One Little Word 2010

I am a fan of welcoming the new year with open arms. I love fresh starts, new opportunities, clean slates, possibilities.

Back in January 2007, as a way to celebrate these beginnings, I started a public tradition of choosing a single word to focus on over the course of the year.

Many of you are familiar with this tradition and have been joining me in selecting a new word each year. If this is your first time reading about the idea of one little word I recommend taking a few minutes to read my original post here.

Here's a look at my words from the past three years with links to the original posts.

2007 : Peace [ read my post for 2007 ]
2008 : Vitality [ read my post for 2008 ]
2009 : Nurture [ read my post for 2009 ]

Essentially the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life.

Maybe you want to invite something or maybe you are hoping to subtract something. Maybe your word will be practical or hopeful or creative or fanciful. Maybe you need a big word, something in-your-face that will challenge you everyday. Maybe you need something smaller and quieter that will whisper gentle tidings as you make your way throughout the year.

Whatever word you end up with, make sure it is your word (not your sister's, mom's, partner's, child's, etc). You can share it publicly or keep it close to your heart.

My word for 2010 is STORY.

I'm planning to do a post with more details on my thoughts about this word on Wednesday (look for the finishing pages of my December Daily tomorrow). I am hoping to use my word as a springboard for a variety of different projects and inspirations, in my life and my scrapbooking, over the next 365 days.

Have you chosen your word yet?

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669 thoughts

  1. Steph says…
    12/28/2009

    I've thought about this a lot and I think my word needs to be NURTURE. We are moving this spring (for the first time in my kids' lives) and it's going to be hard on all us leaving behind this house and especially the kids' school. Nourish means to feed, to educate, and to help grow and develop. So, my goal needs to be to nurture my children through this change, nurture our souls with love and peace while we adjust to new surroundings and the loss of old ones. If I can nurture my family while we go through this, we will all come out okay on the other side. :)

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  2. Christina Moquin says…
    12/28/2009

    I'm torn between balance and reach. I'm taking this semester and going full time since I was laid off and haven't found a job yet. There will be a lot of balance this year, financially, school and with my brand-new fiance. I think I'm going with BALANCE

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  3. Kristin says…
    12/28/2009

    My word last year was "begin" and I definitely accomplished that. Now out of necessity, my word for 2010 is "balance." I've already blogged & scrapped it... now I just need to figure out how to incorporate it into my life. :)

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  4. Lara says…
    12/28/2009

    So inspiring! I'm relatively new to your blog Ali and this will be my first year of one little world. I'm in the same boat as Beatriz - my word, too, is CREATE. I'm hoping for a little family of our own, starting a new craft business and welcoming new possibilities... here's to 2010 x

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  5. Solgunn says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for 2010 i s FOCUS. Focus on storytelling, focus on improving my health, focus on productivity, focus on patience (of the same reason as Elizabeth). I need to get more focused on all the projects I have. Thanks for the inspirariong Ali.

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  6. paula says…
    12/28/2009

    Mine is Serve. Lately I've been feeling quite resentful at the load I'm carrying and I want to change that.

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  7. Jennifer McIntyre @atthebluebarn says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for 2010 is RESTORE.
    As the new year starts - my desire is that the chaos of my husband's health - the upset that riddles our sons - - the upside down of the house/home and the flat line of my scrapbooking business/hobby is RESTORED.
    Happy Hew Year Ali and friends!

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  8. Lynsey says…
    12/28/2009

    Organize.
    Not just the physical aspects of my home, but the bigger aspects. Organize my beliefs by getting them on paper. Organize my day around a routine. Organize a book club, a family gathering, or a trip to see friends. Basically, it's about eradicating the chaos that has always ruled my life...and do something positive with the extra time I'll have when I'm not spending half an hour searching for something in a mess.

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  9. Laurengreene29 says…
    12/28/2009

    This will be my first year doing this, if I ultimately decide to do it, but the word I'm thinking of is CAPTURE. I guess you could say it found me; when I opened your blog page today, the first thing I noticed was "capture + create" in the header.
    Being a senior in high school, I really want to capture the last few months of my high school career and summer before college. I don't want to miss a thing or forget anything that happens.

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  10. LaurieS says…
    12/28/2009

    For the past few months I thought my word for 2010 would be Believe but it has changed to Journey - I want to get more from this every day journey in life by taking more photographs and detailing more of my thoughts and dreams in my journaling.

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  11. Jamie K says…
    12/28/2009

    Hi Ali...I love your 2010 word. Mine is CHOICE. I realized very recently that how I feel, how I deal, how I live is based on CHOICEs. That my emotions, actions and reactions are all my CHOICE. One of my favorite quotes is "Happiness is a choice". And, my choices deeply affect all of the people that are important to me - including myself.
    Happy Holidays!

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  12. Rosa says…
    12/28/2009

    After keeping the same word for 2 years(Conquer) I think I did just that, in so many ways I need now to give it all use.... a practical use so my word will be TRANSFORM

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  13. Kirsten H says…
    12/28/2009

    I have been thinking all month. Last year was simplicity, and I think I did well with the word.
    This year is health. There are many levels to this for me, physical health, mental health, and more.

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  14. Jamie K says…
    12/28/2009

    Hi Colleen...I was just reading through all of the comments and noticed that you and I picked the same word! Good luck with your CHOICES in 2010! :)

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  15. homegrownhospitality says…
    12/28/2009

    HOPE
    gotta have it..can not live without it...

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  16. stephanie says…
    12/28/2009

    My words for last 3 years have been organize, focus and control.
    While they were all good words, they have almost felt too stressful and serious in combination with my life LOL.
    So this year instead of trying so hard to feel in charge of things (not that I won't still try to get control of life) I feel the need to remind myself and try hard to just relax and ENJOY life.
    So for 2010 I am making it a point to ENJOY each day, ENJOY the smallest things, ENJOY the mess, ENJOY sitting in a bit of traffic, ENJOY just sitting down and having a nice conversation with a friend... even if my to do list is not getting done.. ENJOY my home and family... and every minute with my son. I plan to just ENJOY life.

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  17. Michelle W. says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for 2009 was LEARN and I think I did a pretty fair job living up to my expectations for that word.
    For 2010, I have chosen the word PRIORITIZE. I recently re-read a talk given in our church a couple of years ago about choosing between the good, the better and the best. Each of us only has so many hours in every day and there are so many good ways to spend our time. I often ended up choosing the good or even the better...and realize later that I missed out on the best. By choosing to focus on prioritizing, I am looking forward to my life being filled with the best choices.

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  18. Terri says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for 2010: SIMPLIFY.

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  19. Erica Hettwer says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for this year is Capture. I'm going to be doing Project 365 and I want to capture 2010 for my kids. :)

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  20. Chrissie says…
    12/28/2009

    Last year my word was "be". We were in the midst of a long hard battle to gain custody of my precious nephew out of an abusive foster home. Our last name starts with b and his with e. With three kids within 3 years and he only being 5 months older than our oldest, I needed to be a lot of things to a lot of people. I needed to focus on what we would become as a whole. This year with a huge job change, finalizing guardianship, and a potential move in our near future, I had no idea how to put that into one word. Then I read a previous post. I hope she doesn't mind sharing her word because I'm choosing "nest". I refer to our 4 kids as "peeps" and love the image of creating that safe and cozy haven for my family during our times of drastic change.

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  21. nerdgrl says…
    12/28/2009

    Wow! I've read through the comments and they are all so very inspirational that I'm thinking my word is so mundane. However, it's something I really need to work on for 2010; both my SBing room and my office really need it. My word is ORGANIZE.

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  22. Tiffany says…
    12/28/2009

    I was thinking about this last weekend. For 2010, I want to EXPLORE. I am looking foward to where that word will take me and my family.

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  23. AmyGee says…
    12/28/2009

    FOCUS...
    as a noun: an act of concentrating interest or activity on something.
    and also
    as a verb: pay particular attention to.
    something that has been lacking in many aspects of my life for way too long...
    focus on family
    focus on me
    focus on creating
    focus on learning
    focus on following through
    focus on the wonderful little things of everyday and the big picture of what's to come
    focus.

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  24. debbie says…
    12/28/2009

    My word for 2010 is"Open" 2009 was a very emotional year and I think 2010 will be similar but I hope in a more positive way and I need to be OPEN to what God is saying and doing

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  25. Kirsten says…
    12/28/2009

    What a great idea; I love hearing the "why" behind everyone's choice.
    After a few minutes of contemplation, I selected "affirmation." I knew that I wanted something that was related to the new direction in which my life is headed, but not simple appreciation for it - I want something that will help it grow, nurture and support it, strengthen and enhance it. Affirmations of self and of those I love create an unshakable foundation if they're laid with care and regularity.

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