One Little Word® 2017 | Connect
Another trip around the sun is coming to a close.
My overwhelming feeling at the end of this year is wholehearted thankfulness. For the whole of it. The hard parts and the easy parts and the parts in between. It's something we can count on - that crazy mixture of highs and lows and normals - throughout the 365 days we call a year in our lives.
I absolutely loved focusing on the word "whole" as my One Little Word® for 2016. It is a word that I will carry with me for the rest of my life - "open" is another one that I feel strongly about. Whole challenged me in the ways I needed to be challenged and wrapped me up in goodness in so many other ways. I loved asking questions about the different pieces of my own whole and looking deeper into what it means to me to feel "whole."
It's crazy when I think back on all the words I've had over the years (I started this practice in 2006):
- Play
- Peace
- Vitality
- Nurture
- Story
- Light
- Up
- Open
- Thrive
- Give
- Whole
For 2017 I'm choosing to explore my life through the lens of the word "connect."
I'm ending 2016 and beginning 2017 by connecting directly and in person with my immediate family (parents, brother, sister + all their families) at my parents house on the coast. I'm already including "connect" in daily thoughts as I go about the regular stuff of my life - asking myself how I'm connecting with this and that and especially focusing on what I can disconnect from (love the angle of including the opposite of my word).
This blended family life is offering me a whole lot of opportunities for connection and I don't want to miss those. We've all been sinking in to this "new normal" around here - life is such a series of "new normals" isn't it? We get used to a situation or a piece of our lives and then something changes - for better or worse - and then we are forced (either kicking and screaming or accepting or a crazy combination of those emotions) to adapt to the "new" normal. What I have learned over the last so many years is that we are always riding that wave - either in the beginning or the end or somewhere in between. It is life. It is our life. What we get to choose is how we respond and live through all those moments.
In 2017 I hope to specifically investigate areas related to connecting with myself, connecting with others (especially family and community), connecting with work, and connecting with nature/outdoors (I feel a strong pull towards that this year). I also plan to focus on the idea of disconnecting in order to make sure I'm living in alignment with my highest values.
If you'd like to hear me talk more about this topic, check out a new podcast I did earlier this week with Elise about our words from last year and this year. It's a very candid conversation about what's worked and not worked related to both choosing and living with our words.
My wonderful little heart shown above is from Liz Lamoreux and is called a Whole Heart Pocket Talisman. It's a wonderful way to keep your word close throughout the year.
SHARE YOUR WORD IN THE COMMENTS
I’d love to read what word you’ve chosen or are considering for 2017. In the comments feel free to simply leave your word as your comment or write a bit about why you are choosing this word. Next week I’ll combine all the words into a single post – it's become tradition and 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, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
JOIN ME IN MAKING OUR WORDS VISIBLE
To help keep your One Little Word® more visible throughout the year I offer a year-long workshop featuring one creative prompt per month. Read all the details and sign up here. Registration is $5 off until December 31, 2016. I've also created a selection of products to help you document your journey with your word - check those out here (stamps will be restocked later in January and we have a pre-order happening for an additional restock of the blue albums that will arrive in late March/early April). During the One Little Word® 2017 Kick-Off ordering period (between now and 1/31/17), items featured on the One Little Word® 2017 page are eligible for free shipping domestic and $5 international. If you add any other items from the shop to your cart, normal shipping rates will apply to those additional items.
PROGRESS
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My word is AWARENESS..."concern about and well-informed interest"
Remain aware of what is going on in our world. Recognize the impact of my choices. Consciousness in relationships, in stressful moments, and in taking a few deep meditative breaths.
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This year was going to be NEW, but I suddenly feel like it actually needs to be RETURN. Funny, how that works.
2016: Embrace
2015: Today
2013: Overcome
2012: Real
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Looks like I started in 2008 which is probably around when I discovered your blog. I was thinking about what elise said about alternating between loud and quiet words and i think i seem to do that lately, too. In the early days, it wasn't so. But then I picked brave a few years ago and it fundamentally changed my life. I wonder if shine will do the same. We'll see. My hope with shine is to own who I am and let my whole self shine and then create the space for others to do the same.
2017: shine
2016: choose
2015: brave - my favorite of all of my words so far
2014: listen
2013: present
2012: savor
2011: free
2010: loved
2009: peace and bloom
2008: journey
That's ten years of intentional living. Ten years of choosing lenses, looking at my life and growing. Thank you Ali, you've impacted my life in profound ways.
<3
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Sprout
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Light ☀️
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Hygge
Fremragende valg! ;-)
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2017// commit or quit
2016// breathe
2015// make
2014// calm
2013// choose
2012// simplify
2011// focus
2010// less
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Delight
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Love this class and it has helped me grow so much. My word for 2017 is OPEN.
2017: Open
2016: Adventure
2015: Mindful
2014: Do
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Focus
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10 years with One Little Word for me- love to live with to explore en grow...
My word for 2017: SPACE... abou personal space and more space in my house - in dutch: Ruimte
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I have not made up my mind yet. This year was my first experience with OLW and I had chosen LEARN. This word was perfect for me. These are the words I am considering for 2017:
Flexible
Less
Focus
Clean
Savor
Nurture
Peace
Free
Listen
Simplify
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Strength
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Nourish
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I just signed up! This will be my first time, so excited and nervous, only because I fail badly on on-line classes.
I'm glad I saw this post, thanks for the reminder Ali:)
My word: Light
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Mindful
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2016 // Mercy (miséricorde)
2017 // Balance
Very excited to see where this takes me :)
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pray
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It's my first time doing OLW and I can't wait to get started. My word is FOCUS. I had another word in mind but over the past weeks "focus" came to my head over and over again that I had to chose this as my one little word!
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My word is SHIFT. I was going to go with time or arise, but then I googled time in the thesaurus and came across the word shift which clicked with me more. A shift in attitude and perspective, a shift in habits (especially in how I use/waste time and how I am not as healthy as I would like to be), we might also be moving house/countries in 2017 and so the word shift plays a role there too. I especially love all the synonyms that this word implies: alteration, change, transform, conversion, move, variation. These are all words which encompass what I want in my life for 2017.
I love this word! Good luck with it in 2017.
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My word is GIFT. For now, I am thinking about the gifts that I want to give myself next year (like crafting time, walks, swimming) and also gratitude for the gifts that I have got (like my children or husband or this new job opportunity that I didn't ask for and don't really want but have to take and will probably turn out just fine). Looking at the thesaurus I'm getting a feeling that the word might hold a lot more, too.
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My OLW for 2017 is PLAY (get creative, have more fun, play to my strengths...) - can't wait to see where it leads me!
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Choose
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My word for this year is content. Past years have included 'enough' and 'minimal' so this year I want to be focused on being content with what I have right in front of me. I love the idea of the opposite of your word. Discontent also applies when I am working through so much clutter (digital and otherwise). Looking forward to another great year with this class!
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