Finding Focus: How Choosing Your Word of the Year Brings Clarity and Purpose

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Feeling a bit lost or stuck, especially if you’re a woman over 40?

Imagine setting sail on a journey where a single word acts as your anchor, guiding you through the year. In this episode of the Lemon Balm Coaching Podcast, I, Melissa, your friendly coach and cheerleader, invite you to explore the transformative power of choosing a guiding word. With relatable anecdotes such as road trips with my kids, I demonstrate how having a clear direction can bring purpose and joy to your life's journey, all while keeping your options open to explore new paths.

Join me as we reflect on the importance of setting intentions and how a thoughtfully chosen word can manifest your deepest desires. It's more than just picking a word—it's about choosing one that resonates and motivates, serving as your personal compass throughout the year. Grab your favorite warm beverage, get comfy, and let's embark on crafting the most beautiful chapter of your life together. Whether you're a seasoned pro at this practice or new to the idea, this episode is your perfect companion on the path to rediscovering joy and purpose.

If finding just 15 minutes of peace in your day feels impossible, you’re not alone. Life pulls you in a million directions, but YOU deserve a moment to breathe. ✨ Download Your Free Guide: "10 Ways to Create Peace in 30 Days or Less" ✨ Discover simple, practical strategies that fit into your busy life and help you reclaim your calm—one small step at a time. 📥 Grab it now and take the first step toward the peace you deserve!
Download your guide HERE

It’s time to rediscover YOU. Join the Reignite Your Flame Facebook group—a supportive community where women like you find peace, joy, and purpose. Together, we’ll nurture your mind, body, and spirit so you can shine again.  Don’t wait to start your journey back to yourself. 
Join Reignite Your Flame HERE

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Are you a woman over 40 who is on the verge of a mental or physical breakdown? Are you ready to invite peace, joy, and excitement into your life again? Download 5 Tips to Feel Joy Again in Under 20-Mintues AND Join the Reignite Your Flame Group on Facebook where women, just like you, come together to support, encourage, and connect.

Music by Adipsia

Episode Transcript

Melissa (00:06):
Do you choose a word that guides you through your
year?
Choosing a word for the year iskind of like an anchor to help
you stay focused no matter whatcomes.
Welcome to the Lemon BalmCoaching Podcast, your cozy
corner of the world where we'llsip on life's lessons and
squeeze the most out of everymoment.
I'm Melissa, your coach,cheerleader and maybe even a

(00:29):
little bit like that mom whoalways has a warm hug and the
best advice waiting for you.
If you're a woman over 40,feeling like life's left you a
little lost, aimless ordownright stuck, you're in the
right place.
This is where your joy, yourfreedom and your purpose come
back into focus.
Together, we'll laugh, learnand rediscover what makes you
come alive.

(00:49):
Because it's not too late.
This is your time, so grab acup of something warm, settle in
and let's start creating thenext most beautiful chapter of
your life together.
Do you choose a word thatguides you through your year?
Choosing a word for the year iskind of like an anchor to help

(01:11):
you stay focused no matter whatcomes, and every year I sit down
and spend some time thinkingabout what it is that I want my
coming year to look like.
Do you do that?
I set aside about 15 to 30minutes and I just think, and I
allow myself to dream a littlebit.
Everything starts with yourthoughts, your intentions, and

(01:35):
it grows from there.
Just think about it.
Your thoughts are not justfleeting ideas.
They are powerful forces thatcan shape your reality.
They can create, they candestroy, they can build up, they
can tear down, they can makeyour life incredible or
miserable.
And this power is actually inyour hands.

(01:57):
It's all up here in your brain.
Taking a few minutes to thinkabout the direction you want to
go is not just a good practice.
It's actually a critical steptowards living your life with
intention.
Look at it this way when wasthe last time you went on a road
trip I love road trips or whenwas the last time you went

(02:21):
somewhere by plane?
Or when was the last time youeven took your dog for a walk?
Did you have a plan?
Did you have a destination?
Did you know which directionyou would go, what plane or road
to take If you did, or did youjust hop in the car and drive

(02:45):
the car and drive?
Did you go to the airport andwalk up to a gate and just get
on a plane without knowing wherethe plane was headed?
Did you put any thought intowhere you would take your dog?
I'd be willing to bet that youmade a plan, even if it was just
like the skeleton of a plan.
There was one year that I was onmy way back to Texas from
Oregon and I had my daughter andI had two of my sons with me.
Now they all knew how to read aroad map.

(03:06):
Yes, we are all that old, andwhoever was in the passenger
seat got to choose the road thatwe would take.
But there was still a plan,even though the details were
open to negotiation.
The plan was that we could takeany road on the map, as long as
it was heading towards Texas.

(03:27):
So there was a destination,there was a plan, but there was
freedom in choosing how toexecute the plan, and I've got
to tell you that was actuallyone of the most fun trips,
because we went places and sawthings that we would have missed
had we not had the freedom tochoose the roads.
All that to say, there was agoal, there was a destination,

(03:50):
and life can be approached witha similar method.
You can have an overall goalbut then leave the day-to-day
open to interpretation right,you can have a word that guides
your year and helps to informyour decisions, while still
allowing yourself the freedom tosee how that goal will
materialize.

(04:10):
So, do you choose a word thatguides your year?
And if you do, I'm so proud ofyou.
But if not, why not start thisyear off choosing a word that
will guide you?
Now, I understand that it can bechallenging to choose just one
word, but remember, it's notabout finding the perfect word.
It's about finding a word thatinspires and motivates you.

(04:34):
So why is this important?
Why is it important to choose aword for the year?
If you do not know what it isthat you want, there's
absolutely no way you can get it.
The universe just doesn't workthat way.

(04:55):
There has to be an idea ofsomething before it can happen.
Someone, somewhere, must thinkof a goal, an outcome, a desire
before it can come into being.
That's how the universe works.
Somebody has to think of it.
The universe was designed thatway.

(05:17):
Energy cannot be created ordestroyed.
It can only be transferred.
That's the law of conservationof energy, also known as the
first law of thermodynamics.
Energy can only be transformedfrom one form to another, but it
can never be created ordestroyed.

(05:37):
All of the energy that willever exist is in existence
already and it can only betransferred.
Your thoughts are energy.
It's a simple statement, butthis one thing is so powerful
because your thoughts arepotential energy.

(05:59):
I'm Gen X.
I think back to a time beforecomputers, a time before cell
phones.
Someone had the thought ofcreating a computer, someone had
the thought of creating a cellphone.
That thought is potentialenergy.
The things you think can becomereality.

(06:20):
Quantum physics tells us thatyour thoughts influence the
quantum field and impact yourreality.
Your brain fires, it generateselectrical signals.
The things you think matter.
You can influence your worldfor good or evil, based on the
thoughts you think.
Every thought you think has itsown unique energetic vibration,

(06:43):
and choosing to focus onpositivity in your life will
influence the world around youwithout ever saying a word.
Saying a word, think of yourmind like a constantly
broadcasting radio station.
So we tend to think that ourthoughts are contained within

(07:06):
our brain, that our skull stopsour thoughts from getting out.
They're contained, but yourthoughts are energy that sends
ripples out into the world.
It is a constantly broadcastingradio station.
Philippians 4.8 even tells usabout the importance of our
thoughts.
The message version reads likethis Summing it all up, friends,

(07:26):
I'd say you'll do best byfilling your minds and
meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic,
compelling, gracious.
The best, not the worst.
The beautiful, not the ugly.
Things to praise, not things tocurse.
Your thoughts matter greatly toyour little corner of the world

(07:48):
and, honestly, to the wholeworld through the quantum field.
So let's talk about your wordfor your year.
Start by clearing out space andtime to think.
Block out some time in yourplanner or in your online
calendar 15 to 30 minutes whereyou can be alone with your

(08:09):
thoughts.
Allow yourself to dream for afew minutes.
Think about what you want thiscoming year.
Think about what it will looklike.
What's it going to feel like?
What's it going to sound like?
What will you be experiencingwhen your year goes according to
plan?
If you don't have a plan, what'sthat saying?

(08:30):
A failure to plan is a plan tofail.
If you do not make a plan, youare going to fail.
It's as simple as that.
You cannot get where you wantto be if you don't make a plan
to get there.
So what do you want your bankaccount to look like?
What do you want yourrelationships to look like.
Get really clear on what it isthat you want this year to bring

(08:53):
.
Maybe you want this year to bethe year you finally let go of
the stuff in your life cleaningout, decluttering.
Maybe this is the year yourebuild a broken relationship.
Maybe this is the year you payoff a credit card, whatever it
is.
Spend some time and get reallyclear on what you want.
After you've spent some timedreaming, write it all down.

(09:15):
You can use a journal page oropen a document on your computer
whatever works best for you,but writing it down is important
for a couple of reasons.
Writing physically writing notnecessarily typing it out, but
writing on a journal page or apost-it note, whatever it is
writing activates a differentpart of the brain from your
dreaming center and it'll giveyou something tangible to look

(09:38):
at as the year progresses.
To keep you focused as you lookover what you've written down,
look for common themes or commonwords that keep appearing.
Don't overthink it.
Know what you want and choose aword that supports that desire.
And this might be somethingthat just comes to mind as
you're reading over things.

(09:59):
It might not be something yousee written down, but a feeling
or an expression that comes tomind.
Know what you want and choose aword that supports that.
It could be something likeabundance or space, audacity or
joy, becoming or courage,resolve or clarity or a host of
other words.
Whatever your word is, let itbe your guide.

(10:22):
So why is choosing a word agreat place to start the year?
I've never really likedresolutions.
I feel like a resolution is aprescription for failure.
Most resolutions are alreadyfalling apart by well.
Now, here we are in the middleof January and most resolutions

(10:43):
are already on the way out thedoor.
It's really great to wantthings to be different and say
this year is going to be theyear, but just wanting it won't
make it happen.
There has to be a shift in yourmind to start the process, and
the shift comes from choosingthe direction you want to go.
A word of the year is one ofthe tools that can help start

(11:04):
that shift.
My word for the year 2025 isclarity.
I'm seeking clarity in allareas of my life.
I want my life to be inalignment with how I was
designed by my creator.
I want to be in alignment withmy creator.
I want to choose clarity as myword to keep me focused on

(11:26):
achieving those goals and othersthat I haven't even mentioned.
Clarity is so important to methat it's one of the pillars of
my coaching method.
I help my clients discover whatit is that they really want,
which is clarity.
If you don't know what you want, there is no way you can get it
and, in fact, without clarity,you're going to remain where you

(11:48):
are, you're going to be stuck.
You're going to be spinning incircles.
You're going to be stuck.
You're going to be spinning incircles.
You're going to be running onthe treadmill, going nowhere.
Clarity is the very first thingthat is required when choosing a
word for the year.
Clarity is critical for movingforward.
Clarity is not found throughintellect, but it's experienced

(12:10):
through action, and you'll hearme say that over and over again.
Action comes before clarity.
We have to do something toreally get a clear picture of
what it is that we want.
So get to work.
Set aside your 15 to 30 minutesand choose your word of the year
.
Aside your 15 to 30 minutes andchoose your word of the year.

(12:34):
Allow it to be an anchor foryou as you face the day-to-day.
Ask yourself how can I approachthis through the lens of my
word.
How can I approach this throughthe lens of clarity?
Let it inform your thoughts,let it lead your actions, let it
help you experience everymoment of the year.
Now I would love to know whatyou have chosen for your word of

(12:55):
the year, and you can send me atext message right from your
phone.
Just click the link in the shownotes and open your text
messages to tell me what yourword of the year is.
Now, if you're having a hardtime finding 15 minutes of peace

(13:16):
in your day and that feelsimpossible, you're not alone.
Life pulls you in a milliondirections, but you deserve a
moment to breathe.
So I have a free gift for you10 ways to create peace in 30
days or less, and I'll put thelink to that in the show notes.
Discover simple, practicalstrategies that fit into your
busy life and help you reclaimyour calm, one step at a time.
Grab it now and take the firststep towards the peace you

(13:39):
deserve.
So my word of the year isclarity.
What's your word?
I would love to know.
Set aside those 15 to 30minutes, get it out on paper,
write it down, allow yourintuition to bring forward that
word of the year that can helpyou, guide you and keep you

(13:59):
focused as you move forward.
Thanks so much for spending alittle time with me today on the
Lemon Balm Coaching Podcast.
I hope you're walking away withsomething that sparks joy, hope
or a fresh perspective for yourjourney.
If you loved today's episode,let's keep the conversation
going.
You can find more inspiration,coaching tips and resources over

(14:20):
at my website,lemonbalmcoachingcom.
Don't forget to follow me onsocial media for encouragement
and updates, and you'll find meon Instagram and Facebook at
Lemon Balm Coaching.
And hey, if you're looking fora supportive, uplifting
community of amazing women justlike you, come join us in the
Reignite your Flame Facebookgroup.
It's a safe, welcoming spacewhere we share, grow and cheer

(14:41):
each other on, and you can findthe link on my website or just
search for Reignite your Flameon Facebook.
Remember, honey, just beyourself.
The world needs what only youhave to offer.
Take care and I'll see you inthe next episode.