Back in July last year I shared a blog post about the Monthly Mantras I’d been choosing in lieu of a Word for the Year.
Today I want to share the words I picked for the remainder of last year and what they meant to me.
If you haven’t picked a word for the year why not choose a monthly mantra to steer you for the next month and see how that goes? You may decide to stick with it for the rest of the year or choose a different one each month depending on what’s going on in your life.
Monthly Mantras – July to December 2019
July – Connection
July was a month of social engagements and networking. I also set up the FTGE Facebook group. We had a family holiday to Scotland and I wanted a reminder to use every opportunity to form connection.
Connection is one of my Core Desired Feelings.
August – Balance
When I was throwing around ideas for August I quickly skipped past Balance – which is one of my Personal Values – as it didn’t feel achievable! But I quickly realised as I threw other words into the ring (adventure, routine, celebration, relaxing) that Balance was exactly what I should be focusing on that month.
August meant it was the Summer Holidays in the UK so my son was home. And he celebrated turning 9. I wanted to get to the end of the Summer break and be able to look back knowing we had fun and spent quality time together but that I also kept other things (the blog, social media, house work, creativity, food & exercise) ticking along as well.
And that’s where balance came in. As a Libra I am intrigued by balance and it’s something I often struggle with. In certain aspects of my life I can be All-or-Nothing…and Balance doesn’t get a look in.
I wanted to be mindful of balance. I wanted to remind myself that:
- days spent at home can be just as much fun as days out
- this introvert needs to seek out quiet time amongst the noise
- I can enjoy an ice-cream AND the homegrown lettuce
- we can do things on a whim and not have it all planned out.
September – Fresh
September makes me think of Fresh Starts. I used to love pencil-case shopping for back to school (& still use it as an excuse to look for new stationery)! When I thought of Fresh it led me to:
- Start,
- Ideas,
- Food and
- Air
- plus Freshen Up.
In September I wanted to freshen up my routines so that I was putting more time and effort into my writing. I also wanted to make the most of the sunshine and summer vibes and get outside and eat lots of fresh salad and fruit while it was still available.
October – Magical
For October I chose MAGICAL for my monthly mantra. I’ve always found Autumn to be magical plus it’s my birthday month and there’s Halloween right at the end so it felt like a good choice! We also returned to New Zealand for a visit in October and I knew that I wanted that trip to be magical. I was ready to look for magic in daily life.
Magical is one of my Core Desired Feelings.
November – Adapt
I didn’t choose November’s word until a little bit into the month. We returned from our New Zealand trip on the 9th of the month full of jet-lag and feeling discombobulated. Adapt seemed to be the right fit. I wanted to get back into the right time-zone, guide us all back into regular daily life and get back into the swing of things. I was also adapting to the change of seasons and light levels as Autumn took hold. Plus I had some recent changes to my health that I needed to adapt to.
December – Peace
I chose this word in retrospect right at the end of the year. It took longer to adapt then I’d expected and December snuck up on me. I ended up needing to relax and rest and let things go. I made a conscious decision for less stress, rushing and busy-ness. And most of all I needed to make peace with the year and everything that had happened (I’ll be honest and say that in February 2020 I’m still working on that! And hope to share more soon).
Peace is one of my Core Desired Feelings.
Did Choosing Monthly Mantras Work for Me?
It’s interesting to look back at the words I chose over the course of the year.
5 of the words chosen (Nourishment, Spark, Connection, Magical and Peace) are my 5 Core Desired Feelings and I think this has helped me realise that those words are still very important to me. Two of the words (Love and Balance) are Personal Values of mine.
Towards the end of the year I felt less connected to this project. I was late picking the words each month but I did still continue. And I think there was value in selecting words midway through the month and even in retrospect. I’m glad I did it. I enjoyed having a different theme each month and I’d recommend giving it a go – particularly if choosing one word for the whole year is daunting.
Forward into 2020
In 2020 I haven’t chosen a single word for the year and I’m not currently choosing a monthly mantra. Instead I have some themes for the year and I am setting goals relating to the themes. I’ll be sharing more about this with you very soon.
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Do you have a theme word this year or this month? If so do let me know. I love seeing what other people choose.