Word of the Year or Action of the Year? (& Why I’m Voting for Action)

Do you have word of the year? 

One word to act like a touchstone.  You can have a quick check-in with yourself to make sure you’re be-ing what you agreed with yourself.

I’m proposing we take this word of the year thing up a notch and into Action of the Year.

Here’s why,

You’ve probably heard these:

• Actions speak louder than words. 
• People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.
• Show me. Don’t tell me. 
• A persons actions will tell you everything you need to know.

Well used quotes but when I hear them, I think about my relationships with others and not the relationship I have with my own Self. You?

I’ve been thinking about this words and actions thing all morning partly because I’m sitting here slightly pissed off and trying to work out why what’s happening is bothering so much.

Briefly…someone gave me their word that they would do ‘X’, and I’m in the moment of observing their actions as they do ‘Y and Z’.

Did they speak them to please me? Did they share those words specifically so as not to upset anyone? Did they choose their words because it felt the right thing to say at the time? Did they make sounds that people wanted to hear as their way of getting others to like and trust them?

Now, maybe they have genuinely forgotten what their words were, that can happen, I do know that.

But I have remembered their words (promise, intention, spoken agreement), and what do you know…trust, respect and credibility is slowly going out the window.

Can you think of moments in your life where you have heard words being spoken, promises being made, but the actions didn’t match?

How did you feel at the time of they said one thing, did another?

And,

The big question,

Do you feel the same when you go back on on your own words you promised yourself?

Big learning today.

I don’t.

I do say things to me about how it’s going to go, make promises with myself, state intentions, speak words and then (my actions show) I do the exact opposite (some of the time).

I most certainly don’t tolerate the say one thing, do another when it’s coming from any external relationship. But when I’m doing it on me, well, what do you know, I seem to accept it (that’s the learning!) it’s okay at times.

Gosh, if I was in any sort of relationship with me I’d surely be annoyed at how many times I let my own self down…wait…I am in a relationship with me! I’m tolerating crap and making broken promises that I’ve made to myself. Eh? Well, that is no longer good enough for me. Aside: if you do it to you, you decide if it’s tolerable or not, I can only ever speak for myself. 

So, I’m booting word of the year and doing action of the year instead, want to join me?

This is the rule,

Action your words, if you don’t intend to keep the promises you make with yourself, don’t speak them.

That’s it?

Yup, pretty much.

Word of the year, great.

Action of the year, next level.

In my morning realisation I came up with some questions, and you can download them here

• What promises are you making yourself and not keeping?
• What could happen if you followed through on the promises you made to yourself?
• What will happen if you keep breaking them?
• What would you no longer tolerate for you if never crossed the line in the sand of let-down for yourself?
• What could it feel like if you always showed up for yourself first? (What would go, what would stay?)
• Where (if anywhere) can you build respect and credibility for your Self?
• What may happen if you stopped taking your own Self for granted?
• What will it take for you to decide your own needs are a priority?
• Where are you saying words and not believing them?
• What if you called yourself on your own BS reasons and excuses?
• What may happen if you never again called yourself off being you at the last minute?
• What would like be like if you no longer gossiped about yourself or told yourself lies about who you think you are?
• Where are you words speaking louder than your actions?
• How can you switch to actions speaking louder than words? What goes? What stays? What do you need?

I’m looking at those quotes and going to make them about me…

My actions speak louder than my words. 
People may doubt my words, but believe what I do.
Show. Don’t tell. 
My actions are telling everyone what they need to know about me

Right. My word of the year was ‘trust’, and it will remain for the action.

Are you playing?

What action of the year would you choose for you, that will be displayed in everything you do?

And lastly, The Moxie Project starts on the 20th of January if you would like to come. It’s a 28-day course all about building and reclaiming your courage and confidence. I sure as hell don’t promise you that you’re life will be all neat and dandy in that time or that you will never feel fear again, but I am promising you lots of support to finally be well on the way to ditching the BS lies you are telling yourself about you. You can read more here.