Joyful New Year Dear One! 

This is the week many folks are back to work after the holidays, and the mood in the air is HUSTLE. It’s like all of society is whispering breathlessly in our ears: Do all the things NOW to make up for your slovenly ways over the holidays!

Well, we know better than to get caught up in that, don’t we? 😉

One of the things I’m continually trying to hit home with my coachees and myself (!) is that constantly being “busy” doesn’t make you successful.

A truly successful and fulfilled life lies in having organized, focused productivity time combined with wide open space for rest, self-connection, and inspiration.

Inspiration for slowing down the hustle

I read this passage the other day from Robin Sharma (the author of the “5am Club” and “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari”) from his new book “The Everyday Hero Manifesto”:

Legendary producers are professional resters. The people who are able to consistently perform extraordinary work are those who out-focus, out-invent and out-work everyone around them. When they work, they really, really work… and after they’ve expressed their mastery in a hot burst of gargantuan glory, they go dark. Yes… they go ghost. Unavailable. Invisible. They regenerate. They refuel. They replenish. They renew. They read. They walk. They improve their cooking, watch great films and have fun with their family. And they nap (napping is my secret weapon).

And similar messages have been popping up for me all over the place this past week.

Word of the year: NOT hustle

I did my word of the year process the other day (and yes, my Word of the Year Workshops are happening next week… more below!), and I was curious to uncover what energy would be best for me to embody for this year ahead in which I’m working on getting a book written amongst all my other commitments – coaching and teaching, expanding the Animal Justice Academy, running my business, consulting with non-profits, my other various forms of activism, and, of course, my own wellness.

This will call for incredible focus and productivity, but it also requires me to be able to reach deep for inspiration and unleash my creativity.

Tall order, huh?

Well, the energy I found using the various word-of-the-year exercises is… FLOW.

YES! Flow has momentum and power, yet there’s an aspect of surrender and just being that allows one to tap into the muses.

Then I made a word board with supporting qualities like allow, prolific, and deep, and it’s feeling like just the compass I need for the year.

Third message is the charm…

Then last night, my dear friend Jo-Anne McArthur (world-renowned photographer and founder of the brilliant We Animals Media) told a story in our meditation group that was the third delivery of a similar message…

A young family friend of hers decided as a teenager, just three years ago, to begin training in ballet. Well, much to everyone’s surprise, this young woman recently scored a spot in a prestigious ballet company! This is unheard of since most professional ballet dancers have been training since they were 5.

When Jo asked the young woman’s dad how she managed it, he said, “She’s disciplined…and free”.

I love this idea! It means putting productive structures/routines into place to facilitate the building of what is meaningful to you, and then using that structure to tap into your unique magic, love, and wild creativity from which all powerful things flow.

Disciplined and Free

My precious changemaker… I wish a dose of this for you in 2022, as well as the other qualities your unique life calls for this year. After all, we’ve got important things to create in this precious year ahead!

Hugs, Kimberly

P.S. If you’d like me to take you personally through the powerful and innovative “Word of the Year” process, I’ve got two Zoom workshops happening next week (more info below). In order to keep these workshops really intimate and interactive, I’m capping them at 10 participants max. Hope you’ll join us