Welcome to a new round of 2020s-craziness – brought to you by the universe.

A couple of months ago, something wonderful happened. For the first time in 15 or so years, I talked to my cousin. It was wonderful. We talked about travelling. She had contacted me because she knew that I had spent a large proportion of my 20s travelling and living in different countries – and I still live in Australia.

She wanted some advice on travelling because she had gotten the travel bug. And the funny thing is that the chat we had gave me as much as it gave her – if not even more. I witnessed myself talking passionately about the how’s, the no’s and the possibilities of travelling which ironically simply translated into business and life advice in general.

I will share with you some of those in another post, but one of the things I said to her and that I feel really fits here, too, went something like this:

Expect the best and also be prepared for things to go wrong.

I feel like that’s a good way to approach the new year, too.

Because 1) when you expect the best, your whole mindset allows you to see the good in your days and experiences. You look forward to what’s to come. You embrace the year with an open heart and open arms.

And because 2) something will always go wrong. Unexpected things will happen. Say, something crazy like a virus that takes over the world like in one of those movies. And that doesn’t mean that I am encouraging you to become a doomsday prepper. And you also don’t need to go run off to learn in-the-woods-survival skills – although, now that I think about it, that sounds pretty fun! But the thing is that everything is impermanent. The only real truth is that everything is changing. So, be prepared and begin to learn to be comfortable with the unknown.

This is also where my beautiful – dare I say – word of the year 2022 comes in:

COURAGE.

I have become smitten with the word and concept of courage and there are many reasons why this word has come to me as my word of the year 2022.

1) I am a thinker.

I hang out a lot in my thoughts, planning reminiscing, daydreaming, visioning and so on and so forth.

But I know that a big thing for me in the next stage of my personal evolution is taking more action again.

Like I said above – my 20s were filled with adventure and I proudly tell people that I couldn’t have done any more with my 20s and I am extremely proud of that.

And I want to bring that back both for my life and my business.

So, courage will enCOURAGE me to take action.

2) Brené Brown said so.

As I was sitting around the day after my vaccine, waiting for all types of side effects to kick in, I watched a few documentaries. One of them was Brené Brown – The Call To Courage on Netflix.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made my heart expand pleasantly.

And in the documentary (really, it is more a talk than a documentary!) she said this:

“There is no courage without uncertainty, risk or emotional exposure.” — Brené Brown

This really hit home.

Uncertainty: Life is FILLED with uncertainty. Why? Well, because truly, there only is the present moment and you never know what will happen the next day. We try so hard to control our future, but in reality, anything could happen. And that’s okay. As I said, there is beauty and power in getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. And yes, sometimes this means that “things go wrong” but sometimes it means that we step outside our familiar zone and see an opportunity we haven’t seen before and our intuition tells us to go for it – That’s also uncertainty.

Risk: Sometimes we need to risk to lose something to make space for something new. But you know what? The word “courage” comes from the same word as “cœur” which means heart in French (in case you didn’t know, the word ‘courage’ also comes from Old French). So, being courageous and taking a risk is also a lot about listening to your heart and following it.

And as Timothée Chalamet said so beautifully in his interview with Times Magazine:

“I feel like I’m here to show that to wear your heart on your sleeve is O.K." — Timothée Chalamet

There is a deeper knowing within us that we get to trust. And when we do, miracles occur and life just feels ever so slightly more magical. The mind and our rational thinking are so limited to what we logically know, have read or are able to make a prognosis for. But there is so much more. Take more risks.

Emotional exposure: Ohhhh, one of my favourite topics, Emotional Mastery and Intelligence. We don’t get taught how to deal or be with our emotions. Emotions are bad news in the office when they are on the ‘negative’ side of the spectrum. They are different for men and women. A passionate man = an angry woman, and the like. But how can we be courageous without our emotions being on board? We can’t. Courage means taking risks and leaning into uncertainty and this is where we experience excitement and fear. And these are good things. But they are not only in our head in form of thoughts like “everything will go wrong”… Emotions are actually energy in our body that we get to feel and breathe into and integrate into our nervous system. Having tools to work around this has absolutely changed my life.

3) It’s fun!

My last year has been steeped in personal growth, unravelling or old beliefs, shaping new habits and more. And sometimes we can get pretty serious on a journey like that. I have rediscovered my deep values of fun and freedom only a few months ago. And I know that being courageous brings fun. Why? Being courageous makes you try out new things, experience excitement and some fear and happiness research actually shows that novelty and accomplishment (say, after you have overcome your fear and done something scary) simply makes you happy. It releases happiness hormones. It helps you create memories. It creates a different perception of time. I want more fun in my life and I know that courage will help me with that.

4) I want an extraordinary life.

“The opposite to courage is not cowardice. . . The opposite to courage . . . is conformity.” — Rollo May

This quote really hit home for me. It hit me in the heart because it expresses so much that I feel and fear. I want an extraordinary life. And sometimes it may be challenging and hard to get there, but at the end of the day and at the end of my life I don’t just want to say, “I couldn’t have lived my twenties any better” but “I couldn’t have lived my life any better.”

The beauty of this is that an extraordinary life may look different for everyone. Just like everyone sees a different rainbow win the sky. So, just a gentle reminder to never compare your “extraordinary” with someone else’s. Only ever see if it aligns with YOUR heart.

5) And so much more.

There are many more things I could talk about here for why COURAGE has come to me as my word of the year 2022. But the fun thing is that the journey only begins here. Because now, COURAGE will guide me through the upcoming 365 days. I am so looking forward to see how it will shape me and my life.

What will be your word of the year?

PS. Do you want to have a word for next year? Do you want to live next year with more guidance, intention and focus? Are you sick of making New Years’ Resolutions that don’t stick? Do you want to find a concept that lets you deeply connect to yourself and your life? I have cooked up a small beautiful little offer for you. I would love to support and coach you on your word for the year 2022.

Your Word Of The Year 2022:

Worksheet to begin playing with what your word of the year 2022 could be
1x 90 mins coaching to dive deeper on the meaning, to let your soul and heart express themselves, to look at what you are craving missing, wanting to create
1x 45 mins follow up session 3 weeks later
creating ideas on how to live your word of the year
quarterly e-mail check-ins throughout 2022
video teaching on the power of having a word of the year
and more
Make 2022 your year here.

PPS. Whenever you’re ready…

If you want to get clearer on your purpose, learn to love yourself, find the courage to step into your vision and make a difference in the world – let’s have a powerful non-binding conversation! I know you are here for a reason and I’d love to support you further. My support looks like this: You talk. You tell me about your dreams and your struggles. I listen. We play. Your life changes.

I’ve seen it time and time again. I’m ready when you are.

PPPS. If you loved this blog post, please share the love with a friend you know would benefit from it. Send it to them via WhatsApp, email it to them, text it to them, ... Whatever you've got to do to get this in their hands. ✨

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