5 steps to find focus using one word

Focus using one word

You are never too old to reinvent yourself.~ Steve Harvey, American comedian, and author.

 

For 2023, I am choosing to focus on using one word for the New Year rather than creating resolutions that are hard to remember and easily broken.

Finding focus using one word to replace resolutions in the New Year is not a new idea, but it seems to be gaining popularity. The one-word focus idea is sometimes referred to as finding your “Word of the Year” (not to be confused with the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year based on search terms, which gave us “gaslighting” in 2022). The practice may also be called “the one-word mantra,” a “power word,” or even a “one-word purpose” for the new year. The practice of choosing to focus on one word can make the turning of the new year an exciting and hopeful time.

My chosen word is “equanimity”

The focus using this one word, equanimity, is not because I am good at it. Instead, I have chosen equanimity precisely because I am bad at it. News headlines, clearcutting trees, trash on the beach, or needy people begging for food, can all upset me, sending me into piques of anger. Then I must talk myself back off the ledge of indignation before I go down a rabbit hole of outrage ending in depression. I need to remind myself there is also beauty and wonder, and love in the world. Hence, equanimity.

Equanimity is generally defined as mental calmness, composure, and sometimes evenness of temper under pressure. Other words with similar meanings are compassion, calmness, self-possession, serenity, or composure. Sometimes finding a phrase that contains your focus word can help. Jack Kornfield suggested a useful one for me in his book The Wise Heart: “May you learn to see the arising and passing of all things with equanimity and balance.” The ability to focus using one word, equanimity, feels like the way of wisdom.

5 steps to find focus using one word

If you need a little help in discovering your own focus using one word for your aspirations in 2023, here are five steps to help you find it:

          1. Find time to reflect

Ask yourself a few powerful questions about your current life, and be honest in your answers.

  • What happened in 2022 you would like to repeat?
  • What happened you would like to avoid happening again?
  • What do you want more of in my life (love, courage, happiness)?
  • What do you want less of in my life (conflict, anger, judgment)?
  • How do you want to feel?
  • Who do you want to be?
  • What do you want to do that will allow you to be the person you want to be?

    2. Picture yourself as you move through your day

Where do you put your focus in your daily routine? Does it lend itself to focus using one word? Hint: Think about where you want to put your focus, not where you are currently putting your focus.

I have a terrible tendency to spend a lot of time getting the “little things” done to clear off my plate for the bigger, more important things I need to do, like getting my writing done. I know better, and I’ve taught techniques to do the big things first to many clients. And yet I still fall down on this one. If I ask myself how I want to feel at the end of the day, it’s not proud I got all these little niggling things done. I would prefer to feel proud because I made some progress getting bigger and harder things done.

          3. Make a list of 5-10 words that resonate for you

No need to spend a lot of time on this. Just brainstorm and write down the first ones that come to mind. Here’s my first list of possible focus words, in no particular order, of what I wanted to be:

  • Gentler
  • Kinder
  • Agreeable
  • Considerate
  • Thoughtful
  • Tolerant
  • Calmer
  • Mellower
  • Charitable
  • Warmer

You may see a theme here. I did. I was beginning to realize how intolerant, angry, frustrated, and generally unpleasant I could be when upset. I was looking for a way to stop going into the dark and stay more balanced with the light. The word “calm” kept calling me, but it wasn’t quite right.

So, doing what all good writers do, I looked it up in the thesaurus. Equanimity popped up. Aha. That one really resonated with me. Because I know living into this word is going to be a big challenge for me in 2023.

         4. Find an umbrella word

As you look at your words, see if one umbrella word can encapsulate a lot of your other words to narrow it down. Focus using one word may take you in an unexpected direction, as equanimity did for me. Equanimity for me encompasses being more agreeable, tolerant, calmer, and gentler.

         5. Nourish your one word

Just like a seed, you need to tend your word carefully. It’s new to you. Prepare the ground of your being, allowing your word to germinate and grow in meaning for you. As you use your word, you may find yourself coming to a deeper, more mature understanding of it. It may contain complexities and nuances you hadn’t considered when you chose it. Place your word someplace you can see it regularly. On your calendar, in your phone notes, on your refrigerator. If you journal, try starting some journal entries with your chosen word and see where it leads you.

I am hoping to rise to my own challenge and practice equanimity in the face of bad weather making me late for an appointment, children complaining things are not going their way, health challenges arising from simply growing older, and yes, even when consuming the news on any platform. Here’s to a full new year of practicing equanimity.

And don’t forget: How to be a Confident Academic Seminar begins January 6th.

Registration ends tomorrow, January 5, 2023

If you are looking to kickstart your new year with a burst of confidence, join our 4-session seminar, How to be a Confident Academic, beginning on Friday, January 6, 2023, @ 12:00 PM (noon) ET, 11:00 AM CT; 10:00 AM MT; 9:00 AM PT.

We’ll meet as a group weekly for 90 minutes on Zoom throughout the month. Enrollment is limited to eight (8) participants.

The total cost for all sessions for faculty is $230; and for graduate students is $195.

RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

You can easily become a more confident academic.

 

Tags: , , , , , ,