Every year, I pick out a focus word. A word that governs various aspects of my life that year in lieu of resolutions. My previous words have been focus (2009), discipline (2010), growth (2011), nurture (2012), surrender (2013), challenge (2014), connect (2015), strength (2016), self-care (2017), evolve (2018), simplify (2019), and energy (2020).
On choosing my focus word for 2021…
2020 was surreal to say the least.
I will spare my sanity and will not do a recap here, despite all the wonderful professional and personal milestones that also happened. All of which, I am so grateful to God for. Above all, health, safety, and security for my family.
But one thing I will mention is that I stayed true to my 2020 focus word which was energy.
I let go of negative energy, be it friends, acquaintances, partnerships, or other subtle manifestations of it. I gravitated towards positive energy that lit and fed my soul. I revitalized as much as I could through rest and relaxation, though by the last quarter of 2020, that heavy year began to take its toll. And I tried as best as I could to keep on shining light into dark corners through love.
I fully released 2020 and christened 2021 in a way I never fathomed. If I ever needed confirmation of my new focus word, stepping into 2021 was it.
My focus word is… RELEASE
According to the Oxford Dictionary, to release is to:
- allow or enable to escape from confinement; set free.
- allow (something) to move, act, or flow freely.
The word RELEASE came to me early December when I realized that, even though I’d given up control over and surrendered to things I have no control over during the years, I realized that I was still holding on to 5%.
Unlike my 2013 word, surrender, which means to stop resisting, submit to, and hand over, I was still hiding crumbs of control tightly in my fist behind my back.
2020 made me realize that.
I wasn’t letting life fully flow freely through and around me. There were still parts of myself I kept confined. That fistful of control was weighing me down and making me work harder than I frankly needed to.
Release is not a synonym for surrender.
Surrender means realizing you don’t have ultimate control. It denotes a certain resignation because you’ve fought and realized you can’t do it on your own.
Release means allowing that knowledge to flow freely through your life and your actions without reservation. To fully accept, own, and revel in that thrill and trust that release brings.
In essence, opening that fistful of control behind my back and letting those crumbs fall through my fingers.
So, how will I put this into tangible actions in 2021?
I will release all expectations of myself and of others. I will be so much kinder to myself.
I will release whatever emotions I’ve struggled to contain, and I will release that last bit of control so my current evolution becomes complete.
No grand to-do lists or maverick feats to accomplish.
I plan on savoring sweet release throughout 2021.
That’s it.