Word of the Year

I love this concept. Find a word and make it your own for the year. Whether it be something to live by, a theme, a focus, or just a word that you find inspiring, it is a great topic and feeds the soul. Every year I ponder this and actually struggle with the word I want to choose to be my own for the year. After all, I feel like if it is going to stick with me for the year, then it had better be something I have a passion about to make it happen.

Last year’s word was Decisive. When I asked my husband his opinion on what this year’s word should be, he said that that he like decisive since I still need to work on it. Well, maybe he is right, but I did make one key decision last year and have lived with it ever since. I decided without a doubt in my mind that I was going to get a new job no matter what last year—and I knew exactly what I wanted and went for it. Well, I currently have that job. Beyond being decisive about what I wanted career wise last year that is kind of where the buck stopped. This is an ongoing struggle that I have that annoys my husband to no end. I think he just misses the point that I do not care one way or the other and he should appreciate that flexibility in me.  It’s all about re-framing, right?

In finding this year’s word, I went back and looked at my non-resolutions. After all, these are things I would like to do this year, why not find a theme and go with it. So I am. This year’s word is GROWTH. Why? I want to grow my relationships with my husband, my child, my family, and my friends. I want to personally grow in my relationship with God. I want to grow in myself through exercising my mind and body. But most of all, I want to grow in me. I have always been inspired by this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

It is how I want to live my life and I need to grow into that.

So my friends, that is the word…hold me to it. I need some accountability in my life.



What is your word this year?