MADELEINE DORE WRITER, INTERVIEWER + PODCASTER

For the past few years I’ve picked a word as an anchor for the year: 2018 was joy, 2019 was momentum, and 2020 was trust. I had no idea how much that would be tested last year, but I originally chose trust because, not only is it the antidote to doubt, it also demands an openness to opportunities, people, listening, connection, to the world, to a feeling, to the moments you have. In 2021 I want to remain open to the moment in front of me, so I’ve chosen the word ‘merely’. It’s something I heard entrepreneur and speaker Seth Godin talk about in a recent interview – we can spend so much time catastrophising about what might happen if we do this, or the outcome of that, or being afraid of creative work, but it doesn’t help you actually make a start on anything. So, when we shift to merely doing the work without the fanfare, we can give ourselves space. To me, it’s an antidote to things like procrastination, doubt and perfectionism. As someone with perfectionist tendencies who’s spending the start of the year writing a book, I think I’ll return to this again and again: finding the smallest thing I can merely do with the moment I have. Showing up, seeing what needs to be seen, and writing instead of worrying about writing. It’s a lot less daunting that way! I’m most inspired by words – I keep a Google Doc of categorised quotes, passages from books, poetry, and words from my interviews. I collect words for varying moments of the creative process: the part that feels exhilarating when you’re onto a good idea, and the part where you might feel stuck or doubtful. I’ll keep this board with my word of the year in my desk nook. In previous years, I’ve put it on my desktop and phone wallpaper as a reminder.