My word of the year is ‘Consistency’
Word of the year is a concept of having a word that keeps you focused on a goal… it’s a concept I’ve heard about on many a podcast I listen too! (And I listen to many!)
As a (Myers Briggs) ENFP I can be described as a ‘creative idealist’ ‘inspirer’ ‘champion’ or ‘idealist’, big titles to live up too…I can be spontaneous, enthusiastic, optimistic and am prone to embarking on projects seemingly spontaneously; cue- redecorating while my husband is away for the weekend.
These qualities can be very helpful; I can work under pressure, have a strong sense of values and can get things up and running. I see life and art-making as a puzzle and I get excited about solving problems, I deal with ease, some things that my more organised counterparts might find difficult.
However, for every strength we have it brings with it some difficulties, I like to call them ‘allowable weaknesses’. I can be guilty of not always seeing things through to an end, especially once the novelty has worn off. I can find it difficult to focus, I overthink things and I am fiercely independent. In fact the biggest thing that bothered me while I was having treatment for NHL (Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma) was losing my independence, I like to think that I am in control and the master of my destiny so I found being in the position of needing other people to support me, look after me and protect me incredibly difficult.
Having some awareness of our character and acknowledging strengths and weaknesses is extremely valuable not so that we can use them as an excuse but more so we can be a bit kinder to ourselves and attempt to put things in place that will help us. For me, I know I am good at starting things but not always finishing them… so ‘consistency’ is a word that will remind me to keep going, making lots of small decisions every day that will ultimately add up to big changes.
7 tips to see things through:
There are some things I have learnt that help me to mitigate some of my ‘allowable weaknesses’ that may be useful if, like me, you are not a ‘complete finisher’ (Belbin)
Going to a coffee shop to complete a task- its time limited and I’m there for a purpose.
Daily non- negotiable goals which satisfy my stubborn streak (I will post once a day on Instagram)
Keep notebooks, that are full of mind maps, notes and scribbles of EVERYTHING
Having a timeslot to go through my calendar. If I don’t I get overwhelmed and feel very guilty like I’m going to forget important things
Going to workshops and events with people to focus on the same task together, I get so much energy and enthusiasm from being around other people.
Setting myself clear deadlines (I usually work better just before a deadline)
Embrace bursts of energy- but have some ‘self care’ lined up so I make sure theres some balance.
What are your ‘allowable’ weaknesses? And how do you plan for them?