4 Tips for Choosing the Right One Word for Your Life
New year, new start, right? Do you have new year’s resolutions or did you stop that madness years ago? There was a time I had a list of things I intended to change every new year. I thought long and hard about what things I wanted to change about myself. The standards made the list every year; lose weight, exercise, spend more time relaxing instead of working to the point of exhaustion, eat healthy, yada, yada, yada. I started off so good, choosing the right meals to eat, losing a couple of pounds, joining a gym. You get the idea. Then it’s February and my list has gotten lost in the life shuffle.
Last year, a friend of mine posted on Facebook about their one word for the year. She explained the trouble with resolutions that I understood all too well. Resolutions tend to fall by the wayside, but one word chosen strategically and prayerfully had changed the trajectory of her life in years past. Really?! I was jumping for joy on the inside. I thought, “I want the trajectory of my life to change!” I set out on a plight to choose my one word.
I had trouble figuring out the best one for me. After days of thought and prayer, I realized what I needed more of and went with that one. Last year I chose “focus” as my one word. I knew I needed more of that in my life so that one was it. I typed up my word on a piece of paper and hung it on my office wall. I leaned back in my chair with my arms folded behind my head and waited for the magic to happen. You can probably guess what happened next. Yep, you got it. Nothing.
Why?
I’ve determined the reason my chosen word didn’t truly change the trajectory of my life is all because of my mindset. You see, just having one word for the year doesn’t magically change my life. I have to live it, breathe it, be it, know it, and pray it. Here’s the deal, a word is just a word unless there is meaning for you behind it. Another friend of mine let me know about a great website, My One Word. I used it to help come up with key questions I asked myself and how I chose my one word differently for 2018.
