Two Aspirational Words for 2024
Almost every year, for a decade, I've chosen a word for the year representing my overall aspiration. I did miss a couple of years, including 2021 and 2022. I think my transition to retirement interrupted my usual year-end planning process. But, I'm ready to declare my aspirational word for 2024. Actually, I've picked two words.
Christine Kane, the entrepreneurial coach I used for three years, suggested the use of one word. Her selection tool is no longer available, it seems. But, she discusses the concept here.
Chris Brogan chooses three words for each year. Here are his selections for 2023. He uses them to positively guide his actions in the coming year. Should he commit to this project? Does it align with his three words? The words should inspire action. He lists seven rules for picking the words. And, he encourages you to review them daily.
I am picking two words this year: "leadership" and "gather."
"Leadership" connotes the desire and ability to guide and inspire a group of people or individuals. In 2023, I decided to relaunch my online mediation training program. It will focus on Arab lawyers and other professionals as my ideal client. When I moved to Qatar in 2015, I expected to join an already existing community of mediators. Sadly, that community did not exist, and little interest existed in mediation. Local professionals focused on arbitration instead.
However, in the last several years, commercial mediation has taken off in the Arab Gulf region. I've analyzed the 2021 laws of Qatar and UAE on this blog. But, a mediation community still does not exist. As the former President of the Virginia Mediation Network, the largest group of practitioners, scholars and trainers in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I knew I needed to create one. So, in June 2023, I started by creating a LinkedIn group called Mediation for Professionals in the Arab World. It now has over 180 members from all parts of the Arab world.
In the meantime, I am happy to say I am in the last stages of the arduous process of getting the online mediation training course certified by the International Mediation Institute.
I also plan to start a book club for that community with monthly meetings focused on mediation books. We will meet online.
Finally, I am launching a series of short online lectures on conflict resolution topics I find meaningful. The first series will cover intractable conflicts.
These leadership efforts, however, go hand in hand with the second word, "gather" (which I borrowed from Brogan). I am mindful of two things. First, as an elder, I have a desire to pass on my mediation wisdom, skill, and heart to younger generations. Second, my voice may not be the one they want to hear. So, I need collaborators in the Arab world.
At some deep place in my mind, I understood this second reality, but had not brought it to conscious awareness. Afterall, I am an older, white female, from the US, not a Muslim, and I have no Arab ancestry. Yes, I spent six years in Qatar, but my cultural competency is limited.
Then, this week, I participated in an event called "The Neutrality Trap: The Dilemma of Keeping Silence." One speaker was a silver-haired, Black women named Joyce Gates Mitchell. She lives in the Washington D.C. area and works as a mediator and group facilitator. You can find her distinguished bio here.
She talked about searching for a role in the midst of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in D.C. She decided not to attend the demonstrations. (Those were Covid-risky days for us older folks.) She also recognized that the young protesters were likely to interpret her voice as grounded in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, rather than capable of expressing current concerns of the Black community in light of police shootings. So, she worked to find the voices that younger protesters would find helpful and influential. She identified and shared that capacity in that moment. She gathered and collaborated.
My desire to build a mediation community in the Arab world comes from the same place. How can I build, identify, and amplify the conflict resolution skills of the region? How can I help the voices of young, Arab mediators find expression in a meaningful way in this moment?
Finally, I want to encourage you to list 100 things you accomplished this year. I'm sure your list will be longer than that, but it is nice to see it all in one place.
I do a "Sunday Summit" each week. You can find a copy here. One part of it has me capture "What have I accomplished this week?" It always reminds me that I am not as lazy as I think I am. An annual summary will increase that feeling of progress.
Please share your one, two or three words for 2024. And, best wishes for the new year.
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