Word of the year

12 January 2022 by Marcia Francois Leave a Comment

My word of the year recap for 2021 – play

My word of the year for 2021 was play and for the most part it was a good word in that it invited me to hold things loosely and to choose play over work sometimes.

Let me share what play looked like for me in 2021:

I redid a photography course from 2012, Superhero Photo, and loved it. I also brought my big camera with me on holidays and intentionally played with it a lot. I also found some old cameras which I also used – sometimes it’s freeing to only have to focus on composition and how pleasing framing is to the eye, and nothing else.
I went on intentional photo drives during autumn and winter, my favourite seasons.
I read 152 books, 43 of them audio, which is a particularly playful way of reading for me as I so enjoy a well-narrated book. The question, “what sounds like play?” became very important.
On that note, I did Gretchen’s #read21in2021 and cleared 32 books from my non-fiction bookshelf. I’m going to write some more on this because I learned so many useful things about my project style.

We went on four holidays – Drakensberg, Clarens (twice) and Ballito.
I brought back 1:1 dates with the kids.
I watched the most TV I’ve ever watched in my entire life – Nine Perfect Strangers, Kim’s Convenience, Marriage Contract, Lula Rich, Mare of Eastown, and Grace and Frankie for the second time, amongst others.
I went to Zumba at three different gyms, chasing the most fun classes.
I did Susannah Conway’s three photo challenges – April Love, August Break and December Reflections, and Laura Tremaine’s May photo challenge too.
I went to the ballet with two friends – one of the highlights of my year.

All in all, a good year of play.

I have chosen a new word for this year and I will tell you all about it next week 😉

How was your 2021 word? Do you feel like you lived it out enough? How can I help you more?

(I am planning to write at least one more blog post, maybe two, on how to make your word real to you in a practical way).

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13 January 2021 by Marcia Francois 3 Comments

{goals} my word of the year for 2021 – play

At the risk of stating the extreme obvious, 2020 was not an easy year for many of us.

As I was contemplating a word for 2021, nothing came to mind. Literally nothing.

I got busy tidying, decluttering and sorting papers as I do at the end of every year, and I found a printable from a course I did – one of those word cloud things.

A word jumped out at me – PLAYFUL.

And immediately I knew my word of the year was PLAY.

I’m not a naturally playful person and I feel that this word will help me not only have fun again but also be more playful in spirit. I considered having fun as my word again but I like to choose new words every year, at least for now.

Why play?

I love that it’s a verb which means I need to take action to make it happen.
I want to do some fun projects – I’ve already identified Superhero Photo, a course I did 9 years ago. I found all the emails the other day and they brought me such joy that I can’t wait to play along again. I’m an upholder so I will happily and successfully complete a project like this all on my own. And bonus – I get to play with my big camera again.
I also noticed that when I participate in Instagram challenges purely focussed on creativity and the actual photos instead of what the grid is supposed to look like or not, and your engagement levels, etc. (none of which I pay attention to but that inner critic is always reminding me of the shoulds), I’m so happy. I take pleasure in posting a picture of the day. If it ties in remotely to what’s happening in my life, I might write a sentence or two otherwise, just posting is so freeing.
I want to design and write a new workshop on personalities which definitely feels like play to me.
I’d also like everything to feel more like play than work – so to infuse a sense of play into things. How can I make this more playful? more fun? E.g. reading never feels like work but I do sometimes think, “hmm, I need to read a few more non-fiction books” and this year, I want everything to feel more playful.

So how am I going to keep this top of mind?

I make a folder on my computer every year called Marcia’s favourites. A few weeks ago I spent a few hours while listening to a book scrolling through about 5 years of my favourite photos. Some are favourites because the landscape or scenery is breathtaking. But many are favourites because of everyday delights, like the way the light reflected off something, or a beautiful flower or item found in an unexpected place, etc.

I then copied the photos that felt playful to me into a new folder called play, and I’ve made a collage which I printed and put in front of me on the wall in front of my desk to remind me daily of my word.

In previous years, I have had jewellery made like a ring or a necklace. Some of these items have been passed on, like the TRUST necklace that I passed onto a friend going through a divorce. I might still do this because I love wearing a reminder and it prompts conversation which is always nice.

I also recommend making an image with your word and saving it as your lock screen on your phone so you see it hundreds of times every day.

What is your word for 2021? How will you remind yourself of your word to keep it top of mind?

Can you believe this is year 13 of choosing a word?! Here is a full list of all my words over the years:

2009 – simplify
2010 – consolidate
2011 – courage
2012 – create
2013 – trust
2014 – shine
2015 – enough
2016 – joy
2017 – give
2018 – fun
2019 – bold
2020 – light
2021 – play

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11 January 2021 by Marcia Francois Leave a Comment

{goals} word of the year – 2020 recap of LIGHT

My word for 2020 was light. You can read more about my word here.

I think that my word was a great one for 2020; I looked for light through consciously choosing to use my big camera at least once a month (that was my goal) but managed to play with photos much more during most months.

Like the rest of the world, I really had to fight to see the light some days but I like to think I brought light through my posts on Instagram, this blog, my newsletter but most of all, through my workshops and coaching.

I ran two in-person workshops this year before the pandemic and six during lockdown on Zoom – 6 Four Tendencies workshops and 2 Love Languages workshops. I like to think that i helped those 66 people receive clarity and see some light in themselves and their relationships. Let me know if you want to come to the next Love Languages workshop in February.

I also coached 10 A M A Z I N G clients and every single coaching hour was a true delight 🙂

I am just a little bit lighter physically and I definitely have been holding onto things much more lightly in terms of expectations from people. On the whole, I can’t say that I have lightened up though because this year felt heavy for me for the most part.

I was working through my Let’s Do This 2021 workbook (you can get your free one here) a few weeks ago. One of the questions is “in a word, 2020 was…” and immediately I wrote illuminating. I wrote it and then gasped as I had a realisation that it tied into my word so beautifully.

So much about people were illuminated to me through the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the US election, etc. and honestly, I don’t ever think I’ll be the same.

I’m going into 2021 a little battle-scarred, definitely have more grey hair and wrinkles, but I am hopeful and optimistic that this year will be better.

I’m still not sure of my word for 2021 but I’m also in no rush – that is what 2020 has taught me. You just can’t wish or force things to be.