"Nurture" | My Word for 2024

 

For the last several years I’ve enjoyed making a practice of choosing a “word of the year” to filter my goals and intentions through. When choosing my word, I try not to overthink it and trust that whatever comes to the surface is the one I need.

This year, I’ve decided my word is “nurture.”

I actually chose this word for last year, but it turned out to be more of a hopeful word than what 2023 ended up calling for. However, as 2024 will be the year when I step into motherhood for the first time, I thought that “nurture” would be exactly what I needed as I dream, plan, and prepare.

The word nurture makes me think of love and warmth, patience and care. It’s the essential action that leads to growth of any kind, but if skipped or rushed, the result is stunted, skewed growth.

And it helps me feel more present and intentional. As I think about how I want to embody this word in the coming year, in every area of my life, I can see how important it will be to narrow my focus so that I can give each area that I want to nurture the time and attention it deserves.

Myself

Nurturing myself will be essential this year especially during those early days with a newborn. I hope to nurture myself by:

  • Caring for my body with movement, rest, and good nutrition

  • Investing time in my creativity, even if it’s just for me

  • Quieting my soul through daily time in reading, prayer, and journaling

  • Taking social media breaks whenever I need them

Family and Friends

Nurturing my family and friends means spending focused, fully-present time with them. The baby will obviously be who I direct this towards the most during those first few months, but as we all grow accustomed to new routines, I want to continue nurturing my other main relationships by prioritizing them well. This means:

  • Daily time with Dan in conversation over dinner and walks, and regular check-ins so we both can communicate about our needs as the schedule changes with baby

  • Weekly time with my parents and Gran

  • Time with extended family once baby arrives

  • Regular Zoom or coffee dates with friends

  • Sending thoughtful texts when a friend comes to mind

Home

I want my home to be beautiful, ordered, and restful, a place that shelters and welcomes friends, and allows us to flourish in life and work. Nurturing this type of environment means:

  • Regular time on home projects, cleaning, and tidying

  • Time in the garden when the season comes

  • Slowly but intentionally investing in furniture and decor that adds beauty and functionality to our space

Business

In many ways learning how to nurture my business will be the area that requires the most discipline and focus.

It means staying on task and narrowing my sights on the few most important things rather than trying to do them all, especially in this season when my time will be drastically more limited. Nurturing my business well will lead to the ability for the other areas in my life to be in alignment, as it will provide for our needs and give us the time and space we need to grow.

Nurturing is a quieter version of growth that requires patience and a long-term vision.

So, what do I have in place now that, if well-nurtured, will lead to greater flourishing later on?

  • My beautiful community, who I can nurture by:

    • Sharing meaningful content through newsletters, social media, and blogs

    • Creating artwork that can bless their homes and help them share peace and beauty with others

    • Teaching workshops that help them experience the joy of painting

    • Refining my systems and processes so that I can serve them better with faster shipping and customer service

  • My creative practice, which I can nurture by:

    • Prioritizing time at my painting desk

    • Giving myself space to play and experiment with new subjects and mediums

    • Regularly taking courses and workshops that expand my knowledge and challenge me to push my skills further

  • My amazing studio team, who I can nurture by:

    • Making sure systems behind-the-scenes are very well-organized and thought through

    • Communicating well and trusting their very capable hands to run the show without me

Well friend, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! There’s something about putting these thoughts into words and then sharing them that helps them feel more real and actionable, so I really appreciate you being there on the other side of the screen to read them.

If you have a word of the year, I’d love to know! Please do feel free to leave a comment below to share. 🙂

 
Creative Business, PersonalLeana FischerQuiet Business, Creative Practice1 Comment