Happy New Year!  We are going to kick off the year with a series about rebooting ourselves for 2021.  We will start by reflecting to find our one word or phrase to be our north start this year.   This blog is partially inspired by a conversation I had with Bronson Hayes at the end of 2020.  Thanks my man.

One of the practices I go through at the beginning of the year is taking time to reflect on and choose a word or phrase that will be my north star for the year.  To get there I ask myself things like: What went well?  Where could things have been better?  What do I want to achieve?  How do I want to feel about things?  Here’s a blog with more ideas on how to identify your one word. 

This year my word is EMBRACE.  As I reflected on last year, I realized I allowed myself to believe I was more powerless than what I really am.  I found myself feeling small instead of leaning in.  This year, I need to be different.  My family needs me to be different.  My team needs me to be different.  This year instead of shrinking away I need to lean in and EMBRACE everything and everyone that comes my way.  By EMBRACE, I mean that I will actively try to wrap my arms around things.  I will EMBRACE moments and lean in, even if I’m scared and unsure.  I’ll EMBRACE the suck and the crappiness for what it is.  I’ll EMBRACE the process for the results.  I will EMBRACE the people, and I will hug and hold them so hard they will feel the love through their computer screens.

How might this connect with us?  I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that sometimes it is easy to get lost in the variety of goals I set for myself.  Over time, I’ve learned that the clearer the vision I have for where I am going, the more likely I am to reach my destination.  Having this north star helps me move in the right direction and tends to ensure I take care of all the other meaningful things in the process.

The challenge: What is your one word or short phrase for the year?  What is your north star? 

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry