Well, I did a bang up job last year with my One Word for 2017: Accept. I didn’t. I raged, raged against the…everything. It was brutal choosing a focus for the year and I faltered. Failed. Time to move on.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I don’t do ‘resolutions’. However, I do believe (previous failure aside) a focus for the year is an excellent idea.
This is how I figured 2017 would work out. It did not. But, still, props for trying:
Choosing ONE word for the entire year? Not easy. I finally narrowed it down to three:
Present
Engage
Accept
I want to be more present in my life and I realized that, if I fully engage, I can be. And to engage, I need to accept some things. (This is how I worked it out, anyway.)
Therefore, my one word this year is:
Accept
I’m going to try again.
I’ve really had a time of it, this year, choosing a word. I even thought of cheating and picking two (or three). But, if I’m going to do this thing, I’m going to do it right. So I’ll work it out again.
I like the words I narrowed it down to:
Present
Mindful
I had passing thoughts of choosing something like Assertiveness, Determination, or Focus but they didn’t feel quite right. It’s just that I’ve been yammering on this past year about standing my ground, choosing me, sticking up for myself, keeping on target, saying “NO”, etc. so these seemed good, too.
It’s all about me, right? Sure. Why not? I went into this weird line of hyphenated “self” stuff:
Self-Esteem
Self-Motivation
Self-Care
Self-Awareness
Self-Kindness
Self… Er…
Self… Um…
Self-Centered
Self…ish
Crap. Never mind.
But I do need something “self”-like.
So, when continuing to narrow down my choice, I decided it must include me.
I’m sick of being stressed-out and overwhelmed, of not doing what I love, of doing things I’d really rather not be doing. I’m sick of ALL OF THE THINGS!
Every year around this time I say, “It’s going to be different.” Well, gentle readers, it’s not. It’s quite the same. Which is to say, I let myself get caught up in a shitstorm of stress and overwhelm by choosing others instead of myself, by over-committing, by working too hard on things that don’t bring fulfillment or happiness, by helping everyone but me.
Forget it! I’m done. Or, at least, my OneWord is done. And here it is:
Self
This is my favorite definition from Webster’s New Explorer College Dictionary:
self
combining form: to, with, for, or toward oneself
See? I’ll be kind to, gentle with, caring for, considerate toward…myself. Brilliant.
By choosing Self, I’ll be incorporating all sorts of other wonderful words I’ve been thinking of here: Awareness, Mindful, Focus, Kindness… How can I have Self in front of me and actively abuse or dismiss it? I cannot. It would be awkward. And weird. And mean.
As I said last year, this is not going to be easy. I’ve got to change my whole mindset to get to the point where Self is what I focus on first. I’m up for the challenge though.
I’m taking my Self out of here, wishing you a Happy New Year and hoping you all can find a perfect OneWord for 2018. ❤
Have you ever taken part in the One Word Challenge?
If you haven’t, why not try it? Or think on it a moment and leave one in the comments. What could your focus be this year? I’d love to hear what your One Word is for 2018.
Lemon Shark 