When was the last time you took some time to freshen up? Not re-brand or start over or plod on, but just… freshen up.

To me, freshening up brings to mind a beautiful moment in a busy day: a moment to pop to a luxurious bathroom or bedroom, take a breath, redo your makeup and hair, and dab yourself with something that smells divine.

Or freshening up a pot of tea. Is there anything more delightful?!

I think about freshening up a room with a lick of paint, or plumping the cushions. Adding a new necklace to an outfit to take it somewhere new. Dusting off a shelf and adding a different photo in front of the books. Adding an essential oil to your yoga practice.

It’s not a redesign of the whole house. It’s not taking a shower and putting on a totally new outfit and starting your makeup from scratch. It’s not starting a totally new yoga practice.

It’s freshening up.

It’s not a rebrand. It’s not throwing out your entire business plan and strategy. It’s not believing nothing is working and it all needs to change.

It’s not a rigorous new routine. It’s not a new skill. It’s not something you have to learn from the very beginning.

It’s freshening up.

For our businesses, freshening up is like tuning up. Dialling up the things we want more of, just a little, but in a way that’s significant to us.

Perhaps it’s giving a little closer attention to your Instagram captions, if they’ve dwindled.

Or ordering those new stickers for your packaging.

Or changing your email signature and Facebook cover.

Or spring cleaning your product listings.

Freshening up is ideal for this time of year, or any time of year, and it’s a gentle but powerful way to shift your energy and your business. You’ve already (I imagine) made some goals for the year, put some plans in place, and given 2018 some serious attention.

But perhaps your energy is waning, or things feel a little impossible.

You know what time it is: time to freshen up.

Here’s the thing

In March, I’m doing a soft launch of the new-look Progress not Perfection group course. It’s currently called Planning With Purpose, and I’m building on all my experience and work to develop an ongoing supportive course and community for small business owners.

I currently have a lovely group of women signed up to the course, and they’ll be testing the new material next month, which has a theme of Freshening Up. (D’uh!)

Here are some of the questions I’ll be asking the group:

• What’s the metaphorical lick of paint for your business?
• What would bring a breath of fresh air to your business?
• What can we weed out to make room for fresh growth?
• What would “fresh” feel like for you over the next four weeks?
• How can you bring yourself a symbolic bunch of daffodils?
• If you tuned up by 10%, what would be different?
• How could you get just a little closer to the business (person, life) that’s so clear in your mind and heart?

I’m not advertising the new version of this course right now – just experimenting with the new look and the new content. But just in case you fancy joining before it officially changes over (and the price goes up), you can sign up here and spend March freshening up your business with us.

“It’s definitely messier taking a nuanced stance, but it’s also critically important to true belonging.” Brene Brown

I have spent a lot of my life, like many of us, search for the rule book. Just show me what to do to be happy, successful, loved and I’ll do it. Tell me exactly what to do and what not to do, and I’m good.

Let’s just categorise everything into back and white, shall we? Yes and no. Stop and go. That would be really exceptionally helpful.

Except it’s not real.

I love to bring clarity to clients, and to myself, to aid decision making and progress. But what I’ve discovered over the years is that sometimes the real clarity comes from holding two or more seemingly conflicting ideas. The nuanced position, while more complex and requiring more care and attention, is often more true.

You can be grateful for something and want it to change.

You can be totally over something and already missing it.

You can be totally fine about a situation and feel the disappointment.

You are your business and you’re not.

You can, as I have, both supported people immensely and let them down.

When we leap to a nice clean viewpoint, we can miss the complexity and detail of the situation. Which is what Brene Brown is saying in the quote above. To really show up fully, we have to accept the messy details of truth if we really want that buzzword of authenticity. If we want true connection and belonging and progress, we have to step up to the conflicting nuance of life.

I have a feeling that this is my work right now. I’m working on shining a light (my word for the year) on the darker things in order to understand them better.

And after four years of self-employment, mentoring clients, and providing content services, I’m working on blending the deep work of coaching and retreats WITH the practical application of accountability and planning. It’s not one or the other. It’s both.

It’s checklists and nudges and reminders, and it’s big conversations about what’s getting in the way. It’s deep, long-term work as well as quick wins and refreshes.

And I’m excited about it! I’m currently working on a new version of my monthly support course, which I’ll be calling Progress not Perfection, and it’s really the pinnacle of my unique blend of depth and practicality. The habits, structures and suggestions that help us to do the big work, the deep work, the truly satisfying work.

So what about you?

What are the nuances in your work, life, business that need a light shining on them?

What do you try to fit into a neat and tidy box, that really needs a few different shelves in order to thrive?

What if everything you feel, believe, create is true?

What if you don’t have to compromise and find a niche, when in reality everything is valid?

How could you embrace your own nuanced position this week?

It’s a little messy over here in Nuanceville. But you’re in good company. I promise.

Jenny x

For the past several years (maybe as many as eight?), I’ve chosen a word for the year. Inspired by One Little Word, it’s a tradition that helps me to set the tone for the year and keep me in tune with what I’m working towards.

Last year, it was pace (my new married surname and a pretty cool word in general). The year before, I chose bloom but I’m pretty sure the universe misheard me and thought I said boom because that was the year of Copper Boom‘s beginnings.

This year? This year, I’ve chosen light as my guiding word.

Side note: I also give out stars with words on (like this one) at my retreats, which aren’t consciously chosen, but provide another type of guidance. On the first night, we each choose a star from the collection and it’s always my believe that everyone gets exactly what they need. So I also have create as a supporting word. Perfect!

What light means to me

For me, this year, light has several meanings. A big one is that I want to feel lighter. Last year was pretty heavy. Good, in many ways, but big and full of significance. I bought a house. I got married. I made some big decisions about Copper Boom and my business in general. And while all those things were what I wanted, I got bogged down in the organising and deciding and making it happen.

So partly light is about enjoying life as it is without making big changes that require lots of energy.

The other big thing that came to mind when I was choosing my word for the year was shining a light on the dark. I don’t believe in ignoring the dark – those tricky, sticky, murky things we prefer not to look at. I don’t believe in ignoring dark emotions. (There are no bad emotions!) So I didn’t want light to mean that I would be pretending they don’t exist. Instead, it’s about seeing the dark, and bringing more light to those emotions, situations and realities. Encouraging more light, rather than demanding it.

For my work, it’s about shining the light for others, and sharing my light, my work. I love to be a guide post, a gentle and consistent way finder for my clients, friends and colleagues. I want my work to light you up, and to light your unique way. That’s what I show up every day to do. I do it through coaching, and I do it through creating content (words and images through Copper Boom) that lights up your products and offerings.

At my retreats, stars are the theme, and I explain that they’re a navigation tool, shining our way in the dark. That’s my work. That’s what I want to help others to discover for themselves.

Even as I write this, I feel more in love with light as my word for 2018!

Have you chosen a word for this year?

I know so many people who do this now, and I’m always fascinated by the words and the reasons behind them. I’d love to hear yours! Plus, supplementary question, do you have a way to display it in your studio or a piece of jewellery? I’m wondering whether I need a light symbol or piece of artwork…

Until soon

Jenny x