FOCISH – My Word for the Year Should Also Be Yours

Jon Gordon advises that you choose one word to be your focus for each year. He’s even written a book about it: One Word that will Change Your Life.

I’ve adapted that idea for myself. Since there really aren’t enough words in the English language, I make one up each year. This year my word is FOCISH: FOCus on what’s important and finISH what you start. It’s on my office door, it’s on my bedroom door, and it’s one of my screensavers.

FOCISH is the mantra for my six month sabbatical (July through December). It’s been very helpful so far.

For the first six weeks, my sabbatical FOCISH was on completing the 3^rd edition of Building a Culture of Ownership in Healthcare with my coauthor Bob Dent. The first two editions were AJN Book of the Year Awardees, so we had high expectations for ourselves. The final manuscript was submitted to Sigma on September 18^th.

For the past month I’ve been FOCISHed (yes, you can make that word a verb, or an adjective) on completing a significantly expanded second edition of my book How The DAISY Foundation has Influenced the Global Healthcare Landscape. This one is on the printing presses today to be ready for its premiere at the ANCC Magnet/Pathway Conference in Chicago next month.

Now I’m FOCISHing on enhancing and relaunching The Pickle Challenge for Charity. The pandemic has been officially declared over (hopefully sans encore) but the emotional toll will be much longer lasting.

The Pickle Pledge is a simple promise that helps people respond to life’s challenges in a positive and constructive way. It says “I will turn every complaint into either a blessing or a constructive suggestion.”

The Pickle Challenge helps organizations foster a more positive and resilient culture by encouraging people to take The Pickle Pledge and turn complaints into contributions.

It’s fun, it’s free, and it can have a lifelong impact. And it has never been more important. More to come but for now you can check out the Pickle Pledge website. 

In November-December I’ll wrap up my sabbatical with a FOCISH on my plans and priorities for 2024. Including making up a new word to help me achieve my goals in the new year.

A question for you: Next week begins the 4^th quarter of 2023. What is the most important priority for you to focus on, and what must you do to finish what you have started?