Hello Fellow Phoenicians,
In a recent Self Leadership class, I shared a story about using Focus Words each year. The class grabbed onto the thought and we invested some time in discussion. So, I thought I would share with our leadership at Phoenix and launch a challenge for anyone who wants to play along.
Focus Words are individual words that help you (and only you) FOCUS on what is, or could be, most important to you in the coming year. They are powerful tools when used correctly. For instance, last year my Focus Words were Bridge, Deepen and Table.
Bridge = build a bridge between your opportunities, connect your clients, link your circles of influence to create impact.
Deepen = let go of small relationships with time consuming clients and deepen the relationships with just a few where you feel you can make a significant difference.
Table = always be wanted at the table. Add value to all you do. EARN your seat every day.
As a result of these Focus Words – I enjoyed an awesome 2018. I connected several of my clients in learning situations, even invited a student of mine to sit in on a Phoenix class and have a coaching session with Phil. I connected the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Missouri Division of Tourism and found several advertising opportunities for both. My school foundation partnered with several of my clients to help children. Deepen was my most awesome word – – it allowed me to see the possibility of becoming a part of Team Phoenix on a more consistent and impactful level. And Table has increased my coaching opportunities immensely.
In 2019 my three words are: LIGHTEN, NOW AND FEED.
Lighten = In my work I want to make things easier for others – lighten their loads. But I also want to lighten the heaviness I put onto some projects and know when it is time to pull the trigger and run with it. Not labor so intensely on EVERY little detail but lighten up and let it soar!
Now = enjoy the now. Embrace the power of the moment and enjoy it. Find the biggest opportunities in the moments and not be so focused on the future that I miss the opportunity of the present. Examine the now and maximize it.
Feed = invest in feeding things and relationships I sincerely want to grow. We all have many hungry issues in our lives. I want to spend resources feeding those that I want to grow.
What are your 2019 Focus Words?
SEE
That is my word this year. I chose this word because this upcoming year I want to lift my head from my own selfish desires and SEE the world God has put before me.
I want to look around and SEE the needs of others and how I can help them.
I want to SEE the good things and that bad that will change me, for better or worse.
I want to SEE the people in front of me. I want to experience life with them instead of looking back at my adventures and realizing that I wasn’t actually living in the moment.
I want to SEE my faults and my mistakes so that I can get the opportunity to say I’m sorry.
Most importantly I want to SEE God. I want to notice what He is doing in my life and the lives around me.
The thing is though, none of this will happen without me taking action. I can have all this talk and put my word as a new years resolution but of what importance is it if I don’t act on it?
To be able to see things, I’m going to love, search, lift my head, get off my device, pick my head out of my book, notice the details, and most of all pray throughout this journey.
My 2019 FOCUS words are CELEBRATE, VACATION, AND STOP
CELEBRATE- I am a big goal setter and sometime I get discouraged along the way because it is taking a long time to achieve what I had originally set. In 2019 I want to CELEBRATE all the small winnings I have along the way to some of my big goals for the next year!
VACATION- Many people have heard the saying ” Stop wishing your life away” or “don’t just live for Friday”. In 2019 I want to find a VACATION in every single day. Everyone knows what it feels like to step back and relax and be on VACATION and I want to have more of those moments in every single day and not just one week out of the year.
STOP- I am so excited about this Focus Word because I want to truly work on STOPINNG and thinking “does this need my reaction” or “Will this show my true character” or ” Why is this happening” vs. my immediate need to react to a situation. I throw myself at a lot of projects and situations before fully analyzing the outcome. I am so excited to STOP and become more patient and be able to give my full undivided attention to 2019!
My focus word for 2019 is BEST
Be my BEST…take a look into my inner self and work at being the best person I can be. I want to be a positive influence, a role model and leader.
Do my BEST…in everything I do, did I do my best?
Seek the BEST…in situations and in people. I think it is so important to seek the best part of all situations and see the good in people. Life is too short not to.
My 2019 word is EMBRACE.
– That I may EMBRACE today for all the good I am blessed with.
-That I EMBRACE the challenges in my life so I may become a stronger
person.
-That I EMBRACE tomorrow for I am one of the fortunate to have hope
that tomorrow is a better day.
-That I may EMBRACE others for their uniqueness. That I may love
them for who they are and where they are in life.
– That I may always EMBRACE change and find the excitement in new
opportunities.
My focus word is JOY!
Definition of joy:
1a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3 : a source or cause of delight
I am teaching myself to look for the joy in every situation–spiritual life, family life, work life. I am deepening my relationship with God by diving deeper into the bible–which is allowing me to dive deeper into all relationships.
This is better than making new year resolutions !
I want my word to focus on …”Be”
Be alive and active and alert to changes around me. Be a mover!
Be present and in each moment.
Be excited!
Be thoughtful of God in everything I do and be thankful.
My focus words are:
Peace—I truly believe that if you have the peace of God in your heart, then all your obstacles, trials, challenges will not get your down. Just knowing that God has your back and is on your side gives me so much peace.
Healthy–Not only am I trying to get healthy physically, but I want to be healthy emotionally, spiritually, etc.
Vacation–I am stealing this from Lorra. 🙂 I am guilty of living for the weekends, rushing time, etc. For example, I am going to the KC playoff game next Saturday. I can’t wait. I want the remaining days to hurry. But, this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I want to see each day as a vacation. I will start that right now. My 4yr. daughter asked if we could paint after dinner tonight. I look forward to the bonding time with her. Also the weather is going to be beautiful this weekend! 🙂
Blessings,
Tiffanie
My words for this year; Conscience- con meaning with and science meaning knowledge. To have knowledge about my surroundings, office, client and employee. To be conscience of these will bring success.
live- not to just exist. To live every moment in and out of business, office will bring joy.
Family- my work family are the people I’m around most. This is important for everyone to acknowledge. be conscience of your family and live life to its fullest with joy.
I do love this time of year when I get to pick a new focus word for the year. I’ve done this for the last 2 years now and its so exciting to look back and see what happened because of my focus on these things. In 2017, I focused on growth. In 2018, I focused on strength.
For 2019, I am going to stretch myself and grab hold of TWO words! I will focus on DEVELOPMENT & THE JOURNEY. My plans for Phoenix Recruitment include new processes, roles, and team members that we haven’t had in place before. My desire is to continue growing, strengthening and developing not only Phoenix Recruitment as a support department, but also each individual who makes up our team. We are on a new leg of our journey as a company and I’m blessed to be a part of it. In my personal life, I’m about to be a mommy! Words cannot describe my feelings about this new journey and the personal character development I will experience in the moments soon to come.
I feel that I am on a path of newness… New journeys, new processes, new roles, and new life. My prayer is that God continues to mold me into the best me that I can be.
Congratulations on your upcoming new role ! Being a mother is such a blessing!
My words for 2019 are Growth and Presence.
Growth: I want to focus on my Growth at Phoenix, the growth of my CDS Team, and my growth of knowledge. Along with growth in other more personal areas as well. I have set goals that I would like to see myself reach personally, professionally, and especially within my role here at Phoenix. Those goals are very important to me and I believe with hard work and dedication I can make those goals a reality. Intermingled with my professional goals are personal ones that I have developed and refined during my time here at Phoenix. It wasn’t until I started working at Phoenix that I realized just how much a positive step and growth in one aspect of my life can impact all the others. As I have grown in the Phoenix Culture I have chosen to take those lessons I have learned and apply them to other areas of my life. I have seen amazing returns in my life by doing this. I cant wait to see what actually focusing my energy on that will bring this year.
Presence: I chose presence because I feel like there are times where I get so wrapped up in the daily work of getting things done that I tune out and miss those opportunities to really be present in each moment. I want to make the time to develop my relationships and truly be present with my co-workers, consumers, friends, and family. I truly believe that the relationships we have and the impression we leave in the lives of others is our most important contribution in life. The impact we can have on others with just a few small actions or words can change someones whole outlook and perspective. It’s our choice if that impression is a positive or negative one. I am choosing to leave a positive impression by being present and actively involved in life.
My focus words for this year are Faith and Create.
Faith: I need more Faith in my life. Not just spiritually, but in many things I do daily. My mind has a tendency to over-think and over-analyze many situations that don’t necessarily require excessive thought. I realize I can sometimes spend too much time worrying and then I don’t do as much as I could to make progress toward my goals. I want to have more faith that when I know I’ve done my best, that is enough and everything will work out. Needlessly worrying will not change the outcome. If it’s meant to be, it will be, and that will set me free to move on and be happier in my daily life.
Create: I have always considered myself a creative person but have fallen away from the habit of ‘creating’ as often as I used to. It makes me happy to create art, write or do crafty things, and increases the creative thoughts that I apply to my work. This is a form of self-care that I look forward to and will help me continue to grow.
My focus word for 2019 is STRETCH.
As we enter a new journey with a new software program in 2019 my role as PDN Program Manager will definitely be stretched. My role and job duties will change and shift and sometimes that is uncomfortable and scary. But what does an athlete do before every practice and performance? They STRETCH! Because it’s healthy! It prevents injury! Perhaps becoming too comfortable in one’s role in the workplace can be detrimental to their performance. I’m looking forward to being stretched and embracing whatever is placed before me with joy, happiness and peace knowing that God is within me, so I shall not fail!
My focus word is PAUSE
Sometimes we are so caught up in the moment or focused on our personal agenda we completely miss an opportunity to celebrate a win, embark on a new path, or fail to see the message someone is trying to communicate.
On sales calls, I have learned over the years when I want to respond after someone is done talking I wait one more beat. Often times, that beat allows the person to continue on with a thought, go down a different path than you thought they were originally and just shows the personal interest we take when investing in conversation and communicates we believe they are important. I want to make sure I am doing that with everyone I talk to. Everyone has a story to share and I want to hear it in it’s entirety.
Pause when you are challenged or hear a new idea. Don’t jump to an emotional response. Pause, think, reflect and then respond.
Pause to take care of yourself–we all need to rest, workout, pray, read -we need to pause from the business so we can fill our buckets and avoid burnout
Pause to enjoy the moment and be present in it
Pause and be thankful for each breath, each moment and each smile
GROW
My focus word of the year is GROW.
GROW as a Person – This brings on many roles. A Mother, Wife, My relationship with Christ. Life is crazy, and I find myself running in circles between church, soccer practice for my son, my daughters multiple sports. Its not just enough to go to church, I need to take time to for myself. To GROW in Christ and at the same time, GROW as a person.
GROW in Leadership – With new roles, come new responsibilities. GROWing and Learning as a leader and supervisor is a big thing for me this year.
Wonderful focus word, Joclynn! GROW is so positive and forward thinking. The BEHAVIORS attached to GROW are many: Learning, Stretching, Nurturing, Challenging, Fostering. . .
Can’t wait to see your progress!
TT