One Little Word…

One Little Word…. Have you heard about this project? It’s really pretty cool. Like so many other people out there, I stink at New Year’s resolutions. But this concept of picking one little word…that just seems so much more manageable! I first heard about it a few years ago in an Ali Edwards blog post. The idea is that you pick one word (or sometimes, it picks you!) that you’d like to welcome into your life and focus on for the year. It’s a tool that helps bring about personal growth and change, and help you live the life you want to live. It’s really inspiring! Every December/January, I find myself thinking about what my word will be for the year. My words have floated in and out of focus throughout the year, sometimes holding on tight in the forefront of my memory, other times they feel like a little whisper in the background, and quite honestly, there are times that I’ve forgotten entirely what the word was I chose in the first place. This year, the word “Reflect” made itself known. I can’t get it out of my head! There are so many things this word could invite into my life, and it’s got me feeling really motivated this year. I’ve got a couple things I’d like to do with this word: 1) I’ve been wanting to begin a gratitude journal for a while now. I’m finding it so easy to slip into a negative mind set and truthfully, that’s just not how I want to live my life. It does not make me happy. I’ve been blessed with a  pretty great life. It’s not perfect, but there is so much to be thankful for, and I need to do a better job at recognizing that. I want to spend a bit of time every day to reflect on the positive and give thanks. 2) I’ve been watching my kids and how they interact with each other in those moments when we’re at home, just the three or four of us. I know kids will be kids. I know they’re learning about personal space and boundaries. But sometimes what I see scares the heck out of me. There’s a tone in Liam’s voice when he loses patience with Emily or he feels the need to scold her. In those moments, it’s so painfully obvious that he’s learned that from us. We have treated him that way, even if we’re not aware of it at the time. Me. I play a role in that. In those moments, it’s like having my own gut wrenching faults reflected right back at me. I get angry with him for behaving that way, but obviously, I’m really just angry with myself. I want that reflection to change. I want our home to be filled with love and kindness and patience, not anger and frustration. I think this will always be a work in progress, but I want my behavior to reflect those values. Lead by example, right? And I’m going to try to pay more attention to that reflection. 3) Our home…it’s a disaster. It’s constantly cluttered, toys everywhere, leftover dishes all over the house, piles of laundry, handles falling off the kitchen cupboards. This environment reflects our life right now in a lot of ways…chaos. I want our environment to reflect a calm and peaceful and organized life. So it’s time to clean up. Saying it like that feels a little overwhelming, because really, there’s SO MUCH TO DO. It’s okay. It doesn’t all need to happen at once. But it’s something I’d like to work towards this year. 4) Once I decided on the word “Reflect”, I went looking for quotes and images that were a good fit for my intentions, and this one popped up.

And that is exactly it!! I want my choices to reflect my values. How I spend my time. How I spend my money. How I care for myself and my family.

Reflect.

That’s my word for 2015.

I’m quite certain this word is going to have an impact on other areas of my life this year as well. To help me keep my word more visible throughout the year, I’ve signed up for Ali’s 2015 One Little Word Class. Each month there’s a new prompt  introduced in the online classroom. The prompts often have a creative twist/task, but the purpose is really to help you reflect and connect with your word and see your progress. You work through the lessons and prompts completely at your own pace. There’s also a HUGE online community of supportive and encouraging people working through the same prompts for their own words. Connecting with other people and hearing their stories is really pretty awesome. I’ve taken quite a few of Ali’s classes in the past, and they are worth every penny, seriously. The content and community and support are the best I’ve EVER seen in an online education forum. So I’m excited 🙂 And ready to get started. I’ll be sure to let you know how it’s going throughout the year! Thanks so much for listening.