One Little Word® 2014

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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.


AE_Thrive

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.

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938 thoughts

  1. Word for the year: 2014 – the day to follow your heart says…
    01/03/2014

    […] came across this idea of choosing a word for the year via Ali Edwards. This year, she has chosen thrive as her […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Gloria king says…
    01/03/2014

    Adventure
    I am going to make this year an adventure for my kids and I.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Sandy says…
    01/03/2014

    This is my 8th year. My word is true.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. S says…
    01/03/2014

    I like the idea of a short list, it's been only a day of thinking and already two have come to me, so I'm thinking maybe this month of January will need to be my short list making month. So far the short list includes these two:
    Surrender
    Sparkle

    The first because I'm fairly new to a 12 step program and trying to practice this very big thing of turning things over to a higher power/asking for help/not doing it-my recovery on my own and Sparkle because I love the idea, it gives me a little giggle to think of the magic of sparkling, of twinkling my self, my magic me, being my true self wherever and however I can in a situation.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. One Little Word℠ 2014 | Wellness Undefined says…
    01/03/2014

    […] One Little Word℠ 2014. […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Meredith says…
    01/03/2014

    I chose "Balance" for my OLW. I need my life to be more balanced, in so many ways. So it is perfect for me.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Tyra says…
    01/03/2014

    Patience. Patience in decisions made, actions required and words spoken.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. OLW 2014 | Adventure In Shangri-La says…
    01/03/2014

    […] about One Little Word? See this post from Ali Edwards with a video by Elise Blaha Cripe. Here is a list of words from 2013 in case you […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Jaque says…
    01/03/2014

    Well-being here! :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. MichelleElaine says…
    01/03/2014

    CONSIDER.

    Consider an alternative point of view, outcome, path. I feel too boxed in sometimes and I forget that I get to make decisions. I'm not stuck with one choice. And, I want to consider and ponder how truly blessed I am.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Muriel says…
    01/03/2014

    Calm: to be at peace and to have mindfulness for my health and mental sanity

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. TodaysMama.com - One Little Word for 2014 says…
    01/03/2014

    […] For more ideas about one little word, see Ali Edwards. […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Kimberly White says…
    01/03/2014

    That's amazing Ali! Came to check your word today and found that it is the same as mine! THRIVE in 2004! Have a great year!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Lee Ann B says…
    01/03/2014

    Vigor

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Friday features | baby, it’s cold outside | sarah rosemary says…
    01/03/2014

    […] other people pick, and I’m especially excited to see what Elise does with the word whole, how Ali works with the word thrive, and how Kayla does with the word […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. laura kate says…
    01/03/2014

    MAKE

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Diego Parada Herrera says…
    01/03/2014

    Hi! My word for 2014 is SUCCESS, not in a greedy way, but in a selfless kind of way. I was inspired by a poem from Ralph Waldo Emerson, I even made a design from it! Here it is! http://ylavidasigue.com/2014/01/01/2014-one-word-success/ Hope you like it! Keep up the good work!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Kayla Aimee says…
    01/03/2014

    I picked GLORY - here's what I wrote about it: http://www.kaylaaimee.com/2014/01/hello-2014-one-little-word/ - but mostly because I want to be intentional about looking past myself to share love and goodness with others

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. E says…
    01/03/2014

    Grow.

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Vanessa says…
    01/03/2014

    This is an inspiring idea. I gave up on resolutions after last year, when I literally did not hit a single one of my 5. But I do have a few goals and all of them can and do boil down to one word: DEDICATION.

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. One Little Word℠ 2014 | The List & The Reading Of The Words | Ali Edwards says…
    01/03/2014

    […] One of the traditions I started a couple years back was to have my friend Liz Lamoreux record herself reading the words that people have left in the comments of my annual One Little Word℠ blog post. […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Sheri E. says…
    01/03/2014

    I am going with "Abundance" this year. My friend actually gave me a rock with that word on it for Christmas as her words for me for the coming year. It hit me one day as I've been struggling to come up with a word that that is my word. It was sitting there on my table, a silent reminder that it is really what I am looking for this year.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. One Little Word 2014: Making Progress | 4mulaFun says…
    01/03/2014

    […] January 2011 I have participated in the One Little Word project started by Ali Edwards. Ali began this project a few years prior as a way to focus and dedicate […]

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. windy says…
    01/03/2014

    finally picked my word, or I should say it picked me :)

    DETERMINED

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Kristina says…
    01/03/2014

    My word is CATCH. But totally not living up to my word as I didn't CATCH this the other day to leave my comment. I watched Elise's video about her words and then just got so inspired that I left to go work on my project that I didn't keep reading. Perfect lesson from word. I chose this word because last year I was so incredibly busy I just didn't have time for any of me. It felt like that anyway. The word came to me when I was sitting here one day last week and said to myself I just need to CATCH a breath. I knew that was my word. To stop, slow down. I want to catch more of the moments with my children, catch up with friends, catch up with my Project Life, catch some beautiful conservations with my best mate while the children sleep and most importantly CATCH some time for myself. Thanks Ali for this wonderful project. It's my first year doing this and I'm loving it already.

    Reply 0 Replies

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