I'll admit it: there have been a few days when 'enjoy' has seemed like a high bar for my #OneWord. January slipped by, February is nearly half gone, and I haven't got the rhythm of 2020 yet, let alone taken much time to enjoy it. (Yes, that holiday in Rotorua feels like a distant memory.)
But enjoy isn't supposed to bind me to unquestioning happiness; it's a prompt to simple pleasures, discernment, and playing to my strengths—particularly learning. I'll use those ideas to report on progress.
Realising how much I enjoy clean hair
My childhood in the New Zealand sun came back to haunt me last year, in the form of a lesion on my ear. After having it removed I couldn't get the area wet—12 days without washing my hair. While I'm grateful for the invention of dry shampoo, I really did enjoy the sensation of water, shampoo, and properly clean hair when I got the all clear. Heed the SunSmart messages!
Using 'enjoy' to make decisions
Deliberately thinking about whether participants were enjoying a workshop helped me keep a workshop humming. I had to change course to do it, and it worked.
I've also put enjoy to good use in my reading and watching habits. Books have been put down after a few chapters, streaming series have been rejected.
Something I really did enjoy: Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials brought to life in this television series.
Learning how 'enjoy' shapes habits
I've embraced my inner geek to explore how the concept of enjoy shows up in other thinking about behaviour.
This Hidden Brain podcast brings together resolutions, habits, rewards, and behaviour change. I heard it as an endorsement of using 'enjoy' to shape my 2020!