You may have read my post in 2015 about my Word of the Year (“release”). For 2016, my word is “leap.” When considering options for my word, my intention, for 2016, “leap” is what initially came to mind. As I sat with it, exploring how my life would be different in 2017 if I lived this word daily for a year and what I could accomplish as a result, I realized that 2016 is a leap year. That did it. “Leap” is my word for 2016.
For me, “leap” means taking more risks – jumping into things that I’ve previously been afraid to do. My 2015 “release” year helped me let go of certain expectations of myself, of fear and other mindsets that were holding me back. Now that I’m lighter – literally and figuratively – I want to leap into my future with new confidence and understanding.
In leap years, we get a bonus 24 hours – a leap day. I started thinking that if “leap” is my word for 2016, then I need to do something special, intentional, powerful with those bonus 24 hours. For those of us who would take more time over almost anything else, leap day is the perfect gift. And yet, it’s so easy to let time slip away if we don’t approach each day with a purpose (even if that purpose is to sit on the couch binging on Netflix).
So, at the end of the month I’m headed off to a nature-based yoga retreat in Jamaica. The location promises “a transformational journey within yourself.” For me, the retreat offers a place without distractions so that I can map out 2016 in more detail, contemplate the future I want to create for myself, and express gratitude for the many gifts I’m fortunate to have in my life. Sounds like a perfect way for me to spend my bonus 24 hours.
Leap day comes around only once every four years. How will you take advantage of your bonus 24 hours?
