Your Word of the Year with Alexa Howell (Part One)

Ever wondered how a single word could shape your entire year? Join us in this captivating episode with Alexa Howell, a distinguished branding and web designer renowned for her unique approach to personal branding. We dive into the mystical power of choosing a word for the year, exploring Alexa's expert four-step process.

In this transformative episode, we'll unravel the significance of reflecting on the past year and setting intentions for the future. Discover how your chosen word becomes a guiding force for decisions, big and small. This isn't just a conversation; it's a journey through personal growth and decision-making, led by Alexa's insightful expertise.

In this episode, we talk about the following:
1. The importance of taking time for reflection and intention setting.
2. Using your word of the year to simplify goal-setting and decision-making processes.
3. Embracing flexibility and personalization when selecting your word of the year.

Connect with Alexa:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexa.c.howell/

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 2:07

Are you a woman who runs the world but know you need a little support to Listen up? Through coaching clients and pursuing my own health and ambitions, I've found getting to a goal takes more than just willpower. It takes a mindset restart and learning how to adjust and not quit. In this podcast, you'll hear from women out there leading the way in momentum, and I'll be sharing impactful mindset strategies to help you get out of your own way. Whether you're on a health journey, starting your life after a big change or trying to keep up momentum towards your passion project, with all the ups and downs, this is for you. It's time to decrease the things that hold you back and increase the things that move you forward towards a life that you want. I'm Amber Bebelheimer and this is the Momentum Restart Podcast.

Speaker 2: 2:59

This is Momentum Restart Podcast and I am your host. Coach Amber B, do you have your word chosen for the year? If you do, congratulations, that's great. I want you to keep listening because today's going to help you really refine it. If you don't guess what, there's permission today to know that there is no rule that says you have to have everything figured out on January 1st. We're going to be talking through this over the next few weeks actually on the podcast about how you can take the whole month of January or you can do this anytime throughout the year actually or you take time to process what it is that you want, what's working, what's not working. When I help clients determine their 90-day plans and then they put those to the test and they put those into action, those are regular intervals throughout the year where we pause and we really consider what's working, what's not, where do I want to go? Who do I want to be? How do I want to feel at the end of this year? Choosing your word, especially using this process today, choosing your word, helps you to be able to show up in that way. It helps you reflect, it helps you get clear on where you're going and it helps you move forward to that life that you want.

Speaker 2: 4:26

I've invited Alexa Howell, who is a branding and web and graphic designer, who has such a beautiful way that she brings about your brand. I've experienced this as her client as well. She has helped develop the brand for Momentum Restart and Coach Amber B. I'm actually due for a refresh. I need to reach out to Alexa to schedule a refresh for my branding because it's been a few years, because it's so good I've been able just to take what she gave me and put it into place over the last few years. She has this beautiful process to really ask questions and dig deep into who you are and why you want something and help you step into that in your brand. With that, she also has this really powerful way of determining what your word is for the year.

Speaker 2: 5:21

Now in the Momentum Restart Accelerator we and in my private coaching practice I always have clients choose a word. I always have them choose one word and we use that word as a filter to make decisions. We use that as a filter to determine when a new opportunity comes in and if that's something that you should really be grabbing a hold of right now or maybe it's not a line. It's really making a decision in advance by having a word knowing this is where I'm going to be focusing on, and today Alexa shared with us not only the four-step process, which I love and use every year, so I'm so excited for you to grab a pen and paper and dig in but she also shared why it's important and some really key things to think through when you're creating your word, so that it really is yours it's not something that somebody else maybe said you should have or should do and making sure that it's just yours.

Speaker 2: 6:21

So here's part one of my interview with Alexa, as she shared why you need a word, why it can, how it can be used and what's so important about it, and the first few steps to get you started to start really thinking and bringing in some clarity, being open to, as she said, what your word is for the year. Let's jump in. Hi, alexa, thanks for being here today. Hi, I'm so excited to be here. We are going to pick our words. This is going to happen.

Speaker 2: 6:58

We're choosing our words for the year. It's going to be amazing. I know we were chatting before and I had asked you. I hadn't confessed yet that I have not picked my word for the year and I was waiting for this episode because I love your process and it's so powerful, so I'm definitely going to be using it this weekend. Actually, my sisters are coming up and we're having our sister weekend. We're in the past. We've always played the past episode with you and we pause it and then we do the journal prompts and we have you there with us picking on our word for the year. So we're really excited for this new version coming out this week for you to help us pick the word. So thank you for being here today. I'm excited about it.

Speaker 3: 7:39

Oh my gosh. Of course, One of these years I'm going to come crash girls weekend and we can just do it live and in person.

Speaker 2: 7:45

Oh, I love that plan. That sounds amazing. You're always invited. That sounds awesome. You fit right in. You love to dance? Oh yeah, I love the food. It's going to be great. Well, have you chosen your word for the year?

Speaker 3: 7:58

I know I was laughing with Amber right before this because I was like, honestly, I haven't chosen mine either and in the past I feel like that would have given me so much anxiety, going into a new year feeling like I didn't have a direction. But as I was journaling and preparing for this, I was like, no, I think, honestly, it makes me feel even more open to actually go through the process and, like you know, do it again and we'll talk about this later on too, I'm sure. But I always give the reminder that some years your word, just like, comes at you and comes out of nowhere hard and fast and like you have it, and some years it takes a little bit more time and you have to marinate, and it's just about trusting the process and trusting yourself to know when it feels good.

Speaker 2: 8:44

I love that and that's why you're so good at this, because you have a soft approach to it that I think we all really need this time of year and I've been seeing this trend actually through conversations with other people in business or clients or just friends over the last couple of weeks is a lot of us don't have our word chosen or have our stuff together yet, and that is 1000% okay, more than okay and I think it's just a trend right now where we need to give ourselves permission and be open like you said I love that word to letting this time and clarity come to us Instead of pushing it so hard. So I love that you're going to be able to bring that softness for us today and that permission.

Speaker 3: 9:28

Yeah, no, as an Enneagram three, I feel like I was always so huge on setting goals and like really pushing myself to fit other people's narratives of success, and that meant having set resolutions on January 31st and I did that for so long and eventually that stopped feeling good, that stopped feeling like I was honoring myself, and I think it's okay that we get to take more time to figure out what we actually want. And I think that time is such a good thing because it means people are taking the time to actually listen to themselves instead of feeling the pressure from others to listen to them. So it's such a powerful thing.

Speaker 2: 10:09

Oh, yes, I got chills on that one. That's so true. Instead of that pressure of we have to have everything figured out January 1st and shout out to you if you're listening, and you had everything figured out. That's great. Some years we have that, some years we don't.

Speaker 2: 10:22

But knowing that we don't have to push it and conform to what we think everyone else wants us to do this year, sometimes we need that space.

Speaker 2: 10:32

A lot of times we need that space to be able to really think through what do I want this year to be and what aligns with my goals and my priorities and my values.

Speaker 2: 10:41

And I think it was Taryn who is going to be producing this podcast for us and who we actually have met her through you, and she was telling me that she had read something about how the new year really doesn't start till January 22nd, and this was because of I'm going to have to research this because we're going to talk about this on the next week podcast but something about the way the world works and how, january 22nd she gave me that date and I thought you're right, we need this whole month to. It's cold up north right now. So we need this month to just be inward and have a hot cup of something cozy and sit inside by the fire and think and process and let those thoughts of what we want the new year to come to us. And I love that permission that the whole the new year is actually this whole month. We're just going to take our time.

Speaker 3: 11:36

I love that. Shout out to Taryn. But I'm here for that. I'm going to remark my new years. Maybe I'll celebrate again.

Speaker 2: 11:42

Yes, exactly, we're going to know what we're doing by January 22nd, or, if not, we'll figure it out eventually, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay, it takes that absolutely Okay. So when you're choosing your word, I know both you and I find so much importance in having these words as anchors. So why do you feel like this is an important thing to do, and how have you seen yourself personally benefiting from choosing a word for your year?

Speaker 3: 12:07

I love this question every time. Okay, so why a word of the year? I really think that a word acts as a compass and a filter. So we always set a million goals for ourselves or maybe you don't, but a word can really simplify that process. So instead of having to remember all five of your goals or all, however many of your goals, a word really acts as kind of that same thing to say like where am I going and how do I want to feel as I get there. So instead of setting that goal for the end of the process, we're setting the feeling for the entire time, so that we actually get to sit back and enjoy the journey. So that's kind of the compass side of it. And then the filter side of it is that that word acts as a filter so that when you a new decision pops up in your year, you get to take that question.

Speaker 3: 12:59

So if a couple of years ago my word was present thanks to the momentum restart and I loved that word it's like still one. I like have a necklace with it on it right now that says like present over perfection, and I still carry it. But as I was making decisions that year, I got to sit there with that word present and say, does this decision take me further away from that word or closer to that word? And so if it was, you know, taking another trip for my business, I was like, okay, I get to be present, maybe with work, friends, but is that taking me away from the life that I'm building at home? What does that look like? Does that feel present and does that feel good to me in this moment? And then I get to make a decision that feels wholeheartedly grounded in what I've already decided for myself, so that I'm not actively having to make that decision over and over and over again.

Speaker 3: 13:52

I have something that acts as a filter to remind me of the life that I wanted for myself this year, and so I feel like that compass and filter has really helped me Make decisions that feel aligned with not only who I am now, but who I want to be as a person of business, owner, a spouse, like all of these things. It helps me, like, stay grounded and true to myself, and I've seen that you know, year after year as I like. You know Like it's cool to sit back and look at those words and say, okay, like one year my word was fire, and like what a year that was. I felt like I took the world by storm. But then the very next year, my word was, and he was like a line or grounded, because I needed to, like, come back to my roots. I've done so much and now I was like what's actually important to do? So those words ebb and flow, but they all impacted who I was and who I'm hoping to become.

Speaker 2: 14:50

Oh, I love that and that's so cool to see the progression too in the different words that you have each year and how they can be Opposites from each other as well too, because every year brings something new, and you have used that in powerful ways, and I love that.

Speaker 2: 15:07

You said that it helps you make decisions, because that's exactly what we need. We need a filter to help us make decisions. There's so many new opportunities and ideas, as, especially as entrepreneurs, we always have new ideas come in our way all the time, yes, and so it gives us a word to be able to think through this. Is this something I need to do this year, or maybe it's something I can shelf for the next year as well? So what are some important things to remember when you're choosing or even using your word as a filter to Okay, so a couple important reminders.

Speaker 3: 15:45

My very first one is always you could set this any time. So if you are listening to this podcast in September of this year or, you know, in June, whatever time of year you listen to this, you can choose that word any time and it doesn't have to be a word of the year. I know that, that, like I love that phrase but it doesn't have to stick with you for that duration. It sticks with you for as long as you need the word. That word is designed for you, not for anybody else. So if you take that word and you use it for Three months and then you journal and realize that, like you did the things that you set out to do with that word, you can shelf it anytime and pick a new word up that's gonna serve you for the next however long. So that's always. My first one is, like said at any time, forget it anytime.

Speaker 2: 16:34

Yes, I love that. That's quotable right there.

Speaker 3: 16:37

That's good right, set it, forget it. Like whatever you need, it's, it's really for you, and like that's probably my second one is like this word is for you. There are a million Pinterest pins that will tell you like words right. Like though you know your word of the year should be this, or like look through this word search and that's your word, and like those can be really powerful for helping you generate words. But this word is ultimately for you and for your journey, and so if you're setting a word based on somebody else's expectations of your life, or you know that hustle, you know whatever vibe, maybe it's not fit for you and like you get to choose that word and like I really, really want that to be powerful in that moment for you, because, as you choose a word, like I, I get the pleasure of hearing a lot of people's words. It's just my favorite. Like people will just like me. Like my word this year is this and I like, love it.

Speaker 3: 17:34

I was like, please tell me all the time and like some of those words, I like I can tell when somebody really took the time to like, really dig deep and think about what they needed Because it was built for them. So on the flip side, I always say, like if you plucked a word and you're like maybe this is for me, I would always ask yourself why. Amber always taught me to ask why like seven times for something. And that really is powerful for me because I hear the words like consistency that come out every year, or hustle or power or strong or you know, maybe words that feel like they should be fit for you. But as you ask yourself, why does that word, why is that word important to me?

Speaker 3: 18:18

Words like consistency might be something that you heard from somebody else, or like you know that you should be posting more consistently, but the second you hear that should in there, I want you to ask why a couple more times? Yeah, that should be a trigger for you that maybe you're setting this word based on somebody else or something else is Expectations of you in your business or life. So just take some time to really marinate on it. Yeah, that's powerful. I love that when you hear the word should Pause.

Speaker 2: 18:48

Ask yourself why again. Yes, and everything we do that's powerful.

Speaker 3: 18:53

Yeah stop shitting yourself, we don't need it. And yeah, like cuz, I think. I think consistency can be really powerful for the right people. Yeah, if you're in the right time and at the right time, but like, if you're being consistent because somebody said you should, you know, think about, like, why you want that for yourself.

Speaker 2: 19:12

Yes, and what that means for you and your life and what that really looks like. And consistency we always talk about how consistency is not constant, so maybe consistency for you means something different. Maybe it means once a year instead of every day, and that's okay. We have that permission as well. And before we dig into the process, I'm curious to with your world of design and I You've branded, help me brand the momentum restart and everything I've done. And you have this beautiful way of you, have this beautiful soft way of approaching your clients and design too, and so do you use things like this process to with the word or finding pinpointing words like that and using those decisions in your design process as well?

Speaker 3: 20:02

I love that. I mean honestly, yes, I feel like I I always joke that I get to try on people's personalities for a living, like as a designer. That's kind of my job is to like try them on, which is such a funny and also weird thing to like, but it is really cool and so, like I get to meet entrepreneurs in various seasons of life and a lot of times when they're branding themselves, it's because they've come into an era of self-confidence and like ready to step into that next stage of their business or life and they want a power outfit that is their brand to really help them step there confidently. And so I love that both choosing a word and Finding your brand feels like a self-confidence exercise, because you do have to dig deep and know who you are and where you're going. Much like for your brand, you have to know who you are, who you're serving and where you're going. So, yeah, I would say that the processes are actually eerily similar. I don't know that I've ever pieced that together, but I love that that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 21:13

I feel that way on this end because I know I've gone as a client of yours. I've gone through that process with you and it feels it's like that self-discovery of and you're right, I love how you described it. It's like putting on that power outfit in that confidence, and that's exactly what it is that you help people do. So. That's so beautiful, that this is how you help people figure out their brands too. It's the same same process. I love that. That's so cool. I have goosebumps. I'm taking that one. Take that one, yes, absolutely okay. So tell us what's the process, what is, how do you go through it? What are some key things to remember as you're picking out your word?

Speaker 3: 21:48

Amazing, okay. So I have a four-step process that I generally go through and with that comes the reminder that your word could come to you at any time during this process or after this process. I always say to trust the process, but trust your gut more. So as we do this, if you are on step one and you're like dang, this word is like already coming in hot, maybe go through the process and keep that word, try it on in each stage and if it still feels aligned, amazing, run like, take it, go. And if you go through this process and it's not resonating right away Like I went through this process and it's not quite there yet, but I trust that it's coming like, I trust that that word is just like around the corner and I just need to like breathe on it for a minute and that's okay. So four steps we're gonna look back, we're gonna look ahead, we'll zoom out and then zoom in.

Speaker 2: 22:44

Yes, so nice and simple steps that makes you so excited.

Speaker 3: 22:48

This is soccer for a checklist. So let's start with looking back Um the four or like really three big questions. I want you to ask her, like in this last year, what went well for you, what do you want more of and what do you want less of? And then, what moments made you feel most alive or sparked joy? And Really, like, dig into those moments. And then, for all of that, I like to Go back and ask why so? Like, what feelings did that bring up? Like, why did that make me feel most alive? Was it because I was surrounded by the people? Was it because I was really present in that moment? Why did I feel so alive, joyful, excited in those moments? So a Couple key things for looking back.

Speaker 3: 23:39

Anytime I look back on the year, the couple things that I use to do it are my calendar, mm-hmm, my Albums of my phone. Like, just look through your pictures, because we often forget some of the things that were most joyful for us. But we couldn't help but stop ourselves and take a screenshot of that moment. But we're not gonna necessarily put that like Gosh, that like one meal we were really excited about cooking, may not have ever shown up on our Instagram. It may not have ever shown up in our memory of things we were so excited about, but, gosh, it's probably in your phone album somewhere, so I do love to look at photos.

Speaker 2: 24:15

It's true, it's easy to forget Right all those little moments, those simple moments of joy, throughout the year too. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 24:22

Oh, we're like big ones can take such a cake like I.

Speaker 1: 24:25

I got married in the last year and like that is a huge core memory of my last year, right.

Speaker 3: 24:30

But like there's so many tiny Moments, like leading up to that week even, right, like I got to my family came in for that week and like we had a backyard barbecue and like I have a picture of me twirling my knees around and it was like a core memory of us, just like spinning in the backyard and dancing and like it just like I was like, oh, I want more of that moment. Right, the wedding is magical. Right, that moment also had a lot of power to it, so like how do?

Speaker 3: 24:57

I, how do I encapsulate that feeling? Oh, I love that, yeah. So looking back and also digging into your why there, why, and your feelings, looking ahead, so flipping the coin who do you want to be and how do you want to feel in this next year? I really think and you'll hear this a million times in January but, like all of the actions you're taking are a vote for who you want to be in the future, and so the more we can help a word that helps us take those steps to be that future person.

Speaker 3: 25:33

I feel like that really helps with that compass, right, like we're choosing that compass that's gonna make us feel joy all the way through the process. So choosing a word that that you know one year from yourself would be like, yeah, we really feel that, and then like the how do you want to feel? Because I think a lot of times we set goals that are very like, very logical goals, but they might not necessarily be Intentions or like how we want to feel about those goals. So making sure that you incorporate some feelings. I can already hear my very logical friends like groaning over this step.

Speaker 3: 26:07

Right but it's so important.

Speaker 2: 26:10

It absolutely is. You're right because we could say you know, like my husband, mike did the Iron man last year and his goal was to do the Iron man, but we were talking about afterwards and people always ask him why do you, why do you?

Speaker 3: 26:24

do that. This is the same question.

Speaker 2: 26:27

I'm still asking him that, but he was saying because that makes me feel so alive, and he was talking about the journey, the Practicing, or not the practicing. I'm a musician, so I call it practicing, working out, training, that's what we do. So the training part just made him feel so alive Every day in his body, in his mind, and he just got to this point where he just felt so alive every day and that's why he did. It was that feeling. And when you're going towards a big goal in Any of us, whether it's in business or in our bodies or whatever it is if we don't focus on that feeling, those hard days, it's a lot harder to pull through. So even if you are listening and you're thinking logical brain of like, I don't want to think about how I feel on this trust us that it's gonna help you pull through and show up on those really hard days, because that Feeling that you're going for is what's gonna pull you through when, when you're tired and you don't want to show up too.

Speaker 3: 27:25

Oh, I love that. I love a good like story that just like perfectly brings it all together and that's so good, feeling alive. Yeah, and like, your feelings might surprise you. Like, I used to set a lot of goals around, you know, like physical goals, right, like the 20 pounds we wanted to lose, the like very.

Speaker 3: 27:45

Like you know, I want to work out every day, I want to do these things and when I finally stopped to really think through, like, why do I, why am I setting those goals in the first place, it was to feel capable. It was to feel, you know, really at home in my skin, and I was, like, do I need all of those things to actually achieve that feeling? And the answer was frequently no. Like I don't need to lose weight, I don't need to do these things. I just need to feel more grounded in my body. I need to, like, feel happy in my body and sometimes that comes from doing other things that bring me joy. So it can also stop you from setting goals that don't feel like they're perfectly aligned with who you are or where you're going.

Speaker 2: 28:29

Yes, that's so, so true and so important to take the time to do that. Yeah, and I'm going to pause right here because there's so much great information and just like Alexa and I talked about today on our interview was the importance of taking time and not rushing this process. So I want to encourage you, whether you're listening on a walk today or in the car, or if you're sitting down with your journal writing, that you take time to really soak in these questions. Go back and listen to the questions that Alexa asked, take the time to get outside, feel into those different moments of joy when you're looking back and when you're looking ahead. Really dig into the why. This is not something we can rush. So I want to encourage you to pause there, take this week to really soak it in and know that next week I'll be sharing part two here on Momentum Restart Podcast. Come back and listen for when Alexa shares her last two steps to take those questions, and then I'll be sharing my last two steps to take this week of clarity that you're going to have and then help you zoom in, zoom out and then zoom in to help you really pinpoint and get clear on what that word is. So you have this filter that you can use all of 2024. I can't wait to see you then.

Speaker 2: 29:53

Thank you for listening to this episode of Momentum Restart Podcast. I would love to hear what you think about it. What were your takeaways? What action steps do you now want to take? Dm me on Instagram, at Coach Amberby, and let's keep this conversation going. I promise I respond to every message I get. Thank you.