I have had a word of the year for the past 10 years and it has made a huge difference to how I have experienced my life.

Let me give you an example.

Last year, I chose the word Adventure as my chapter heading. Rob and I have plans to go on the adventure of a lifetime in the next few years and I wanted to feel the energy of adventure NOW rather than waiting until it happens.

So, adventure became my context for 2024. It was the lens that I looked through as the 12 months unfolded. I came to realise that looking at my life this way meant that sometimes life was about the BIG adventures. Sometimes it was about mini adventures and sometimes it was dealing with setbacks and trying to see the adventure it offered.

Using adventure as a context, I travelled the North Coast 500 in a motorhome, I booked a secret holiday where we found out at the airport where we were going. I launched Femmepowered, my second brand providing daily inspiration to women. I went white water rafting. I set myself a challenge and walked 1500 miles in all weathers and reconnected with nature. All of these adventures have been amazing.

Then there were the micro adventures. I re-learned to play the piano. I created my website from scratch and learned new skills. I saw the Northern Lights from my garden, I went ice skating. I read 50 books.

Setting a word of the year and having a context provides focus. It encourages you to view your life differently.

If I had not chosen the word adventure, I might not have booked the holidays that I did. I would probably have gone on a lazy holiday, laid by the pool and relaxed. This would have been great but not if my desire is to have more adventure in my life. Instead, I have explored the most beautiful parts of Scotland that I have not visited before. I learned that I could live without luxury and in small spaces and adapt easily.

If I had not chosen adventure, I would not have booked a secret holiday. I would have missed out on the excitement and anticipation of ‘not knowing’. My biggest realisation was that I take so much fun (and adventure) out of our holidays because I research and plan so much in advance. It felt so liberating to land somewhere and explore a new place with fresh eyes rather than seeing it through the eyes of Google or Trip Advisor reviews.

When I chose my word last year, I had not thought about the concept of adventure having a capital ‘A’ and a small ‘a’. This context gave me the gift of seeing everything as an adventure whether it was something big or small. My daily walk became a mini adventure every day.

Having a word of the year as your context is a simple and profoundly powerful tool.

It becomes your north star; a guiding principle for how you choose to view your life.

Over the past few years, I have chosen words such as simplicity, freedom and abundance. These words have had a profound impact on my experience of this 12-month chapter of my life.

At the beginning of the year, we feel compelled to create resolutions or intentions and the pressure can feel overwhelming. You don’t have to have everything figured out by the end of the first week in January. In my experience, January can be a challenging month to tap into what we truly desire for the rest of the year. We have the indulgence and celebration of Christmas and then (in a lot of cases) we make decision to give everything up in January. It can feel like we go from abundance to restriction in the blink of an eye.

What if January was meant to be the month of reflection and rest?

A moment to pause and give yourself the space to really think about what this next chapter has in store for you. What if you could rest, reconnect with your heart and soul and then move forward with energy?

Nature always gives us clues. For many animals, January is the time for hibernation and recovery before the renewed energy of Spring.

You can march to the beat of your own drum; you don’t have to follow the ‘rules’.

I have not set my intentions for this year yet. I am giving myself the space of January to really tap into what my heart and soul truly desires for this year and then I will set intentions, create my vision board and take aligned action. There is no rush. There are no rules.

I have set my word for this year though because my intuition gave it to me. I listened.

My word is TRUST.

I will trust that my intentions for this year will become clear in the space I have created.

I will trust that I am on the right path.

I will trust that everything is happening for my highest good.

I will trust that every one of my desires will manifest because I am worthy of them.

I will trust my intuition to guide me.

I will trust that I am exactly where I am meant to be.

So, if you have not got everything figured out for this year yet, it is ok. Breathe.

Why not try this simple tool of creating a word for your year instead?  If you did nothing else, it will still be a powerful context for transformation in your life. Life gets to be simple, if you choose it to be.

I wish you a beautiful, magical 2025.

Joanna

Ps

As you create space for yourself in January, my Thrive in 2025 toolkit will be a powerful companion to help you reflect and reset. This guide walks you through 12 stepping stones to creating a life you love using powerful coaching questions and activity prompts to help you. It leads you through a process that will help you create a blueprint for this year and most importantly take action in the direction of your desires. It is like having me as your personal coach! I wanted to make this really accessible to as many women as possible so this 99-page toolkit is only £22. You can download your copy HERE