I try to live my life with intention by establishing a “theme of the year” for myself, something I started doing many years ago as New Years Resolutions seldom did much for me. My theme in 2020 was “sisu” (yeh, look it up, it is powerful), and the year before was my year of “resilience.” This year I have settled for a phrase: “purposeful and inspirational.”

The last two years have been tumultuous and difficult for many including me and my tribe. As 2021 is coming to a close let’s do some reflecting together.  How can we help shape 2022 into the year I/we/you yearn for? Here are some of my personal thoughts and I would love to hear what yours are.

Here is what’s so for me. With the pandemic and partial closure of my executive coaching business I am now again looking at redesigning my life to make sure this next stage continues to be purposeful  – it’s been 25 years since my last major revamp and it has been quite an awesome ride (that is when I left the corporate fast track in pursuit of my dreams and not long after that I found K9 SAR).

My 2022 intentions: 1. My coaching practice focus on transformation, purposeful living and leadership will gain greater clarity. 2. I will inspire others to pursue their dreams through publication of the book I co-authored with Guy Mansfield: A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team ( Lyons Press Fall 2022). Now ready for pre-order on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Devotion-Adventures-Search-Rescue/dp/1493068717/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Z70MYU1GINSE&keywords=SUZANNE+ELSHULT&qid=1641077351&sprefix=suzanne+elshult%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1).

2. I will double down to find ways with my Cascadia Search Dogs peeps to contribute to quality training and growth opportunities for SAR K9 teams.

3. I will carry through my vision of  finding new ways to meaningfully contribute towards finding the dead and missing by deep diving into forensic level and historic Human Remains Detection with my two single source HRD Dogs Keb and Kili.

4. I will persist in my commitment to help build a vibrant K9 SAR community locally, regionally and beyond via our Facebook Group and other social media while building bridges and increasing awareness with the rest of the world of the work we do.

You? Share your dreams and intentions with me!