Words of 2024: Ditch New Year's Resolutions & Do This Instead

It's time to DITCH New Year's Resolutions and step into Words of the Year. In this episode Lunden explains why this is a much better tool to help you step into who you want to be NOW. Tune in feel free to share your words of the year with Lunden on Instagram @lifelikelunden

Timestamps to help you navigate this episode:
0:00 Intro
0:20 FREE Self Love & Sweat MONTHLY Calendar
8:57 Importance of Practicing the Word of the Year
15:59 Building Trust with Oneself Through Integrity
18:35 Sponsor: Snap Supplements 25% OFF using code LUNDEN25
20:29 Embracing Endurance for the Long Haul
23:11 Nurturing Your Word of the Year

Transcript

Intro

Lunden Souza 0:01

Welcome to Self Love and Sweat THE PODCAST , the place where you'll get inspired to live your life unapologetically , embrace your perfect imperfections , break down barriers and do what sets your soul on fire . I'm your host , Lunden Souza .

FREE Self Love & Sweat MONTHLY Calendar

Lunden Souza 0:21

Hey , have you grabbed your free Self Love and Sweat monthly calendar yet ? This calendar is so amazing . It comes right in your inbox every single month to help you have a little nugget of wisdom , a sweaty workout , a mindset activity , just a little something , something to help keep you focused and motivated and keep that momentum towards your goals . So every day , when you get this calendar , you'll see a link that you can click that will lead to a podcast episode or a workout or something that will be very powerful and quick to read . And then you'll also see , on the top left corner of every single day , there's a little check box in the calendar and what that is is that's for your one thing . You can choose one thing every month , or it can be the same , something that you want to implement and make this something that you can easily implement , like daily meditation or getting a certain amount of steps or water , for example , and staying hydrated and even taking your supplements . This can be something if you want to get more regular doing a particular habit and routine , you can choose what that checkbox means . So, if you want your Self Love and Sweat free monthly calendar delivered right to your inbox every month on the first of the month , go to lifelikelunden . com/calendar , fill out the form really quickly and you will have your calendar in your inbox within a few short minutes . That's lifelikelunden L-I-F-E-L-I-K-E-L-U-N-D-E-N dot com forward slash calendar . Go , get yours for free and enjoy this episode .

Lunden Souza 2:07

Happy today . Welcome back to the podcast . Happy New Year , happy 2024 . Actually , at the time of recording this , it is December 28th and I'm recording from Cabo San Lucas , Mexico . I went on . I am on a trip with my aunt and uncle and my cousin and her husband and kids after a nice taste of Utah winter . When I found out they were coming to Cabo , I was kind of like I'm coming too . But yeah , I just . I know that the time of airing this episode is after 2024 , or once it is already 2024 .

Lunden Souza 2:49

And this time of year is when I start thinking about my words of the year . Now , before we jump into the episode , I'm excited to announce that Self Love and Sweat PODCAST will now be available on Dash Radio on the expansion channel . So it has just been my dream and my goal to grow the podcast to help more and more people understand the value of self-love and sweat , and I have been gifted the opportunity to have this show also be featured on the expansion channel on Dash Radio . So I'm super excited about that . But this time of year is when I start to think about words of the year . Now , let me first start by saying that I do not like New Year's resolutions , and I'm going to tell you why . I think that New Year's resolutions are so played out that people don't take them seriously . And maybe you're somebody who begs to differ and you're like no Lunden , actually , I set New Year's resolutions and I nail them every year or whatever . But in my experience , and also especially with being in the fitness industry , as I was for many years , over a decade I feel like New Year's resolutions immediately put us in separation from the goal . And here's why I think when we set New Year's resolutions to lose weight or get healthier or do X , y or Z , it's like we start the year not there yet . And that's why I think words of the year are so amazing , because it allows you to start right now choosing your words of the year and being that today , in this moment , in the next moment , in the next minute , in the next hour , in the next day , you get to ask yourself questions like what would insert your word of the year do ? What would they eat ? How would they talk to others ? How do they wake up in the morning ? How do they show up ? It gives you an opportunity to embody your words of the year and so, I really encourage you , listening to this episode today , to take this seriously , to really ask yourself what words do I want to embody this year and beyond ? I did an episode on this last year and my word of the year for 2023 , or let's say , words of the year this year I have to as well .

Lunden Souza 5:17

Last year , 2023 , my words were grateful growth . It was actually kind of like a combination word to remind me that it was time for growth and expansion , with gratitude , for those of you that have been following me for a while , or maybe you remember , at the end of 2022 , I officially retired from fitness completely . No more fitness coaching , no more personal training , no more fitness partnerships , no more online workouts , no more online group coaching programs . I had "Strong at Home for Women for a couple of years and I just decided it was time to pivot and my heart knew it , my body knew it , my mind knew it . And so this year has been such an opportunity for grateful growth . 2023 was such an opportunity for grateful growth . I learned a ton , I put myself out there in ways that I never have before and really developed the podcast as a business , really developed my life coaching business , really developed my beauty counter business , and I just am so grateful for all of that growth and that word .

Importance of Practicing the Word of the Year

Lunden Souza 6:32

I would ask myself all the time what would grateful growth do ? How would grateful growth show up in the world ? What would grateful growth spend her money on ? How would grateful growth engage in conversation ? How would grateful growth show up in relationships , romantic ones , friendships , business ones , et cetera . And of course I messed up . Of course I did . I'm human , we all mess up . I'm not perfect .

Lunden Souza 6:58

Just cause I said a word of the year doesn't mean that I just automatically am it, right ? We have to practice showing up as it . And I think the great part about solidifying a word of the year and sharing it with people close to you , I mean you don't have to share it on a podcast or social media or things like that . Like I do , I'm just an open book . I share everything , all the things all the time . But I think something about that really is like a good foundation . You can go back to that always and you can reflect on it . Like , oh , no wonder , that conversation , that relationship , that instance , that situation just didn't work out in the way that I wanted it to because I was not in congruence with my word of the year . So I don't know , maybe you're thinking of some options right now , maybe some words are just kind of dancing around in your head . I encourage you to write all of them down , right , it's not like you just think of the one and then write that one down . Maybe you do . But it's fine just to like engulf in that process of identifying your word of the year and writing down some options . And I wanna quickly share mine with you .

Lunden Souza 8:06

So my two words for 2024 are integrity and endurance , and these words came from a book that I read recently called Anatomy of the Spirit , and if you haven't read this book before , it is such an amazing book . I listened to the audiobook , which , from my understanding , is a much shorter version of the regular book . The audiobook is only two and a half hours long and I think I listened to it probably five or six times . And I found out about this book because I joined a book club in Utah . A friend of mine that I met living in Utah invited me to join a book club and that was the first book that we read and it couldn't have been a better book for me at this time . And I just if you're listening read the book Anatomy of the Spirit . I can't remember , I think it's Caroline Myss is the author , but don't quote me on that , I'll look it up and put it in the show notes . But the book is called Anatomy of the Spirit . And so , yeah , integrity and endurance .

Lunden Souza 9:16

Integrity and endurance are my words of 2024 . And so for me , integrity means being a woman of my word , not saying one thing and then doing another , not saying I stand for one thing and then not acting in congruence with that . I found myself in a space where I felt like people weren't showing up with integrity around me and instead of blaming others and saying , oh , you didn't do this or you didn't , you know , I really had to look inward and say , okay , game recognizes game, like attracts like , how am I not showing up with integrity ? How can I show up with even more integrity so that others of integrity will show up in my life , right ? I'm a firm believer that the way we show up in the world is what we attract , and I know that might trigger some people , because we want to live in a world where people do things to us and make us feel a certain type of way, but I really believe game recognizes game, like attracts like , and I really was like, "okay , if I feel like people aren't showing up in integrity in my life , how can I show up with even more integrity ? " And so , even though integrity wasn't my word of the year for 2023 , I was already thinking about that and already recognizing that a little bit .

Lunden Souza 10:44

And for me , integrity , yeah , just like saying things honestly and respectfully . You know , when I say , yeah , I'll be there , I'll be there . When I say , yeah , let's do that tomorrow , I mean tomorrow , right ? And also it doesn't mean I'm overextending , right ? It sometimes integrity could look like , hey , you know what ? I know I said yes to that and something happened where I can't and I just wanted to let you know . I want my word to mean something I think we can all think of people in our lives who they just say something oh yeah , I'll be there or I'll come or whatever , or yeah , I'll get that done , and it doesn't happen and it's frustrating and it's annoying . And so , instead of expecting everybody else to show up with integrity in my life , I just am gonna show up with a shit ton of integrity in my life .

Lunden Souza 11:43

Funny story about I say word of the year , but sometimes it ends up being two, right ? And I was talking to my friend Kylie , because she's , yeah , very much into words and she has a very rich vocabulary , and I was like I wanted to combine integrity and endurance and so I was like , what's the adjective for integrity so I can combine it with endurance ? And the word was integrus . So I was like , oh , integrus , endurance . And then her and I were Googling the words and whatever , and it was like this word hasn't been used since the 1600s and it just made us laugh because I was like , oh well , I guess I could still choose integrus endurance it sounds like a Harry Potter spell integrus endurance , and it just made me laugh . But , yeah , I think you can choose whatever word , even if you make it up , but that just makes me laugh and it was funny . And so the reason why her and I got to the point of learning that integrates wasn't a word and it hasn't been used since the sixteen hundreds . What is the definition said , this word has been obsolete since the sixteen hundreds .

Lunden Souza 12:54

But we got into that conversation because I reached out to her and I'm like , hey , I'm trying to figure out my word of the year and I want to combine integrity and endurance . Isn't the adjective for integrity integrus ? And so we just started talking about it was really funny and you know , it doesn't have to be so serious sometimes of like , I wish to tell you my word of the year , friend . You know , we can just like have that dialogue in that conversation . So that's integrity , you know , and that sometimes allows me to say , hey , let me get back to you . I don't know yet . Or no , actually no , because I want to be a person of my word .

Building Trust with Oneself through Integrity

Lunden Souza 13:34

I want to be the person that when somebody talks to me or reaches out to me and I speak to them and my words come out of my mouth , I want them to know Lunden means what she says . Lunden says she's gonna be there , she's gonna be there . If Lunden says she cares about me , she cares about me . Lunden says she'll help me with something , she's gonna help me with something . And yeah . And then I want to be in my integrity with being proactive in saying otherwise .

Lunden Souza 14:05

If I need to , like I said , if I'm gonna be there , I want to be there . But you know , things come up I'm not perfect , whatever and I wanna , you know , immediately address that situation and be like , okay , actually , you know , can we do it this day , or whatever Integrity . And then I can ask myself , like what would integrity do ? What would integrity say ? You know , even integrity , like in the morning . If you wake up and say , hey , I'm gonna go for a walk this morning and you don't do it , you might be able to hear a horn honking outside . Hopefully it stops soon . Anyways , I'll keep talking and maybe it'll drown out in the background , but I'm here at our hotel in Cabo and so there's kind of I think you can't hear it . I don't see the audio skipping when I , when I I'm recording . So , anyways , I'm just gonna keep going and if it's crappy audio later than I'll fix it , but anyways , I'm .

Lunden Souza 15:02

Integrity also means doing what you say you're gonna do , so you can build trust with yourself , right ? If you say I'm gonna go for a walk in the morning and you don't , you're , you're not gonna trust yourself . Your mind and your body are not gonna be a team to be like , okay , what I say to myself I do with my body . And I think that's why people , when you don't build trust with yourself , it's really hard to build trust with others . It's really easy to see others as the villain doing things to you and all the stuff . But it starts with ourself first . We have to step in integrity . We have to say , okay , if I tell myself I'm gonna wake up and take the trash out , like those little things matter , they matter so much because then when it gets to the big thing, right ? Showing up in the arena for the big thing if you haven't shown up for the little things your mind and your body , and like bullshit , you always say that you're gonna do this and you don't . And we have to remember like we get to train our ourselves like a dog , like , no , I'm going to do cause I said I was gonna do it . No , I'm gonna do cause I said I was gonna do it and challenge that programming . My second word of the year is endurance . Hey ,

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Lunden Souza 16:10

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Lunden Souza 16:10

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Embracing Endurance for the Long Haul

Lunden Souza 18:04

off .

Lunden Souza 18:04

Now let's get back to the show . Endurance being in it for the long haul , doing things not for a quick fix , not for fast money , not for quick advancements , but choosing and making decisions that are for the long haul . So reminding myself I'm in it for the long haul . So how can I prepare my mind and body for endurance ? What type of thoughts do I need to be thinking for the long haul ? What type of foods , what type of friends , what type of music ? What would endurance do ? What would endurance say ? How would endurance show up ? And yeah , when I think of endurance , it really reminds me of how I take care of my body and my vessel to be in it for the long haul .

Lunden Souza 18:56

I don't know how long I'm going to live , but I love studying the blue zones . I want to be around for a long time , not that you can't make a great impact in a short amount of time , but I don't know . Just a part of me is like I want to be around until I'm 110 . And I think that's because when I'm on social media or I'm around people who are super old and it's just super motivating to me , like when they're super old and their cognitive ability is just spot on and they're healthy and they're alive and they're vibrant , that to me , is really motivating . So I think a part of me just wants to be that motivation too .

Lunden Souza 19:41

So when I think of endurance , I think of the people that live in the blue zones , which , if you haven't heard of the blue zones before , there are areas around the world where people they have the highest concentration of centenarians , which means people that live to be over 100 . And so there's one in Loma Linda , California , there's one in Sardinia , Italy , which is like one of my favorite places ever on the planet . There's one in Costa Rica , one in Japan , one in Greece , and that might be it . But yeah , there's a really good documentary on Netflix about the blue zones and each episode highlights one of the different countries and the different locations where people just live a long time and are super happy and have positive relationships and feel good and are just like all about life . And so I think of that when it comes to endurance , and yeah , those are my two words of the year integrity and endurance and I'm going to continue to ask myself in the morning what would integrity and endurance do ?

Nurturing Your Word of the Year

Lunden Souza 20:46

And the thing is , once you choose the word that you want to embody for your word of the year , you'll just know . You'll just know it'll resonate with your nervous system , it'll sit right , it'll feel good , and then it'll be very easy , as you continue to nurture your word of the year , it'll become very easy to spot the knot, right ? There might be moments when I go to text someone and like , make up an excuse and it's like , well , what would integrity do ? Let me , you know , I might , you know , jump into something that's a quick fix or fast or whatever , and I might just be like , no , that doesn't sit right with my word of the year , that doesn't resonate with the person I want to be . And so , yeah , I encourage you to think about your word or words of the year . I think one or two is great . I think it's way better .

Lunden Souza 21:35

And you know , set new year's resolution , set goals , but also have your word of the year . So then it's like right now , in this moment , I can be present with my word of the year . My new year's resolution is not out here somewhere unattainable , yet you don't put yourself in separation or in lack of the new year's resolution right away . It's like how do you want to show up and think about it and feel free to share your word of the year with me ? You can send me a DM on Instagram . I'm L-I-F-E-L-I-K-E-L-U-N-D-E-N . And you can also hit reply to any of my emails . If you're on my email list and you get my emails , then you can also hit reply to any of those and the response goes directly back to me . I read all of your replies . So I would love to know what your word of the year is . Help you kind of work on it a little bit and it just feels good to share what we're working on .

Lunden Souza 22:31

It was funny I was doing something the other weekend and I was with a group of people that were just like complaining about everything , like complaining about their job and how it sucks and the weather and all these things . And I was on a call with some people in my beauty counter team shortly after and I was like you know what ? Why do people have permission ? Not that not people , anyone can have permission to do anything, right ? I'm not the boss of everybody , but I'm like people .

Lunden Souza 23:01

It's so normal for people to complain about how shit sucks in their life . Their job sucks , their partner , this like people can just complain about all the things that suck in their life . I want to make it normal to talk about the things that are great in our lives , to talk about our words of the year , how we want to show up , right ? Not that we shouldn't talk about our struggles , but it's like I don't know . I would rather talk about possibility than marinade in just my job sucks , this sucks , this is hard . It's just like there's enough people out in the world talking about what they hate about their life . Let's talk about how we want to show up in our lives .

Lunden Souza 23:37

Thank you so much for listening and we'll see you at the next episode . Bye . Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Self Love and Sweat , THE PODCAST . Hey , do me a favor wherever you're listening to this podcast , give us a review this really helps a lot and share this with a friend . I'm only one person and with your help , we can really spread the message of self love and sweat and change more lives all around the world . Lunden Souza , reminding you that you deserve a life full of passion , presence and purpose , fueled by self love and sweat . This podcast is a hit spot . Austria production .