Setting ny North Star for 2023
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?