The Power of New Beginnings

By Nancy Zwiers

“For a web begun, God sends the thread.” 

-This old proverb was inspired by spiders who miraculously produce the silk they need for their web as they weave. 

As 2022 begins, what will you begin?  New beginnings are ripe with endless possibilities.  New beginnings give us the opportunity to reflect on the choices we have made in our lives and decide what we want to start or do more of and what we want to do less of (or stop altogether).

Numerous frameworks can support us in the natural process of renewal, and here are just a few:

• What are your three most important values that reflect what’s important to you in how you “show up” in your life, and how do you want to actualize these values in the coming year? Mine top three values are Health/Vitality, Freedom, and Connectedness and I can organize my intentions into these broad categories.  What values infuse your life with purpose and how do you want to lean-in to them in the coming year?

• What is your purpose statement and how can you embody it ever more fully going forward? My purpose statement is to “Dance through life playfully, with loving generosity.”  What purpose statement calls you forth?  How do you want to show up more aligned with your purpose in the new year?

• What are your intentions within the 5 Domains of Wellness?
  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Social
  • Spiritual
  • Intellectual
    • Note that another model refers to the 7 Dimensions of Wellness, which includes the five above as well as Environmental and Occupational.

• You can make up your own annual planning process outline. For example, my colleague and fellow executive coach at CMO Coaches, @Jennifer Leuer, has put together an annual personal planning process that includes four steps:
  • Non-judgmental Reflection—what worked, what didn’t
  • Goal Clarification through the filter of your heartfelt desires (not “shoulds”)
  • Financial Health Assessment/Intention Setting
  • Physical Health Assessment/Intention Setting

For greater inner peace and receptivity to the flow of life, consider replacing goals with intentions.

Intentions speak to a general orientation of what you want to contribute with your life without specifying what it actually looks like.  It creates a mindset that is less stressed, more playful, and more mindful of the good and abundance. For most of my career, I was very goal-oriented and driven (and always striving).  As I have gained more wisdom, I realize “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”  I concluded that intentions can be better than goals in that they allow for the serendipitous, impossible-to-plan events or situations that can lead to your greater good.  For example, I wouldn't have set a goal that I would be recruited by Spin Master in 2015, but my intention to leverage my decades of experience in toys and children's entertainment to help others was aligned with this unpredictable opportunity.   Some examples of my goals that I replaced with more generalized intentions:

                    Goal                                                                                 Intention                                                        

Write a book about play                                                  Share what I’ve learned about play with others

Go on three international trips                                         Follow my curiosity and explore the world

Regardless of whether you resonate with goals or intentions, the key is to begin!  Take meaningful action to move in the direction of your dreams.                                  

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe