I have never been good at making and sticking to resolutions. (Full disclaimer: I've been better and making them than sticking to them.) However, for the last two years, I have committed to One Little Word. I wish I knew who to give credit to for this idea. The concept is simple; decide on a word that will help you, guide you, inspire you, make you a better person, help you achieve your goals...just one little word.
My #OLW for 2013 was present. All year long, that one word inspired me to play more attention to the world around me. I still return to that word when I begin to feel unsettled. Last year, for 2014, my #OLW was kindness. I have four daughters. I'm six months away from having four teenage daughters. Kindness was an important word for me to remember, as there were several days when our house needed large doses of it. (If only I could get them to choose one little word and have it be kindness!) I'm thinking that words can accumulate over the years, as I don't plan to forget about how remembering my words helped me to be a better mother, wife, friend, and person over the years.
So now for 2015... I've talked about my word over the last few days, wondering out loud to my family about some of the contenders. For 2015, my one little word will be:
I am choosing this word because my life has been feeling so rushed and I forget to let people know how much I admire them, worry about them, care about them, appreciate them, love them. I want to do better at acknowledging the love, achievements, and struggles of people in my life--both my personal and professional worlds.
For today, I am not going to share the runner-ups. Maybe I will use one of them in 2016. For today, I am excited to move into 2016 remembering my previous words--present and kindness--and working on my 2015 OLW, acknowledge.
Happy New Year to all of you, and thank you for all of the comments, support, and wisdom you have given me in this amazing blogging world.
Acknowledge!! What a terrific word for 2015, Melanie! I agree about our past words staying with us. It's like once we pick a word for a year it changes us and becomes a part of who we are. Thanks for the reflection and Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteWise words about the need to pause and acknowledge, Melanie. I'm surfacing from a blogging break, and thinking about my OLW (the TWT shares this next week!), and you have given me something new to think about. Happy New Year, my friend!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the actions I had in mind when choosing Reach. I want to acknowledge others by reaching out. This OLW tradition is spreading. I have Facebook friends choosing words. I don't know where it originated but Ali Edwards does a monthly prompt you can sign up for. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThis fits you perfectly Melanie. As as Tara said, you are wise to know this is what your household needs. Acknowledge might be one those ideas that feeds itself, especially among teenagers.
ReplyDeleteThis is my second year doing a OLW. It seems that this year's word grew out of last year's. Happy New Year!
This fits you perfectly Melanie. As as Tara said, you are wise to know this is what your household needs. Acknowledge might be one those ideas that feeds itself, especially among teenagers.
ReplyDeleteThis is my second year doing a OLW. It seems that this year's word grew out of last year's. Happy New Year!
It's funny since I think you do an incredible job of acknowledging others. Can't wait to read more about your journey with this word this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all you've done to encourage me as a writer. Your notes and reminders are always so helpful to me!