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This is the third year in a row I have selected a Word of the Year.
My 2009 Word of the Year was Joy. It is still my favorite word and you will find it all over my house. One of my favorite Joy quotes is “Man is that he may have Joy not guilt trips” I remind myself that on a daily basis.
My 2010 Word of the Year was the prefix {re}. I wanted to refresh, revisit, refocus somethings.
Originally I had selected the word Abundance for my 2011 Word of the Year. Abundance is something that I had felt a lack of in 2010, in several areas of my life.
Too many times I allowed that lack of Abundance to overwhelm me. I knew I had to change things. I had to change the way I felt about Abundance and my definition of Abundance. I thought I had my word.
But I was wrong.
In some reading I was doing last week I came across this quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”
This quote made me realize abundance wasn’t my problem – my problem was that I was focusing on the wrong secret garden. Instead of focusing on the abundance I was lacking in my life I needed to focus on the abundance I did have – a wonderful family, good health, amazing blog readers, pretty things etc.
I needed to change my focus. Thus I discovered my Word of the Year for 2011 – Focus.
Focus – a thing or place that is of greatest importance, a guiding or motivating purpose or principle.
I needed to refine and define my Focus. The focus of my life, my family and even this blog. I have felt very distracted and pulled in multiple directions this last year. I have a tendency to get involved in too many “good things.” I have so many interests and things I love and want to do that I have found myself feeling fragmented and unable to focus on any one thing for any length of time. There is always something else, or a dozen something elses to distract me. I end up not doing any of them as well as I would like.
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” Tony Robbins
So here are some of the things I am going to do this year to be more focused, to improve my focus and to refine my focus
1. Begin each morning, not at my computer reading emails, but in prayer and scripture reading. Focusing on what is really important
2. Focus on my inner core strength and balance by continuing my yoga practice 2-3 times a week.
3. Create a specific focus for each month of the year – January’s focus will be my home and creating order. I will share each month’s Focus Journey in my new Finding Focus posts.
4. Regain my focus each Sunday by having a technology fast – no computer, no T.V. etc. (I survived my first one yesterday and it was much easier than I thought and I loved the sense of calm and peace it brought to my day!)
5. Improve my focus by taking additional photography classes and learning more about and improving my photography skills.
6. Spend time focused on doing something I love to do – Read! I want to fill my life and my mind with good literature on a regular basis.
7. Focus on others by asking myself each day – “What can I do to help someone else today”
“When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.” – Joel Osteen
I hope you have taken the opportunity to come up with your own Word of the Year – I’d love to know what it is. Please leave a comment below and let me know.
I love to have my Word of the Year in constant view during the year. It helps me to stay “focused” on my word. This year I have designed and made a fun line of Word of the Year and Daily Reminder Pillows for myself and family.
In addition to personalized Word of the Year pillows I also have some fun “Daily Reminder” pillows. Things that you’d like to be reminded of or maybe you’d like someone else to be reminded of. I have some of my favorite “Daily Reminders” I have used with my children or if you have a favorite “Daily Reminder”
So what is your Word of the Year for 2011???
Patti says
It only took me half a month to find my word (yes, I’m slow), but today in Sacrament Meeting it came to me. My word for this year is courage.
Courage to take on whatever comes, courage to keep giving my best, courage to have a good attitude everyday! I’m glad I found my word- I just needed to “focus” on it for awhile! 🙂
Vicky says
I have found (or it found me) my word for the year. REACH. Many great definitions for this word.
Robyn says
Hi LA – I loved your post, and have enjoyed reading what other people said would be their word and why it would be there word of the year.
This year the idea of a word of the year seemed like something I might want to try. But I really had no idea what was something that seemed appropriate and something that I could even somewhat commit to on a regular basis.
On my way home from my moms today – it hit me like a ton of bricks…Health…it is something that I personally need to focus on, but also something that can be taken into consideration with others. For instance..is this behavior healthy for me personally, for my family, for a friendship, etc..
It seemed fitting that it struck me today – when I spent the day with my mom who has health issues associated with her back and hip and is compounded by being overweight. I see what poor health has done to her and I don’t want to go down that path.
My dad puts alot of focus on his health – but just yesterday he had to be in the hospital overnight as in just 7 months his stent had scar tissue forming and it was blocking his artery, causing chest pain.
And then today we had to ‘be a responsible pet owner’ and have one of our horses put down – due to health issues.
So my word of the year is health – I want to focus on my healthy, my family’s health and be there for my friends and encourage them to do things for their health.
Thanks again! You are such an inspiration!
Stacy Simpson says
LOVE this post – my word is FOCUS also! I just chatted with you at BPC’s OLW chat with Ali. I will be following your focus journey!
Lynette says
I have followed your word for the year, these past three years. My first word was “opportunity” as in all of life is an opportunity to grow, learn and heal. Last year was “breathe.” This became a practice to root myself in the present moment and just “be.” This year my word is “connect.” I want to be emotionally present to those around me. So I choose to practice connection in all my relationships. I love this practice. This year I have also shared this theme/affirmation for the year with several friends. I am looking forward to hearing their words too.