For the last four years, I have put aside resolutions in favor of choosing a Word of the Year. I wrote last year in more detail about the first four years. You can read about that here.
This year, however, for the first time I couldn’t choose one word. There were three of them that circled around, whispering in my ear, “pick me, pick me, pick me…..”
One stood out, slightly ahead of the other two, and yet the other two wouldn’t back down.They argued their points and I was convinced. Clearly, I needed all three.
So this year…I chose three words. Unstoppable, Abundance and Serenity.
I thought that was pretty good. I was happy, satisfied and well on my way to charting out the course of 2012 with my intentions firmly in place.
Until I asked the very first question in my intention journal.
So HOW am I going to have an UNSTOPPABLE, ABUNDANT and SERENE 2012?
Hmmmm.
A new word popped right up and raised its hand. “Really?” I asked, “How many of you do I need, anyhow?”
This one was different, it explained. It wasn’t that it wanted to be a Word of the Year, it wanted to apply for the job of Word of the Year Assistant.
“Assistant? My words needed an assistant? They need help to get me where I wanted to go this year?”
I peered closer at the little four-lettered word. Its name was RISK.
“And just what exactly do you think you can do to help my Words for this year, Mr. Risk?” I asked, peaking over my glasses.
The little word puffed up with courage and explained boldly. “You see, it goes like this. Without me—RISK—you can’t be unstoppable because every time a new challenge pops up, you will be tempted to chicken out and play it safe. My nemesis, EXCUSES will get in there and put a STOP to your UNSTOPPABLEness. And you know as soon as Ol’ EXCUSES shows up, there goes your ABUNDANCE too, because everywhere EXCUSES goes, he brings his buddy LACK with him.”
Mr. Risk shuddered as if he had seen a ghost. “Those two cause a heck of a lot of trouble for folks. Scary lot, them two.”
I had to admit, I was interested. I sat back in my chair to ponder. He had a point. In the past, every time I had been shut down and stopped from my goals, it was because I had given in to EXCUSES. And yes, I could point to several—many several times to be honest—that EXCUSES had led to LACK in my life.
But I was puzzled. “What you say makes a lot of sense, but I am confused about one little thing.” I leaned in closer, sure I had him figured out. “How is a little word like RISK going to bring me more serenity in my life? If you ask me, there doesn’t seem to be any serenity at all when I’m taking risks, in fact, it can be hair-raising and terrifying!”
The confident little word beamed. He sat up even straighter and placed his hands calmly in his lap. “Ah,” he said, “you see, that is actually where I do my best work. It’s true that when you are taking risks, it can seem very scary and and alarming. But as you work through the risks, what you find is that you are stronger and more capable than you ever thought. You discover that you can accomplish more and receive more into your life than you ever dreamed possible. Abundance starts to appear more rapidly. And as you move into a state of Abundance instead of Lack, your fears begin to drift away. The frustrations that have plagued you melt away too. And in their place, you become filled with a state of serenity and peace. It all goes together perfectly well, don’t you think?”
I didn’t respond at first. I was speechless. The way he explained it seemed so easy and doable. I suddenly began to see how powerful the word Risk could be to my goals of being Unstoppable, and living a life filled with abundance and serenity.
In fact, not having him around was beginning to look like a recipe for disaster.
I stretched out my hand. “Mr. Risk, you are hired. Welcome to the team.”
Looks like it’s going to be an unstoppable, abundant, serene and risky New Year.
