Put A Big Red Ribbon Around The Year...Or Not

I’ve always been one who likes to put things in boxes. Seal them up with a ribbon and put them on a shelf. From projects to relationships that have run their course.  My friend Moon refers to it as cleaning things up. Others call it closure or ending cycle. So as the last days of 2011 are upon us that is what I am drawn to do with this year. Put it in a box, tie a big red ribbon around it and because I am that organized, label it. 2011: Evolving.

That was the word I chose back in January. It was what I wanted this year to be about. Evolving. And that has held true. I evolved from writer to published author. I learned how to take a manuscript to book form, both electronically and in print. In that process I rediscovered the parts of my corporate career I still enjoyed, like selling and marketing. I could still experience the thrill of looking for markets that might buy what I have to peddle and the rush when the right ones are linked.  I evolved enough to be able to go back and take a look inside the box I had been refusing to, the one labeled corporate life and see what was inside I still could use. I discovered there were still aspects of that I had not lost my passion for and I was good at. 

I realized that in addition to being a writer and a business coach, I am a connector of people, and a wealth of information. I am an agent of change who loves to share what she knows and help others to create their own change. I evolved to a new version of myself, hopefully combining the best of what was with what has changed.

Some of you may have known all this  already. Some of you may have been on to my shift for a while.  But part of my evolution in 2011, was me owning it. 

So the question, with just a few days left of the year of evolving becomes, do I pack it all away in a box, tie another ribbon  and shelve this year as I have done so many times before ? 


I think not.

I think it is time to evolve my thought process on that as well. Instead I will sort through the events and the lessons, the ups and the downs, the successes and the blips of 2011 and decide what needs to be  put in the shredder, what needs to be saved and what I take with me moving forward.   

Among the many lessons I have learned this year is that while we can bring closure and “clean things up” on  chapters of our lives, those boxes that house those scenes can never be completely sealed shut. They hold lessons that  we need to remember and parts of us that we will build upon moving forward. Even information we can use again on another day in another year. Or people we might at some point want to or need to invite back in. 

Perhaps the thing is not to put a ribbon on the year and store it away but to organize the box that is 2011. 
Ask ourselves questions.
What did you learn? 
What will you take moving forward? 
What parts are you letting go of freely and completely? 
Did the year live up to your word? 
And what will your new word be for 2012?

I have a preference for verbs here. Mostly because they imply action. And as a change catalyst I know words are not enough without steps. My word for 2012 is being seen, which technically is two words. But perhaps that is what I have evolved to. Perhaps one word is just not enough anymore.


Happy New Year!

What is your word for 2012?     Is one enough?