My One Word for 2017 #OneWord2017

 

 

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 hear you sneering (or perhaps it’s me), “Accept?! You’re just going to accept whatever happens? That’s so…so…”

Crap, huh?

To accept something seems passive.

However, I am choosing this word as my focus for the entire year above all the other glorious words in the English language. I’ve thought a lot about this.

I lost count of how many times I’ve caught myself saying, “I can’t believe this happened.” Or “I can’t believe she did that.”

“I can’t believe…” Well, gentle readers, it’s about time I start believing some things, you know?

Accept.

The Webster’s New Explorer College Dictionary definition:

 

ac·cept

verb: to receive as true

 

Ah. Truth. Now we’re getting somewhere.

I do not mean “get over it”, “that’s the way it is”, or “give up”.

I’ve heard “accept” used in these ways my whole life so it has always had a negative connotation for me.

Now I’m going to flip this word on its ass and my attitude is going with it.

I will not accept that the roof is leaking in the sense that I’ll shrug and live with a leaky roof. I’ll accept that the roof is leaking in the sense that once I accept it, I will do something about it.

Accepting my life the way it is doesn’t mean I won’t keep fighting. It means I will receive it as true instead of raging about how it shouldn’t be this way. It is, dude. It really is that way.

I need to act.

But acceptance isn’t the act, it’s what precipitates the act.

Accepting something isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. “I accept this…now what am I going to do about it?”

This is not going to be easy for me. Eh. I accept that.

 

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 2017.

 

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The Scrooge of New Year’s Day

 

 

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.

For January 1st, I’ve never quit smoking, gone on a diet, bought a gym membership, or sworn to save money.

When this holiday rolls around, I don’t sit and reflect. I barely give a thought to the past year except to say, “Huh. That sucked. Hope next year is better.”

And it isn’t.

It carries over our current problems because they can’t be magically fixed overnight. It also delivers a whole host of new and different problems. So that’s exciting.

But that’s life, isn’t it?

We have our ups and downs. All of us. And some things are out of our control.

I will not set myself up to “fix” something I can’t fix or to “start” something I can’t start. If I make a resolution to lose weight or exercise when my health prohibits it at the moment, I’m setting myself up for failure and inevitable misery. Wonderful way to start the year.

The thing is, as I said in 2014, I feel pressured to look back over my year and write something meaningful. I simply don’t want to.

So I will do what I always do. Which is to say that I will be aware. Of my life, my actions, my reactions…everything. I will learn new things, set goals, better myself, and change what’s not working. I will try to make my life more positive. And I will do this throughout the year, not just the first few weeks in January.

I will ring in the New Year on December 31^st but I will check in with myself all year.

 

Happy New Year, gentle readers.

 

My Sunday thoughts in (a wee bit over) 200 words.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you stick to them? (Let’s be honest…are they even realistic?)

 

Something new I’m doing this year is choosing a word: One Word. Something to focus on for the upcoming year. Look for my choice in next week’s post. It’s a fantastic alternative to resolutions.

 

This post from last year (The Scrooge of New Year’s Eve) really sums up how I feel about this holiday. I planned to repost it verbatim but wound up editing it quite a bit. Perhaps a fun challenge could be to see how accurate this post is each year. ?

 

Cheers to You, My Friends

 

 

I’m making a list. I’m checking it twice. I’m going to toast you. Naughty or nice.

Seriously, it doesn’t matter. Either way, you’re good on my list.

Every year, during the holidays, I watch A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life. Numerous times. Many numerous times. And, while I watch these films, I eat yummy foods. And drink delicious beverages. Sometimes seasonal beer, sometimes red or white wine, sometimes a treat of something sweet like Baileys. It’s a tradition.

So is toasting. The drink, the meal, the movie, the season…

And this year I’m adding you, my bloggy friends and fellow tweeps. Because, whatever my love/hate relationship with social media, the blogging “rules” I refuse to stress myself over, keeping up online appearances, I still appreciate you. Muchly. I love the comments, conversation, and community. You are the wind beneath my fins. (I could not even help that and have no idea where it came from—apologies.)

Back to my list. I’m actually making one. For real. Leave a comment with your preferred movie. I will raise my glass to you in gratitude, good health, and a happy holiday.

Thank you, gentle readers.

Cheers!

 

My Sunday thoughts in 200 words or less.

Happiness, joy, peace, love, chocolate, wine, and cheese platters, my friends! Happy Holidays! ❄️

(A Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life? P.S. If you don’t care for either of these movies, please, I beg of you, don’t tell me. It will hurt my delicate feelings. But, if you feel the need, just write: “I won’t say… Cheers!” and I will still include you on my list.)