More than a word for the year

Pressing Pause ep 137 More than a word for the year

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Welcome to Pressing Pause, I’m your host, Gabrielle Treanor, a coach, writer, introvert and sensitive soul with an inclination to ponder over the stuff of life. Join me as I explore how we can create, find and feel more calm, ease and joy in our daily lives.

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Do you know that I have a bunch of free guides and audios to help you live with more calm and joy that you can download for free on my website? There’s a guide on how you can start your day with more calm without needing to find a single extra minute in your morning – I guarantee I will not tell you to set your alarm a minute earlier. There’s an ebook on how to overcome your overwhelm as an introvert, because us introverts can get overwhelmed really quite easily! There’s a set of guided meditations you can listen to and there’s a guide on making your own soothing self care kit.

You can choose one or all of these freebies and you can download them from my website at gabrielletreanor.com/free. You’ll also get my weeklyish emails where I share more from my own experiences along with tools and ideas for how you can catch your breath, re-centre and live with more calm and joy each day.

So, check out my free guides and download any or all of them at gabrielletreanor.com/free

Right then, on with the episode.

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Welcome to episode 137. In the last episode I pointed out that if you don’t want to choose a word for the year you absolutely don’t need to. Maybe you want to choose a few words or a phrase, for the month or the season. Perhaps you don’t want to choose one at all! It’s entirely your choice.

I also mentioned that I do like to choose a guiding word at the start of the year, something to anchor and remind me of how I’d like to feel during the coming months. I pick a word that will be supportive, inspiring, motivating, not one that I feel I ‘should’ have, or will be beholden to.

This is my 12th year choosing a word. Sometimes I start thinking about it in December, mulling over several words for a few weeks until I settle on the one that feels like it’s resonating the most. Other times the word comes to me in an instant and I just… know. That’s my word.

Last year my word was Nourish. By choosing this word I wanted to nourish my mental, physical and emotional health, my creativity, my relationships. I wanted to prioritise what I already knew is nourishing for me and I wanted to explore what else could nourish me.

At the start of 2023 I had the rest of the first year of my MSc to complete, as well as writing a book and all that goes with it, as well as running my business and whatever else might crop up so I knew the importance of taking care of myself.

And for the most part my word served me well. There were times when I forgot about it, but that happens every year. My word helped me to take a step back when I was getting bogged down with workload and to ask myself, what would be nourishing in this moment? And to do the thing, not just think about it!

My word nudged me to make an effort to see people or do things or not do things that I felt would be nourishing to me. It made me more intentional.

And now it’s time for a new word.

With December being all about the launch of my book, The 1% Wellness Experiment, and then Christmas not going at all to plan, I didn’t give my word for 2024 a thought until several days into January.

While hugging a mug of tea, curled up on the couch and staring out the window I asked myself how would I like to feel this year? One word popped into my head: believe.

Whether belief is something you feel or think is up for debate but that was the word that came to me in that moment.

And I dismissed it. Because believe has been a word that I’ve thought of before but decided it’s too big a word for just one year, it’s a word for life.

Because belief in myself is something I’ve always struggled with. There are occasions when I believe in myself but more of the time I don’t. And as I have a self-imposed rule of not repeating a word (although as it’s my rule I can break it if I want) I haven’t wanted to choose believe as my word for the year because I don’t like the thought of giving it up come 31 December.

Although I don’t make a ‘thing’ with my word each year, like a banner or a piece of art, I do have a ring with the word believe engraved on the inside, made by Sally at How Fine Designs, which I never take off. AND I have a bangle with believe stamped onto it made by Kate at Grace and Flora. AND I bought a jumper with the word believe colourfully embroidered on the front which I wear in a lot of my headshots you’ll see on my website. AND when I turned 45 I liked the idea of getting the word believe tattooed on my wrist so I promised myself that if I’m still keen when I turn 50 I’ll do it.

So when believe popped into my head I dismissed it.

And then I paused.

Why does this word keep coming up? Why have I been collecting these items emblazoned with this word? Why have I been thinking for four years about emblazoning my skin with this word?!

By telling myself it’s a word for life how have I been keeping it on the back burner, not having to really face up to or fully embrace the word?

And then my inner wise woman spoke. Just as I recognise my inner critic with her brittle, berating, sniping tone, and my inner child with her small, naive voice, so too can I identify when the calm, grounded, knowing part of me speaks up – because that’s how she sounds.

When are you going to stop believing your own BS and start believing in yourself? she asked. How long are you going to keep putting it off? How much time do you think you have?

She asked these questions matter of factly, with curiosity, there was no edge of frustration or criticism. They were the questions I needed to hear.

Because as long as I continue to not choose the word believe, I don’t have to actively choose to believe in myself. I’m so used to self-doubt that it feels like an old friend, a comfy old pair of socks to pad around the house in.

But, actually, I’m sick of that threadbare, holey pair of socks that don’t keep me warm. Lack of self-belief holds you back, it keeps you putting the good stuff in life that you’ve worked for, that’s come from acquiring knowledge, honing skills, gaining experience, making connections, persisting, trying… down to pure luck and inherent privilege, which of course plays a significant role for sure, but it’s not solely responsible.

Hopefully I’ll be fit and healthy for several more decades to come but there’s no denying I have more time behind me than ahead of me and I have zero desire to one day wake up and wonder where the time went, with regret. Bronnie Ware’s book The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying had a profound impact on me when I read it a few years ago and I enjoyed a piece Sarah Wilson wrote on Substack about this not being a dress rehearsal.

If I’ve been waiting for something to happen, some goal achieved, some accolade won, some words spoken, that finally give me the belief I’ve been hanging on for, I’m going to continue waiting forever. It’s not going to be wrapped up in a bow and handed to me.

If I want to strengthen my belief in myself it’s time I choose to make that happen. To decide what stories I tell myself. To consider what I want, what I need to do to make that happen and to choose to do it, or not.

So, still clutching my mug of tea, this internal conversation made up my mind. Believe is my word for 2024.

And it’s not just about believing in myself. It’s believing in others, believing in possibility, in hope, in the unknown.

There’s more to figure out in how I want the word to guide me, how I’ll go about strengthening my self-belief, how I want to embody it, and I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m inspired, it feels stretchy and it feels possible – pretty much everything I want in a guiding word.

So, how about you, have you chosen a guiding word? I’d love to hear if you’ve chosen a word, perhaps a phrase to support you in the next month, season or year so do message me on Instagram where I’m @gabrielletreanor or email me [email protected].

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Thank you for listening to Pressing Pause, you can find the show notes at gabrielletreanor.com/podcast.

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There are lots more resources to help you to create, find and feel more calm, ease and joy in your life, including free guides, blog posts, online courses and one to one coaching, at gabrielletreanor.com. Make sure you’re getting my regular emails too, they’re designed to soothe, inspire and delight.

I always love to hear from you, what you take from the episodes and what you’d like me to talk about, so feel free to drop me a line at [email protected].

Thanks again for listening, until next time.