This last year was a whirlwind, that’s the best way I can put it.
Whirlwind.
That was my word for 2017. I didn’t intentionally pick a word…this sort of landed in my lap. Maybe if I had chosen a word at the beginning of the year, things would have been different. I felt like one of those fallen autumn leaves that is perfectly content laying on the ground minding their own business but then suddenly gets picked up by the wind and thrown around in a big scattered mess, blowing haphazardly in the breeze with no clear direction.
At the beginning of 2017, I started back to work after 3 months at home with my first born child, and I felt like I was immediately caught in the craziness of new motherhood while balancing a full-time career (and traveling for it), breastfeeding (let’s just say pumping in an airport bathroom is not glamorous), and then severe medical issues that crept up in March. After March, life became a downhill spiral that took 8 months to recover from and find my footing again. When I look back on last year, I am really not sure where it went, but I’m thankful that it’s almost over.
Now, don’t get me wrong when I say that. I am grateful for being here, being alive, and as my friend would say, being “above ground.” However, there were days this year that seemed so hard, and only now am I feeling like it’s settling back down, the wind isn’t blowing so hard, and I’m able to rest gently and feel the ground beneath my feet again. I’m not sure when the wind will pick up again, but for now, I’m quite happy being able to breathe and not feel like my life (and my brain) are in a state of constant survival.
Maybe you had a year that feels like that…I’ve been seeing a lot of those #bestnine posts, where people post their top nine pics of the year. For those lucky ones, maybe 2017 was the best year of your life. Either way, I’ve been reading a few books and blogs lately gearing up for 2018. I ordered a new planner (my favorite is here) and am going to spend the weekend of New Years clearing my piles, de-cluttering my home and setting intentions and goals for the new year.
I’m sure if you googled something along the lines of “New Years resolutions” today, you would find a multitude of posts about how to prepare your life for the best 2018 you can. So I’m not here to belabor the point. I think we get overly ambitious around this time of the year and we try to come up with ten new goals only to fall short on most of them because it takes a lot to change so many things at once.
I’m starting 2018 differently.
Instead of trying to change my entire life and do ten new things in January, I’m going to focus on one word. What do you want 2018 to be about? It might be there already, you just haven’t taken a moment to notice it.
My word for 2018 is JOY.
You know how I know this? Because the word has stared me in the face, literally, for the last month. It might not be this simple for you, and I’ll share a couple of ways to come up with it, but right around the time I began thinking about my word for the new year, about 90% of the holiday/Christmas cards that arrived at my house had the word “joy” or “joyful” on it. Including my own, which I didn’t realize until I had them all arranged on the wall and I went to look at them one day. I laughed, in spite of myself, thinking of those times where you’re out searching for answers, reading books and Bible versus and asking God for a sign, only to take a step back and realize the answer has been staring you in the face the whole time.
JOY.
I’d like to be more joyful, and do things that bring me joy.
I’d like to find more joy, and pay attention to it, when it is there.
I’d like to be intentional about joy, making sure to write down those things each night that brought me joy.
I’d like to inspire joy, so others feel joyful around me.
What’s your word for 2018? Here are a couple of ways to decide:
Take away all the distractions of your life. Imagine if none of those existed, what would your year look like? Would there be more time with your family? Maybe FAMILY is your word. Would there be more adventures? Maybe ADVENTURE is your word. Have you been working on a side project for the last 3 years and finally want to take a risk and start your business? Maybe LAUNCH is your word.
Look around. What are you surrounding yourself with? What do you wish you were surrounding yourself with? Perhaps you want to focus more on God, and you want 2018 to be about FAITH. Or maybe you want to do more things for yourself, and you wish you had a hobby or a creative outlet, but you’ve let life take over. Why not make CREATIVITY your word?
Make an idea board. (Yes, like you did in grade school). Pull out magazine clippings or articles online, and pictures that inspire you or that you’d like your 2018 to look like. Then, once everything is on the board, take a step back, and see if anything jumps out at you.
Once you’ve determined your word, write it down. Put it somewhere that you see it everyday. Pray on it at night when you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning. Focus your attention and maybe, just maybe, even if your gym membership lapses or your life becomes messy this year, you can remember your one New Year’s resolution, and your one word, and it can help bring you back to the focus and goals of 2018.
What’s your one word?