Nurture :: My One Little Word 2018
It was on the winter solstice on 21st December when I discovered my word for 2018. I decided that Nurture would be the word that needed. After an incredible shift in my year I decided that it was time to focus deeper on me. At one point I felt that my word would be Focus and during the year I wanted it to be Bloom but both just didn't feel like they fitted right now in my life or feel instinctively what I connect with. On that Thursday, after a busy busy year, I took a day for me. A day spent reading magazines, drinking tea and Juno snuggled sleeping next to me. Part way through the day I took myself off for an impromptu hand massage and nail polish and bought myself a jar of winter blooms for my desk and some organic chocolate. I relaxed and made time for my thoughts for the first time in months. Just in those few hours I felt that I needed to look after my mind, my body and my soul more.
I had been incredibly tough on myself during 2017, in a way proving to myself that I could do something and tried to surprise and delight all that I could but I just felt that I couldn't bring my whole self as I hadn't refuelled enough. There was the shift in life with redundancy, a new job, a new commute and a new lifestyle with a pup and it felt at moments like it was too much. Making a good impression in my new job was so important to me, going from many years of people knowing what you do, trusting you and having an instinctive knowing completing tasks was gone. I didn't mourn the loss of it, I just wanted to rebuild. Build new foundations in a space that connects unbelievably to my heart, my ethics of how business can be done and takes me back to that moment at uni when I decided to make a choiceful decision of what I wanted my work life to look like.
There is something about the word Nurture that works for me right now. My year of Thrive was met with great change than enabled me to thrive in the way that I could in that moment.
With Nurture, it is time to tend and care for myself, it's time to nurture what I am growing with my side business, my life and work. It's time to nurture my relationships and connect myself in small ways to be able to action and get things done.
As I have done over the years, I will try and connect my word Nurture to my seasonal manifestos to give a focus at different times of the year. Let’s see what it brings for the year ahead.