2009 Word-of-the-Year: PIVOT

Note: December is Word-of-the-Year Month at Christine’s Blog. As we roll into another New Year, each day will feature a new guest author who chose one word as a way of setting intention for her whole year. Today’s guest is Cathy Falter. More about Cathy below.

Pivot…. to turn on a pin

Sounds a little wimpy for a word of the year, doesn’t it?

But it was a perfect fit for my mindset when 2009 started. My 2008 was a bit much for anyone; two separate cancer diagnosis at the same time, two major surgeries on the same day, followed by chemo and radiation “treatments”. And for anyone who has taken that journey you know how exhausting it can be.

When January arrived I was ready to sign up for just turning..a bit.. with one foot firmly on the ground. Pivot.

In March I was in Asheville at Christine Kane’s retreat searching for the unstoppable power of intention. The message to me… define what I wanted to be, to do, and to have. I tried to focus on the obvious, my job and retirement, but that was more a smokescreen. For in those three days, with all the feelings of being uncomfortable and really alone, I found a peaceful silence and the sound of my inner voice….

And unable to write my thoughts down on paper.

So I came home, and just tried to pivot. Updating of my bedroom was first on the list. What a difference that made. Got a bit bolder and did a major overhaul with my lake house. Ahh… to sit there now, looking at the view, what an impact that has on me.

With the end of the year approaching, it’s clear to me that I abandoned pivot months ago replacing turning on a pin with stepping into life with long strides. And those clear thoughts of who I wanted to be, and what I wanted to do and have, that I was unable to write down, are turning into real opportunities, right before my very eyes as if I summoned them. (How’s that for the unstoppable power of intention?)

There are still a few big life decisions ahead of me that’ll be challenging. But I’m ready to make them now, with the confidence that what lies ahead, is a happier life for me. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to write it all down!

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Cathy Falter is a corporate business executive who is now in the business of making herself a priority in her own life. This includes, but is not limited to, making some of the best chocolate chip cookies in Ohio and spending time with her family and newly acquired grandchildren. She has beaten cancer three times but that does not define who she is … it rather has redefined who she wants to be.

Tagged as: new years resolutions, word-of-the-year

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