My One Little Word : Story
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Lovely word of the year necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs. Look for a giveaway from Lisa this weekend.
For 2010 I have chosen the word STORY.
Ever since I started scrapbooking back in 2002 I have been capturing life and telling stories. Over the years I have learned that for me, it is the words and the photos that are the most important parts of gathering and documenting our lives (vs. the products that make the albums pretty and the process visually creative).
The Yesterday & Today workshop I have been leading at Big Picture Scrapbooking for the last three months really solidified and increased my specific desire to get the most meaningful stories told. The preparations for that class and the resulting pages I created left a lasting impact on me.
One of the things I realized through the duration of that class is that I have so many stories I want to tell from the past and the present. Some are big and some are small; some detailed and some only faint memories. I don't feel anything but excitement when I think about working through the process of telling them. I am not upset that I haven't told them yet or worried that there are too many. I just want to make it a priority to get them recorded.
With all that in mind I am giving myself an assignment this year. I am going to aim for one layout (one story) told per week in 2010. Some stories will be long and some will be shorter but I am going to make the time to go through my list and proactively tell those stories that are most meaningful to me. I will be posting my layouts here weekly and will be inviting you to tell your meaningful stories along the way.
The other inspiration for my word this year are two books I have been reading over the last few months: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
by Donald Miller and Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story
by Christina Baldwin.
Both are all about stories: telling, listening, characters, sharing, living.
Both have inspired me to focus more on the concept of story and what that means in the context of my work and my life.
The Storycatcher book has a really nice companion website here. This is a good initial read: Becoming A Storycatcher. You can find excerpts from the book here.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years has inspired me to look at my life differently. To literally see myself as a character in the story I am living and that I can make changes to impact the outcome of my own personal narrative. I think in some way or another I have always known this and lived this way at some level, but something in Donald's words solidified and clarified some things for me and has given me a new path forward - a new way to think about myself and my story.
One of the biggest things is that I have a couple threads in my own story that I would like to weave in a different direction. I hope to talk more about these storylines in the coming months as I begin writing & living new chapters for myself.
Story is a powerful word and concept. I am excited to continue investigating it throughout this year and throughout the rest of my life.
ONE LITTLE ACTION
One of the thoughts I had as I read the list of words (and the wonderful reasons and stories) over the last couple of days is that it's really not enough to just choose a word. Some sort of action is required to really make a difference. That action may be simply thinking about your word every couple of days. What sort of thing can you make or buy that will serve as a reminder to you? Here's a post from 2008 with a few simple ideas to get you started. I invite you to consider one action you will take related to your word: one little action to go along with your one little word.
EDITED: I just came across this really nice free download "Word of the Year Discovery Tool" from blogger Christine Kane. It's a worksheet for thinking through your word and essentially telling the story of your word. Totally recommended. This is a great action step.
Happy New Year! Peace and blessings to you and yours!
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110 comments
I think my one little word for 2010 would have to be "maturity". Trying to embrace being 50, recreating life and holidays and traditions without kids and in a relatively new environment across the country from family and old friends. Instead of mourning what I don't have, I want to explore creating where I am in life with what I DO have. Happy New Year to you and your family. (Very cool video of Anna walking).
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Great choice for a word. Happy New Year!!!
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Have a happy new year.
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Hi Mary - thanks for the note. It's actually not my tool or my site. I did read on Twitter that the download link should be fixed now :).
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Happy New Year !!!
My words for 2010 year "INDEED"& "LOVE"
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It is amazing to see at the end of a year how much of a change can come from one little word. This year my word should have been so obvious but for whatever reason it took me a little longer to decide.
My One Little Word: Connections
http://jillconyers.typepad.com/life_as_i_see_it/
Thank you for your continued inspiration Ali.
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It's so fun to read everyone's words. Funnily enough, I had decided on "Story" for myself about a week ago. Hehe.
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I am so glad I found you. I look forward to reading more in 2010.
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Does anyone know if there is a twitter code thingie for one little word? Like #DecDaily was for December Daily. I think that would be fun!
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Happy New Year Ali! And I'm so excited about YOUR word for 2010! I cannot wait to see the layouts for the stories that you tell! I'm going to view it as a continuation of the Yesterday & Today class! And since that class began my story list has been growing and growing as well! Thanks so much for the inspiration and I'm really looking forward to seeing all your layouts!! Best wishes in 2010!!
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How about #onelittleword
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This is such a great idea - one word. Something to focus on and build around. I really like this.
My blog friend Joyce (scrapforjoy.blogspot.com) told me about your blog and "One Little Word 2010" and then my daughter, who also reads your blog, mentioned it to me. Just the encouragement I needed to join in.
I don't scrapbook very often ~ sad to say I am a "collector" of photos ~ they are tucked safely away in files, on CDs, in boxes, etc. I'm hoping this will inspire me to do something with them. But I'm also very excited about choosing a word and taking action with it.
My word is "rest". It popped in my head immediately.
Thank you for the idea and I will enjoy seeing your story unfold!
Have a joy-filled new year.
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Donald Miller is my hero. Before him, I couldn't bring myself to read nonfiction.
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Ali, this is my 3rd year of following a word.. thanks to you!!
my word for this year will be NOW. Live for the NOW, do it NOW, appreciate the NOW.
thanks for keeping it so real!!
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Ali...love this and I'm totally inspired to pick my word for this year.
Just read the Don Miller book and loved it!! Hope you enjoy.
cheers
sarah george
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This year my word is GRACE...a quote from Sandra Lee "To balance good days with the bad. Being Proud of yourself, your actions, your life, what you stand for, and the way you give back. Grace is offering understanding and acceptance when the rest of the world does not. A woman with grace is the hero of her home. She makes everything happen for other people in her life but never forgets to make herself a priority too. She runs the household, where she is the strength and foundation. She teaches by example as much as she does with her words." So this year I plan to live a life of GRACE!
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GREAT! I linked to your post...
http://vivrarireaimer.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-one-little-word-health.html
I hope that's ok! You made my day and have started me off on the right foot this year. Thank you:)
Brandi
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Great inspiration...I am struggling with a word because I feel like there are so many demands in life and work. I need to get Donald Millers book because I have enjoyed the others I have read of his.
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Katrina:
I had chosen the word TRANSFORM for my word, but Sandra's words seem to be what I believe in. I may have to reconsider, or just make GRACE an underlying theme. Thank you for sharing this lovely quote.
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Ali- I just came across your blog this week...I am joining OLW2010...initially I felt that my word was focus and after thinking about it for a few days I decided my word will be Clarity which will help bring me into focus. I have also chosen be...as a preface to my action word(s), thoughts and outlook. Thanks for the challenge, it is not always easy or fun to dig deep and reveal the "ugly truth" that we keep deep inside and by bringing it to the surface and saying it out loud it already feels better. Happy New Year!
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