The Lifelong Benefits of Choosing One Word for the Year

80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. 

We’ve all heard, and have probably lived, that statistic. For years, I got swept up in the New Year hype of resolutions. It seemed simple enough. I would just vow to get it all together. This year. And I mean ALL. And though I’m all about slow intentional progress, resolutions can often tend to be rigid and unforgiving, attempting to override the realities of how hearts and humans work.

Then in 2011, I heard about this “one word” idea.

Not rocket science. You choose one word as a focus for the year. Intrigued, I chose my first word for 2012, HOME.  After that  BE, LEARN, NOURISH, and LEAP followed, and this year’s word- YES.  Of course, there was that one year that my word was a dud. That happens. And I still survived 2014!

Now, seven years and six words in, and those words are increasingly a part of me.  They’re like flowers in the garden of my heart. Each unique, alive and ever changing. This garden is a place of hope and promise. After a year of focus, they continue to yield a lifetime of growth.

There’s so much story in this living garden of words.  Each one speaks uniquely to beauty and pain and a hope for redemption. Each seed is tended perfectly by God and very imperfectly by me. It’s not all up to me.  Praise!

It’s from this garden that God brings forth any gifts that I have to offer to the world.  And that’s true for you too.  Your gifts are rooted in your story.

So, are you ready to choose a word for 2019? Here are three things that can help get you started cultivating your One Word…

Be intentional in choosing your word.  

You will need some quiet internal space.  The stronger the connection your word has with your heart and story, the better chance it has to bloom. Dig deep. What are the themes that are surfacing in your heart? What is God growing in you? Reading back through this year’s journals can be helpful.

A “good” word, one that will stick, is rooted in desire and vision and connected to your unfolding life story. I start thinking about my word before the New Year (though there is nothing magical about January 1st). After thinking about themes, I make lists. Get lots of words down on a page, list or mind map style. Use google to look up definitions and synonyms. Don’t initially overthink it.  I talk through options with John, I pray, and I “sit” with a few words for a few days and just pay attention to my heart’s response to it.  Then, inevitably, my word finds me. Yours will too. Then you’re ready to intentionally lean into it, and cultivate it.

Hold your word with an open hand. 

As we sit, hopeful and resolute at the beginning of a year, the reality is that there is a lot is unknown in the year ahead. Just like gardens, our lives are impacted by elements we can’t anticipate or control, especially in our work, where transition is a constant.  Expect that it may to turn out exactly as you had imagined. We are more vulnerable than we sometimes want to believe.

But we have a gardener we can trust.  His timing is right, even if it doesn’t line up with ours, His work is sure.  His success rate, 100%. Much of the growth first happens out of sight, deep in the dirt, at a root level. You may not see instagram-worthy blooms for a while, but we can rest in His work in each season. Leave space for God to surprise you! This blog is actually the fruit of my 2017 word, LEAP, and here it is- finally springing up two years later! 

Finally, share your word with others. 

Just put it out there. Make it official. Have a “word” gathering, a big one or with one other friend. Share about how you will intentionally cultivate your word, and about your hopes for what God might do. There is such power in community.

You can even have a word for your family!  Think of all of the great things that can be sparked if you cultivate a word like grace, play, celebrate, etc for a whole year?  Maybe you don’t have your own kiddos, who are the MKs around you that you love and can build into? What a fun way to connect and delight in them!

When life feels chaotic, as the seasons change, your one word is a place to return and reset.  For me, it’s a reminder that though I grow slowly, I’m growing.

Spark What Matters: So, are you in? Choose one word that you will cultivate this year. Who can you invite to join with you?  With whom can you share the deeper meaning of your word?  I would love to know your word, too!  

In my next post, I’ll be sharing a bit about my 2018 word, YES, and I’ll reveal my 2019 word. eeeek. Excited to make it official!