Delight: a review of 2023 and a wish for 2024
Photo by Mason Panos on Unsplash
My word of the year for 2023 was entelechy, the realization of potential. You can read that reflection article here.
2023 brought me so many opportunities to unravel what it meant to truly lean in to my potential, to trust the process (oh, the process!) of launching Leaving Well as more than just a passion project. It was a year to more intently focus on my consumption habits as it relates to food, social media, and other people’s opinions. With regard to my weight, I started - in earnest - working to restructure my daily habits around eating, and in the past four months, said goodbye to 16 lbs. I also took every moment to dig in to past stories of education, agency, my identity, and rewrite (or at least reconfigure) how I show up today, braiding the reality of my past with an adjusted commitment to my power and impact.
When did ENTELECHY make a difference over the year?
Leaning in to truly honing my potential
Saying yes to the things that felt out of my scope, because I knew I could call myself forward
SO many decisions came easier because I was letting the concept and boldness of entelechy lead the way
To get paid well for my ability to disrupt the way things have been done in the sector of organizations and workplace transitions
What did ENTELECHY teach me about myself?
That I need to more powerfully step into my voice and speak up
Being more and more autonomous in my work and decisions
Checking in LESS with people before I lean in and act
What’s possible for the business
That I can be ordered, aligned, embodied, selfish, resolute, and nuanced
Often times ENTELECHY felt aggressive, so there are some knowings I worked to absorb this year:
I am not really in control of what comes my way
I am responsible to organize my finances
I do not need to consistently create in order to be worthy / productive
I am capable of learning how to maximize and take advantage of wealth-building opportunities and knowledge
This was also a year to remember the knowing of my body. Some things jotted in my journal (sources not captured)
There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.
The most elegant operating system on earth is your nervous system. Program it yourself.
Each and every time you “burn” or expend fuel (energy), consider the reason, purpose, use, impact. Treat your energy as the sacred gift and element of impact that it is (this brings tears to my eyes no matter how often I read or write it out).
Cultivate confidence not courage. Receive the practices and habits that connect you TO your confidence.
“It is time for lessons that come via joy, exuberance, and abundance (instead of pain and discomfort.”
2023 By the Months:
January - April = joyful, busy, integrated, and nonstop!
I took a trip to Key West with my husband in our RV, and during a separate trip had the opportunity to meet a dear online friend in person. I also accompanied Mia on several college campus trips which was really lovely, and visited New Orleans with two more online friends who I hadn’t met before in person. Work trips included Sacramento and Omaha which also correlated with the challenges of these months being the realization of just how much work the Sacramento contract was, while at the same time negotiating my exit from Front Porch Investments (the organization I had helped launch in 2021). I also onboarded a bookkeeping team and wrote the majority of the Leaving Well (for the organization) book during these months.
May - August = full of enjoyment, family, connection, and ease.
The family went on an amazing trip to Georgia to see the mountains, spend time together, and see our property. I also took Mia to Washington DC for a journalism camp, and Todd and I traveled to Boulder for a work trip of his that I thoroughly enjoyed tagging along. I brought on Jane, my business bestie (virtual assistant) and Sarah, to support branding as well as to launch the podcast. I opened my business banking account, and started my business 401k. I felt so grown up! During this time, we also launched the Greenlining Fund, I traveled to New York for a full day retreat with Arlan Hamilton and some amazing women, and ended some misaligned work contracts.
September - December = emerging, chaos, launch pad, and then rest.
Lots of decisions were made during this time, including a college commitment to LSU for our youngest, a new job for our oldest (welcome to the majors (airlines)), and a college / location shift decision for our middle. I launched the podcast, published the Leaving Well book, and started my email list. This phase of the year, I had health issues galore, and spent many weeks sick and not feeling well. During this time I began a new practice and habit of fasting (which I absolutely love and adore doing).
Early in 2023, I asked myself “How do I want to feel in December of 2023?” The answer?
Boundaried, peaceful, financially organized, full of ease, and happy with a side of joy.
Biggest Lesson of 2023:
Need to prioritize rest and daily movement. While my leg may be healed, for all intents and purposes, my daily experience of living in this body has not returned to pre-accident (and it never will). Moving to Florida has brought me an amazing opportunity to prioritize walking on a somewhat regular basis. I’ve been averaging 2-3 miles, and 20 days out of the month for walks. Also with intention of leaning into entelechy when it came to my body, I realized how much more present and effective I could be during the day with at least 7 hours of sleep, and I aimed for closer to 9 hours of sleep as often as possible.
That I can create a body of work that offers multiple interaction points and topics that share the best of what I know and have gathered together, for external impact. As I wrote in my journal (attritbution / source unknown): Create a meadow of offerings, thoughtfully assembled and beautifully shared out. Plant wisely, mind your meadow.
That normalizing rest and solitude benefits everyone
Biggest Surprise of 2023:
That I can close the deal!
That I can write and publish a book, and launch a podcast
How much I enjoyed the travel to Boulder, Baton Rouge, New Orleans (while sober and with a more fully healed leg)
That I can beautifully merge my love for travel with income-generation
Biggest Risks / Important Decisions in 2023:
Increasing my hourly rates
Contracting with FPI
Full time business owner!! No more payroll!
Releasing my tendency to seek approval from others
Biggest Challenges of 2023:
Saying no to another move (Ohio), which meant saying yes to my husband living in a separate house again.
Took on too many clients (due to scarcity mindset)
My weight and relationship with consumption.
Honing the skill of delegation.
DELIGHT is my guiding principle for 2024
High degree of satisfaction
To hold spellbound
Affording pleasure
Joy
Keen enjoyment
Delectation / consciously sought after
from the Latin delectare = "to charm," which also gives us delectable, and the same lighthearted sense of pure, uncomplicated pleasure.
I often choose supporting words (partially because it’s impossible to choose just one word for an entire year, and sometimes because they match really beautifully with the primary word). 2024 supporting words are:
Continuity – the lack of interruption or disconnection; the quality of being continuous in time.
Maintenance - keep from decline, sustain against opposition, to continue and persevere
Sovereignty - autonomous state, freedom, supreme excellence
This intention for delight is that it eeks into every possible moment of every day in 2024. I want to focus on not losing track of myself. I want to putter … more.
Weave delight into your days without ditching your daily work. All of this delight is not a fluke.
How will I anchor DELIGHT into my routine?
As I wake up
Morning playlist on the tv
Decaf coffee, setup the night before
and specifically, delightful exploration of new decaf coffee options
Early morning walks, instead of making the walk fit around the schedule
As I move through the day
Food choices that both taste delicious and are nurturing to my body
Exploration of new music, instead of relying on my old standbys
As I shut down the house:
Linen spray for my pillows
A candle to light on my bedside
As time passes, weekly / monthly
Hobbies are injected into my life, maybe pottery and flower arranging?
I regularly check in with my finances and provide a family reporting structure so everyone can support our budget goals
New furniture that is actually comfy, instead of hand-me-downs and thrift store finds
What I will say yes to this year:
Retreats! I have one scheduled in April, but I have a deep desire to schedule and plan two additional retreats, which will be hosted for others to join (exciting, right?)
Solitude, nature, travel, gardening, rest
What I will say no to this year:
Late nights
Old stories
Scattered attention
Withheld power and information
Ways I’ll show up for myself this year:
Communication, connection, boundaries
Consistency, dedication to self, devotion
Full-fledged choices and decisions
Radically transparent communication
Every year I make a playlist, and this year I’ve made some Pinterest boards for inspo:
Delight will look and smell like this, will feel like this, and you’ll find me doing more of this. My business will be full of this kind of impact, and I want my entire vibe of delight to mimic this.
I’ll be reading this by Ross Gay (Delights) and THIS by Ross Gay (MORE DELIGHTS!), and making a short playlist of delightful podcasts that I’ll share with you throughout the year.
“More wingspan unfurling, less bracing for impact.”
*Many thanks to the YearCompass for the guided (free!) workbook for reflecting on the past year and dreaming about the year to come, as well as Susannah Conway’s Unravel Your Year workbook (also free!), and Kerstin Martin’s Calm Business Review (also free!)