I have a yearly tradition of choosing a One Word (or phrase) Focus to give me a main theme and intention for my year. It’s often related to a major area of personal development that a lot of my goals fall under or something I want to remind myself of more that year. If you’d like to learn more about what a One Word Focus is and how to choose your own, click here. In this blog post I will review my 2021 focus and then reveal what I’ve chosen for my 2022 focus.
If you’d prefer to watch the video version of this post, click here to watch it on YouTube
Review of My 2021 Focus
My focus for 2021 was “make mistakes,” to help me make progress in overcoming my perfectionism and harsh inner critic, while focusing on the fact that if I’m making mistakes it also means I’m actually out there taking risks, facing my fears, and moving forward. You can read more about my 2021 focus and why I chose it here.
As you can learn more about in my 1st quarter vlog, I was off to a great start the first few months and noticed how the act of trying to keep a list of my mistakes actually made me pause to think “but is this actually a mistake?” which was one hug step for minimizing self criticism. And then I’d spend time reflecting on what I could celebrate around each “mistake” I made, which helped me to start shifting my mindset to focus on the good that came out of my action taking and what I was learning through each “mistake.”
By the 2nd quarter I started to fall back into some old perfectionistic patterns. I learned that, though I had made HUGE steps for not being so hard on myself for my own work, I still really struggled whenever my mistakes or potential mistakes could possibly affect another person. Such as when someone had hired me for an art commission or virtual assistance work.
Through my focus and work this year, I discovered I had some more deeply rooted trauma and issues than I had even known around the fear of disappointing or upsetting others. It is an intense fear I will have to continue working on throughout my life.
And of course this fear doesn’t just apply to those who I’m working for or with. It greatly affects my personal friendships. I took some big risks in putting my heart out there with making new friends despite very recent deep wounds, broken trust, and abandonment from someone who had once been close to me. (If you’ve also experienced the pain of being abandoned by a friend, I highly recommend you check out my letter of encouragement)
Taking this risk allowed me to become friends with someone who I now consider to be one of my best friends. I may not have had the immense joy of their friendship had I not taken the risk despite my broken heart.
In addition to these major lessons and growth, I’d like to share a quick list of some of the other personal and professional achievements and other neat things that are reasons to celebrate.
Personal
- I made some amazing new friends!
- I met a lot of amazing people and had video calls with them (one of my fears!)
- I took more risks in trusting others and being open & vulnerable despite my fears of abandonment
- I set more boundaries to protect my energy and health despite my fear of disappointing others
- I went to the chiropractor for the 1st time
- I virtually attended SoloCon (here’s a video about my experience)
- I tested some of my limits and let myself take more breaks to try to overcome my workaholism
- I took a week off work during a busy time for me to enjoy a vacation with my husband for our 5 year anniversary
Professional
- I hosted my 1st Zoom event–2 trivia parties, 1 for Palentine’s Day & 1 for Star Wars Day
- I started a new Patreon reward of monthly encouraging geeky art cards
- I finished by personality profiler training with Christian Rivera & started doing practice sessions
- I hosted my 1st panel discussion for YouTube with 4 amazing guys
- I spoke at the Mental Health Blog Awards!
- I loved my experience with MHBA so much that I applied & was accepted to be a community leader
- I guested on the stream/podcast, 1 Geek 4:11 (on DC villains & on Pokémon Snap)
- I had business coaching with Andy Mort
- I was in a 3 month business group coaching with Your Coach Meg
- I did my 1st full length white board video for YouTube
- I created more unscripted vlogs
- I started some new collaborations that I’ll share about soon!
My Focus(es) for 2022: CONNECT & CELEBRATE!
What does it mean to me and why did I choose it?
As I was reviewing all my highlights from 2021, I realized one of the most rewarding experiences had to do with quality time with friends and collaborating with other creators. I want more of those kinds of experiences this year, so “connect” is one of my focuses.
My other focus is “celebrate” to kind of continue off of the celebration piece that came along with last year’s focus of “make mistakes.” I want to take more time to acknowledge my accomplishments, no matter how small. I also want to be more intentional about helping others feel encouraged and celebrated.
Each year I choose something to remind me of that year’s focus. I’ve used things such as wall art, an engraved bracelet, my phone’s lockscreen, and more. This year I chose a confetti nail polish to wear all year to remind me to celebrate and a puzzle piece keychain to remind me to connect. The keychain feels extra special to me because I sent a matching one to a close friend who also had “connect” as one of his words for the year.
I’m looking forward to the year ahead of connecting and celebrating!
Comment Below:
What’s YOUR One Word focus for 2022? Need some help choosing it? Click here.
If you’d like to read about my past past focuses, check out the links below:
Want some tips for setting and reaching your goals? Check out these posts:
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