Do you have a theme for your year?

After 2020, I wasn’t going to write a new year posts. I think we’ve all had enough change and disruption to last a lifetime over the past few months, so starting off this year with a new theme or “One Word” or whatever else inspires you, seems a little out of touch. If anything, the theme of the past few months continues to hold true: Survival.

I usually feel pretty motivated at the start of a new year, not in the sense of proclaiming a new year’s resolution or anything like that, but I’ve seen it as a way to reset and reprioritize. Being in tax, it’s a natural transition into the new tax season. However, last year, I was super-motivated and even jumped on the bandwagon of selecting a “One Word” for the year. You know what it was? It was Adventurous. Good God, was that the wrong word for 2020. It was adventurous like travelling through Dante’s rings of hell.

This year I’m just as adventurous, but slightly less motivated to recalibrate just yet. My thoughts about writing a new year’s post changed last night when I read a friend’s post, Even Liptsick. Amie wrote about getting dressed up for New Year’s Eve with her husband, even though she was sick and not able to attend a party for a friend. You can read her story to learn more and find out why she titled her post Even Lipstick. FYI, I grew up in Mary Kay country so I can completely understand the point.

So I don’t have a One Word this year. If I had a word, it would be survival. This applies to so many topics right now: health, businesses, economic, political, societal, and cultural. But, I’m an optimist and think we’ll eventually be fine. Survivability does sometimes require adventurousness, at least in my mind. So, I’m keeping adventurous around, not as a one word for the year, but as a mindset that I’ve adopted. But I don’t see it only as the type of adventure up a mountain or across a global trek. I can find adventure even when locked down at home. Sometimes it’s trying a new recipe and other times it’s learning a new skill online. I learned that adventurous can be seeking out things that inspire me and bring me joy.

Even for work, if I see a new “no code” hack from Jason Staats or a hear about a new software from Cloud Accounting podcast, I’ll research it or learn it, and implement it in my own workflow. Slowly it gets picked up by others and I never had to ask for permission to do anything. I just did it and brought everyone else along.

So, my closing thoughts as we enter into the new year and the new tax season, find some adventure to help you survive the challenges of COVID and the disruption that continues in our businesses, lives, and communities. I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!