Inside: Learn how to choose one word this year by clicking over to read this descriptive post and by downloading a free printable guide. The post and free guide offer one word for the year ideas as well as inspiration for choosing the best word for your own growth.
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Did you set New Year’s resolutions for 2019? Perhaps you’re one of the 90% that have already given up and scrapped those resolutions?
If this is you, I am not surprised! Research shows that about half of all adults make resolutions for the new year, but fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a few months.
Instead of setting lofty New Years resolutions this year, let’s try something different. Let’s pick just ONE WORD to guide us on the right path and encourage us to make gradual changes over the year.
I chose one word last year (for the first time!) and it was a game changer for me. Read about the one word I chose for 2018 here.
I used the word BREATHE to set mini S.M.A.R.T. goals throughout the year and learned and changed so much. I was able to use the word as a constant – yet gentle – reminder to focus on creating positive change in my life.
RELATED POST: 12 Lessons From 12 Simplicity Challenges.
Rather than setting general resolutions for the whole year, I focused on one word and broke that down into even smaller bite-sized goals through-out the year. This way I was able to dig deeper and make more lasting changes. You can read more about what I learned from completing 12 Simplicity Challenges here.
In this post, I’ll share tips on how to choose your own word for the year as well as the word I chose for 2019.
HOW TO CHOOSE ONE WORD FOR THE YEAR
Choosing a word for the year is a fun process! If it starts to be stressful at any point, take a step back and try to figure out what is really stressing you out. Perhaps now is not the best time to focus on this exercise and that is ok! Come back in a few days.
I first learned about choosing a word from Ali Edwards and her One Litte Word year-long workshop. While this workshop is geared towards people who love to scrapbook and create memory books from scratch, the activities and question prompts throughout the year were incredibly helpful in helping me think more broadly and deeply about my chosen word.
In the workshop, Ali talks about how sometimes your word will just come to you, usually repeatedly. It will be something that you are thinking about often and you will just know that is the word you’re supposed to turn towards this year.
On the other hand, there are some years that Ali had to spend quite a bit of time journaling and thinking about which word to use. Either way is totally fine and normal!
Don’t worry, I won’t leave you on your own to choose your one word!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE ONE WORD GUIDE
I created a totally free guide to walk you through the simple steps to decide your own word.
The free guide includes space to reflect and journal about the previous year as well as space to journal about words that may be useful for you this year.
I also share 100+ sample words that you can choose from to help get your creative juices flowing!
100+ IDEAS FOR YOUR ONE WORD THIS YEAR
Last year it took me a while to come up with a word that I wanted to focus on. I used the prompts in the free guide and thought about several words before settling on BREATHE.
Towards the end of 2018, the word I chose for 2019 kept creeping into my thoughts. I wasn’t even really thinking about what word I would choose, but the word kept popping up in what I was doing. Eventually, I realized that this was going to be my word for the year. Keep reading to discover what that word is!!
Perhaps you already know your word and that is awesome! Or perhaps, you were more like me last year, and still, don’t know what word to focus on for 2019. Sometimes all we need is a little inspiration to get the creative juices flowing!
Download the FREE guide which includes 100+ ideas to choose from for your word this year!
MY ONE WORD FOR 2019: FOCUS
Focus.
This is the word that kept speaking to me late last year. I have never really had this happen before, but this word kept popping into my head. I was feeling rather scatter-brained and felt like I was focusing on too many things at once and not really getting anywhere.
So this year, I hope that my word FOCUS will help me to reach my goals and feel better overall!
I saw this mnemonic on social media and this is going to be my mantra for this year!
F – Follow
O – One
C – Course
U – Until
S – Successful
DEFINE FOCUS
One of the first things I like to do when I choose a word for the year is to look up the different definitions.
This is what I found for the word focus:
Noun:
- A point of concentration
- A state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding
Verb:
- To cause to be concentrated
By looking at the various definitions, I get the chance to be curious about the word and learn about different facets and applications of the word. It gives me the opportunity to think about different ways to apply the word to my life throughout the year. And for me personally, that means asking how this word can help me cultivate a life with enough.
“Minimalism is fueled by a focused mind. You have to stop always distracting yourself if you want to get the most out of living simply and minimally. If your state is a constant influx of input and useless messages say from the media it’s going to be hard to figure out what you really want, instead, you will take on what the mainstream pushes on you. Part of minimalism is gaining back your focus for the things that matter, but the only way to keep only the things that matter in your life along with the important messages is to say no to most things and go through your day with discipline so that the things or toxic ideas/beliefs don’t creep back into your life.” –Quote from Instagram @minimal_influence.
FOCUS LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE…
Next, I like to think about how this word may play out in my life during the year. These ideas and thoughts are not set in stone, but these are some of the things that I hope to dig deeper into this year.
Less:
- Multitasking
- Distractions which cause fatigue and stress
- Mindless scrolling on social media or the internet in general
- E-mails
- Screen time in general
- Stress
- Looking for the perfect process, tool, training….there is no such thing as perfect
More:
- Following through on my goals and the task at hand (download a free S.M.A.R.T. goals worksheet)
- Single-tasking
- Knowing what I should be working on to reach my goals
- Taking action!
- Batching like-tasks together to minimize task-switching
- Mindfulness – being present with my family or focused on my work. Not trying to do both at the same time.
- A sense of calm, presence, and happiness
RESOURCES FOR THE WORD FOCUS
These are some books that have been on my reading list for a while and may be beneficial during my year of FOCUS.
YOUR TURN
What is the one word you have chosen to make 2019 truly spectacular? Share in the comments below!
Don’t forget to download your FREE guide here.
And, consider pinning this post for later!
