One Little Word® 2014
Make your word visible: Order your own word from recycled matericals created by artist Colleen Attara here.
My One Little Word for 2014 is thrive.
This year, more than any other I can remember, I'm starting off the year with questions. What does it mean for me to thrive? What does it look like? What does it fee like? Are there areas in which I'm already thriving? What's realistic vs. visions of what I have in my head of what it means to thrive?
Open was an awesome word for me last year. It was a touchstone as I navigated my way through growing pains and man oh man did it work in a million different ways I could not have imagined when I started 2013. More often than not when faced with a decision, I chose to open more rather than closing off which was my number one intention last year. That said, I feel like I've been spinning in circles a lot this past year. I've been reacting vs. being proactive and have been dealing with a variety of issues related to stress and growth (totally all part of my own life journey).
To me thriving is optimal living. It's being present and awake and stepping up to be my best self physically, emotionally, spiritually, creatively and within my relationships.
It's not a quest for perfection. It's an opportunity to continue choosing to let go of things outside of my control and to figure out who that best-me-right-now really is.
It will be a whole new journey and I'm here to tell you I welcome it wholeheartedly.
Bring on 2014.
This year I invited my friend Elise Blaha Cripe to film a little video about her experience with One Little Word. One of the reasons I admire Elise is that she is awesome at follow-through and documentation. I've loved reading about her experience with her words over the last few years on her blog and she inspires me consistently with her projects and her real-life reflections.
Here's Elise in her own words:
Thank you Elise for sharing about your own journey here.
Are you considering selecting a word for yourself (or letting one find you)? 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.
SHARE YOUR WORD THE COMMENTS | I’d love to read what word you’ve chosen or are considering for 2014. 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 days I’ll combine all the words into a single post – super inspiring to see all the words in one place.
If you’re new to the concept of One Little Word, you can read some of my previous posts here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
ONE LITTLE WORD® 2014 | To help keep your One Little Word® more visible throughout the year I offer a year-long workshop featuring one prompt per month. Read all the details and sign up here. Registration is $5 off until December 31.
see.
So far this seems to be the word that will lead 2014 for me. Seeing what breaks His heart, seeing where my focus needs to be at each moment, gaining clarification on the direction I'm being lead to serve and seeking more (this really stood out because when I wrote it out the two words compound word of seeking reminds me that to see is to see the king). I will see what excitement 2014 holds!
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I sat with a few choices but did some soul searching and am loving my word for 2014: AWARE
Great word
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"Act as if....."
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Centered
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Why - my word is why. I need to be more conscious of my actions...so I need to question things to learn and grow. Just like an inquisitive little kid. I can't wait!!!
Awesome idea. May use next year.
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I really thought CLEANSE was going to be my OLW for 2014 but the more I've been considering it, FOCUS seems to be what I most need to work on.
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Fresh.
No significant life changing event --- other than I want a fresh look at things in life. The little things, the big things. Fresh starts. Fresh flowers. Fresh air. Freshness in my marriage. Fresh hope for my kiddos' year. New. Alive. Thrive. Fresh.
Fresh will definitely be refreshing!
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Allow
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Radiant
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As I look back over the progression of this word choosing thing...I can't express how much it has meant over the years. Each year I choose a new word, however, I never quite let go of the previous words. They all build upon one another. Each is an anthem for the year which they were chosen. I try to share this practice with others whenever I can...
Simplify>Focus>Discover>Leap>Build and Now.....TRUST.
I agree, they build on each other every year. Love your words. I used FOCUS last year and it was fabulous. Each year gets better and better. This year, 'embrace' chose me.
Me too! It's so cool look back and see that :)
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GRACE
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For this year, I've chosen radiance as my word. I love it because it seems to fit with everything I’d like to be in the coming year. To me, it means being a person who is glowing, positive, welcoming, relaxed, anticipating, organised, exuding health and positivity.
You can read my blog post about choosing it here: http://www.lovehappydaily.com/2013/12/30/one-little-word-2014/
Thanks again Ali for all of the inspiration! Bring on 2014!
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I tried not to let this be my word but it won't let go. My OLW 2014 is EMBRACE. My oldest will be a senior this year and I want to embrace the changes that are coming and enjoy every moment. I also need to embrace my ever changing appearance. Getting older is not easy and seeing grey hair, wrinkles, etc can really start to bring you down, so I've decided to embrace the changes. I also plan to embrace having my mom live close by.
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This is my first year formally committing to this sort of documented practice of "working" with OLW. I'm really excited for this new creative journey.
I have several words on the brain, but PLAN is related to all of them and is slowly rising to the top. Time will tell...
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I've chosen "UP" this year. I put together a graphic shared in the class FB group with the ways I see this word being part of my life so far (I'm sure there will be more!).
Start UP
Build UP
Cheer UP
Stand UP
Lighten UP
Open UP
Shape UP
Lift UP
Follow UP
Live it UP
So many amazing words here!
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After much thought over the past few weeks my word ended up finding me. For 2014 my word is Gentle. I've realized that I've been so hard on myself lately in ways that aren't serving me or those around me. Gentle, for me, is about being kinder to myself. Acting, and not reacting to the situations I'm placed in. Making a point to have softer edges.
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My OLW for 2014 is "Learn".
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Simplify....simplify body,simplify mind,simplify soul, simplify LIFE. This is my 40th year on Earth and I feel it is the best time to simplify all aspects to begin the next 40+ years~
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Choose..that's it! I signed up for the year long prompts because I have done OLW for the past four years, but haven't always stuck with it throughout the year. I have a new principal (boss) and new common core curriculum this year. Making the Choice, maybe that should be the word?, daily to choose what is best for me and not worry about external factors is how I see being happiest in 2014. Additionally, my 13 yo is at a point in his life where he needs to learn to make the right choices regarding school. We live in an area with seven high schools and each has different programs. So, helping to learn to make appropriate choices is going to be a focus for my parenting activity with my son.
Hmm...choice or choose?
Choose was my word last year. I used choose instead of choice because choose is a verb. I seem to do better with words that remind me of concrete actions I can do.
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Renew-I'm always so intrigued when my word finds me. I look forward to where it will take me and how I will learn and grow from it. I've been choosing a word (and sometimes a second pops up half way through the year) for the last four years. Beginnings, grow (eucharisteo), strong, and this past year was agape (love) and awakening. My pastor has also been in the habit of choosing one word for the church. This past year he chose "awakening" and I was amazed at how those two words become so intertwined. This will be the first year I'll be taking the class--so excited--it's gonna be rad :)
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I have thought of joining this for two years and every time I have gone looking for words and then not gone through with it. The other day a word just came to me and I knew it was time for me to join in.... EMBRACE
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Mine is GROW for 2014. It came to me pretty quickly this Fall when I started thinking about what word I would choose, so I decided to just 'run' with it. I'm very excited about all the possibilities connected to my word.
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Trust… I thought I was really good at this until 3 years ago when I "broke" and I learnt that I wasn't very good at this at all eyes were opened wide and now I really want to learn about it… Thankyou to my friend Tania for sending me this link and thankyou to Ali for sharing so much...
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After more than 4 decades of searching for purpose and the meaning of life I believe I have found it. And it has given me such peace of mind as well an insatiable curiosity of the universe and science. I want to question everything. To be clear, the word I am celebrating in 2014 is CLARITY.
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BALANCE - between work & home, between family & me and so many other things I am sure to discover in the next 12 months.
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