Words for 2011: Ease

I've written about my words for 2010 here, here, and here, but have not yet posted on this year's words.

That's because I'm haven't quite figured them out.

One of them is 'ease.'

In fact, 'ease' was the word for fall/winter 2010, and I'm keeping it around because it's so useful.

Want an example?

I was alerted to the all-around greatness of ease when Jacquelyn and I were telling you about our Facebook course.

Originally, we called it 'Facebook Contests for Arts Organizations.'

We started getting feedback from people, saying in essence, 'That sounds too advanced for me -- I need to learn more about Facebook in general right now,' or 'Facebook: yes, contests: noto so much.'

Should we revamp the course to be a more general survey of Facebook for cultural groups? We talked a lot about how we could adapt it.

Then we had one of those forehead-smacking, 'whoa' moments: it already is a general course on Facebook. We couldn't talk about the contests until we were sure people understood the basics about how to use Facebook to help their arts group.

It was the right course with the wrong title.

Here's where the ease comes in: all we had to do was change the title to reflect what the course really covered: 'Facebook for Arts Organizations.'

Ahhhh.

I was suddenly aware that there is the possibility of ease in so many situations, so many projects, so many dilemmas.

The ease is out there.

The ease is there somewhere, I just have to start noticing.

When I wanted to put together a free set of New Year's journaling prompts (eventually called 'A Sip of Tea'), I realized that instead of writing up something from scratch, I could simply select a number of questions from a set I'd already written for myself.

Just use the questions from my personal practice.

Ahhhh.

So ease is something I'm very happily taking from 2010 into the New Year.

More ease, please.

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Even though we're (barely) passed January 1, you're probably still thinking through these things, too.

Sometimes it helps to do some guided thinking, dreaming, and plotting -- it can make a big difference in how you move forward with That Thing You Love, in 2011.

If the fit feels right, you can work with me in a series of special sessions focused on the new year. (Because of commitments to my current clients, there are a limited number of slots, and they're starting to fill up. 'That Thing You Love, in 2011' sessions can be reserved until January 31 or until slots run out, whichever happens first.)

Find out more here.