ONE Word
I'm a huge fan of goals. Not a huge fan of resolutions for the New Year. I heard Dave Ramsey explain this recently... most people fail at new year's resolutions because they approach it as a dream or a hope instead of a goal. Goals need to be SMART-- so do resolutions. I've written some specifics about being intentional about achieving your resolution-- find that post here.
After doing some thinking and planning, I decided to return to "One Word" as a focus for 2017. The concept is that you choose a word to set the direction for your life. It's not that complicated of a concept, but clever person has figured out how to profit off the concept. There are even step-by-step directions. You can also buy your word on a bracelet.
I really like this one word concept because it's much easier to hold onto than "lose 30 pounds" or "get in shape." Your word transcends an event, and there's not a finite end. (And maybe that's antithetical to The New Year"s Resolution, but stay with me.) Your one word is a focus. A touchstone. A reminder to help you return to the focus on making you a better you.
My word this year is PEACE. Which is a little funny because I chose this word before I knew I was going to choose a "one word": A few weeks before Christmas, my administrative team was gathered to take our annual Christmas card. We were standing in front of a massive tree and decided to hold decorative signs-- each had a word written in script. My word was peace. My conscious mind didn't make the connection of the sign to my selected word of the year until this week when I looked at the printed Christmas card (still posted in my office) and saw the sign.
To me the choice of the word peace is about finding peace in the midst of chaos. Finding calm in the storm. It's learning to stay centered in challenging situations. Being balanced and steady instead of rocking with circumstances.
It's Jesus sleeping in a boat in the middle of a storm so horrendous that his buddies woke him up yelling, "Don't you care that we're about to die?!" That's me in most stressful situations. I get frantic. Nervous. Stressed. Angry. And that's a fairly normal human response. But just because the circumstances are out of my control doesn't mean that my response needs to rise to that level.
This year I will be still more often. I will respond in love. I will enjoy peace.
After doing some thinking and planning, I decided to return to "One Word" as a focus for 2017. The concept is that you choose a word to set the direction for your life. It's not that complicated of a concept, but clever person has figured out how to profit off the concept. There are even step-by-step directions. You can also buy your word on a bracelet.
I really like this one word concept because it's much easier to hold onto than "lose 30 pounds" or "get in shape." Your word transcends an event, and there's not a finite end. (And maybe that's antithetical to The New Year"s Resolution, but stay with me.) Your one word is a focus. A touchstone. A reminder to help you return to the focus on making you a better you.
My word this year is PEACE. Which is a little funny because I chose this word before I knew I was going to choose a "one word": A few weeks before Christmas, my administrative team was gathered to take our annual Christmas card. We were standing in front of a massive tree and decided to hold decorative signs-- each had a word written in script. My word was peace. My conscious mind didn't make the connection of the sign to my selected word of the year until this week when I looked at the printed Christmas card (still posted in my office) and saw the sign.To me the choice of the word peace is about finding peace in the midst of chaos. Finding calm in the storm. It's learning to stay centered in challenging situations. Being balanced and steady instead of rocking with circumstances.
It's Jesus sleeping in a boat in the middle of a storm so horrendous that his buddies woke him up yelling, "Don't you care that we're about to die?!" That's me in most stressful situations. I get frantic. Nervous. Stressed. Angry. And that's a fairly normal human response. But just because the circumstances are out of my control doesn't mean that my response needs to rise to that level.
This year I will be still more often. I will respond in love. I will enjoy peace.
Comments
Post a Comment