Drumroll please….
My word for 2018 is GROW.
Many of you have heard of the one little word (olw) movement started by Ali Edwards. It’s been around for years, and although I’ve chosen words in the past, I’ve never “officially” done the whole one little word class and work. This year I am.
I love the idea of choosing one word to represent my year, but I have some advice if you’re going to pick a word for yourself: be very careful which word you choose.
One year I chose work.
What in the world?!? Sometimes I even surprise myself with my lack of genius.
Seriously though, in the beginning of that year, the Lord kept bringing the word work to my mind and heart. I was resolved. It was going to be my year to work and get it all done, although I had no idea what that “all” would involve. I just knew I had to get to work and opportunities would present themselves to use my word to its fullest. That year did not disappoint. I worked.
In early spring of that year, I remember standing in a Salvation Army store with my friend and talking about how I just knew that year was going to be a lot of work. It was only March and I knew beyond a doubt work was the right choice of words.
This year I’ve been thinking about the word grow and growth. I’ve actively been working on personal growth since September and it’s something I want to be the theme of my New Year.
I like the idea of claiming a word that will become my driving force, rather than making resolutions. Now, please don’t get me wrong, I’ve set all kinds of goals for 2018-three pages to be exact, broken up by category. I’m not even kidding. To me, goals are very different from resolutions. The word resolution has connotations of finality for me, as in “I always will do this” or “I never will do that”. It just feels so extreme to me, and I don’t tend to keep resolutions. Resolutions don’t work for me. Goal setting does, and I like to have a word to encompass my goals and keep me motivated.
While there’s nothing magical about claiming a word for the year, I do think it helps me to be more focused. I’m a word person anyway, so having a word to geek out about is good for me. I decided to sign-up for the class, because it will force to me slow down in the beginning of each month and do some soul searching. I’m more action oriented by nature, so this will be a good discipline for me.
What about you?
Have you picked a word for 2018 or do you prefer to make resolutions?
I’d love to hear how you approach the new year. As for me, I’ll keep you updated. I’m very much looking forward to this year and to seeing how my word plays out. Since I’m not just sitting around waiting to grow, I’ll be posting about some of the steps I’m taking to make growth happen.
The only area I don’t want to grow is my waist size, but that’s a whole other conversation for a different day.
Happy 2018!