BOLD | February 2023
This month was a fun assignment as it aligned with my goals for how I want BOLD to show up for me in 2023. We were given the challenge to come up with a Personal Manifesto. The idea was to create a place for our intentions, a tool to get back on track if we drift away from our intentions through the course of the year.
Years ago, I became a Desire Map facilitator as a result of a course that took many hours and far more tears. Through it, I discovered my Core Desired Feelings (CDF’s) and freely admit that they are just as relevant today as they were at my initial workshop 10 years ago. They are: allow, connect, expansive, grace, and trust. For years if opportunities, especially those for which I was predisposed to say “yes,” did not meet all five of those CDF’s then the answer was a resounding “no” - it was my safety net.
These feelings represented my highest priorities, and I needed them to guide me through the complications of divorce and the realities of my first couple of years of single parenting. At 12, 13, 15 and 16, I needed all the support I could get in a community where kicking dirt onto those suffering was encouraged, almost a team sport. My CDF’s kept me lovingly tethered to my fundamental beliefs and kept my heart consistently in touch with who I was determined to become.
It also reminded me of several personal “manifestos” I have hanging in my home, which I will include in my month when the completed book is printed in January. These include:
Manifesto of the Brave and Brokenhearted by Dr. Brené Brown
An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mau
Good F*ing Design Advice (warning: explicit) by GFDA (this hung in my office for years, but I now believe it has been “borrowed.”
And, through the workshop, I discovered the Escape Manifesto, which speaks to what I want out of my year of BOLD.
I managed to come up with what I think is a personal manifesto that will resonate for the year:
I’m starting to feel like I’m living in my version of a L’Oréal ad - remember, the one that coined “Because I’m Worth It” way back in 1971. This is the first time in my life that I have the time, the means, and the confidence to really feel that I am - down to my bones, worth it.
I can do bold.