One Little Word 2011
My 2011 necklace from the lovely Lisa Leonard. Get one for yourself here.
My word for 2011 is light.
This year my word sure seemed to choose me.
Most years I start thinking about my word for the following year in November or December. I think about it in passing and start listening, looking, and being open to the possibilities of a new word.
This year the word light seemed to be trying to catch my attention.
I found it in books, in magazines, in music, in conversations and in quiet moments.
So I'm going with it. It's already surprised, delighted, challenged and sparked some new things within me.
Some years I've had to look harder or listen longer or simply choose one that fit with what was on my mind and heart at that moment. There's no right or wrong. The main thing to remember is that this is your word. It's not for your child, parent, partner, spouse, sister, etc.
And what do you do with this one little word?
You live with it. You invite it into you life. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities.
I'd love to read what word you've chosen or are considering for 2011. In the comments feel free to simply leave your word as your comment or write a bit about why you are choosing this word.
In a couple of days I'll post a compilation of the words as an inspirational reminder to us all.
If you’re new to the concept of One Little Word, you can read some of my previous posts here: 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
NEW FOR 2011 : ONE LITTLE WORD at BIG PICTURE CLASSES
I'm excited to be offering a brand new One Little Word online workshop through Big Picture Classes in 2011 as a way to connect with and honor our words throughout the year.
Each month you'll receive a prompt with a simple creative project and a gentle reminder to check back in with your word. By the end of the year you'll have compiled the contents of an 8.5x11 album that documents, defines, celebrates and generally makes your word more visible. Workshop materials include printable elements, full-color PDF handouts, and video presentations.
People have been asking me if you have to be a scrapbooker for this class. My answer is no. Even though we are making an album it's really more of a journaling/record keeping/thinking/exploring project. I'm excited to see how people interpret the prompts and make them meaningful for their own lives.
This is not complicated and it's not time-consuming. It's simply a way we can come together to share our experience with our words throughout the course of the year.
The One Little Word classroom opens on January 1, 2011.
I love this! It is so hard to pick just one word. I chose "HONOR".
It's a noun and a verb. It means a lot to me. It's a word to live by and live with. Something to strive for. To teach my children. Something to give away. And something to carry myself with.
I think I have to add a secondary word, and that is "JOY"!
It's something I need to remember that I want more of in my home.
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COURAGE is my word..this word keeps showing up in my world. I am learning to face many of my fears so for this year, COURAGE will be "my" word that I will be focusing on. I am sooooo looking forward to the One Little Word class!!
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[...] Ali Edwards (a blog on scrapbooking, but so relevant for our OLW) Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0) Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!) [...]
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My first OLW exposure. I read this post and the word FOCUS jumped into my ever so scattered brain. And so I shall hear your words and make focus mine OWL this year for 2011...
~shelly
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Hi Ali,
I was just blog-hopping and I'm not sure how I ended up here, but i love this idea. I had already been thinking about this, and my word for this coming year is HEAL. The past couple of years have been rough, and as things start to turn around, I'm thinking I need to spend time recovering from survival mode. Next year, I'm already thinking about more "doing" type of words, but I'm definitely feeling the need for a time of stillness and contemplation. I'm a little late, but I'll also be checking out your workshop, too!
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Celebrate. I think it is so important to celebrate ever last thing in your life. So often we take for granted the little things in our life and we get bogged down. If we celebrate the little things, then when things frustrate or get us down, we may not be down for long!
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I loved this idea, but never thought I could settle on one word. But it settled on me. Strength. I am looking forward to 2011 with Strength in my hip pocket!
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My word is HEALTHIER
I want to bring this into all areas of my life. PHYSICAL, FINANCIAL, HOME, AND SPIRIT.
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Love this and love one little word for 2011! I actually have two little words for the year. They're CREATIVE + NURTURE! I just wrote about the reason behind them on my blog yesterday: http://reneeyemma.com/2011/01/2011-word/
But these two words really represent everything I want to feel this year...I want to feel what it's like to BE in touch with my creative soul again and I want to FEEL myself nurture every area of my life.
Really, it could just be one word: nurture, because I am going to nurture my inner creative spark this year! But, I'm excited to focus on both of these words.
loveloveLOVE it! :)
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[...] my life using the One Little Word concept shared by Ali Edwards…you can read more about my chosen word, EMBRACE, [...]
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here is my word for this year.
i long to be here.
xoxo.
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I LOVE this concept, and this year, (my first), I'm in!!! My word for 2011 is MOTIVATE. Seems I've lost all my motivation, and it's time to get it back!! Now off to sign up for the class!! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!
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My word is "Believe" It is my biggest fear and I want it to become by biggest Joy! I am both afraid and excited about this journey
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Hi..after reading about the word of the year and thinking about it, i really believe my word is UNENCUMBERED.. i need to throw off the things i don't need in my life, let go of things that hold me down, stop worrying about the things i cannot change, even physically loose weight, tidy cupboards out etc..i hope i can keep to this word and be a lot lighter by the end of the year... all the best to everyone on their special words too!! xx lizzy
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[...] You see, like Trude I am not a resolution type of girl. And I love Ali’s approach of allowing one word to guide you through the year. My goals are always changing and they are set as needed or wanted, [...]
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[...] Does anyone else see a heart in the middle? I guess something about this image reminds me of my One Little Word for [...]
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[...] last thought about this new year- I came across Ali Edward’s BLOG that hosts her “One Little Word” project. I am a big fan of this idea. My word for [...]
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[...] Happy New Year!!!! This past holiday I promised myself that I would focus 100% of my attention and time and just “be” in the moment. I wanted to enjoy all the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of the holiday season and not simply just go through the motions that we often times find ourselves doing. So my thought was to do this effectively, I had to disconnect myself from technology. Yes, that meant not powering up my laptop and turning off the cell phone (or at least putting in on silent) so that I could just focus on “being” in the moment. Now I would be lying to you if I said that it wasn’t hard…because it was. I am so used to being “on” and “in the know” and “accessible” that totally disconnecting from all things technology related is/was very hard. And yes, there were times that I did get online and check Facebook and a few of my favorite blogs but I limited the amount of time that I was “on”. This mini break was just what I needed – it gave me time to reconnect with my family and friends and to just “be”. It also gave me time to glance back on 2010 and celebrate all that was good during this year and to think about all the wonderful things I would like to do in 2011. One of the things that I have wanted to do was to take another online scrapbooking class. So I signed up for Ali Edwards’ One Little Word class over at Big Picture Classes. For the past few years Ali has always started off the New Year by selecting one little word to focus/meditate on for the year. I joined Ali in 2010 for the first time (you can see my word here) and well I really enjoyed myself. So I decided to do it again. My word for 2011 is Story. I will talk more about my word, why I selected it (or better yet why I think this word selected me) and give you a little sneak peek on what I am working on to document my word in a later post. If you would like more information on One Little Word then I urge you to check out Ali’s blog. [...]
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[...] is no different in that regard. But I have been thinking about Ali Edward’s and her yearly One Little Word tradition (since 2007.) The idea of picking a word that can have an impact on you throughout the [...]
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[...] Little Word has now moved way beyond what I would have expected. Because I chose to take part in Ali Edwards’ OLW 2011, now there are 26 other women impacted by this. I have made a difference by choosing my word and [...]
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[...] few of the blogs I read have recently mentioned Ali Edward’s One Little Word concept. Each year, Ali chooses a word for the year. What is this word for? In her [...]
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Ok, I think I have settled on my word. It is nurture. I was hesitant to choose it because it doesn't seem to roll off my tongue too smoothly, but I think it encompasses everything I want to accomplish this year - at least the big things. Above all, nurture relationships - with my boys and my husband primarily. Nurture myself by eating better and exercising more, becoming stronger in mind and body. Nurture my creative side by actually stamping and scrapbooking, rather than shopping for new and exciting products for stamping and scrapbooking. Nurture the dream of creating things not only for profit, but for the benefit of others by making and giving inspirational cards to my church. Doing this can only make life better, richer, and more satisfying. I am looking forward to the journey.
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[...] resolutions there is a lot of buzz about identifying a word that resonates with you and making that Your Word for the year; a word to guide you, a word to focus on, a word to define your intentions. i chose [...]
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[...] I have changed my One Little Word from “better” to ambition. I am going to print it out and hang it up all over my house, [...]
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[...] a hybrid album, much in the stylings of my scrap idol, Ali Edwards. I’m taking on her “One Little Word” project, with the word “focus” because, although I have a lot of areas in my [...]
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