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.
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 comments
I am taking the OLW class this year, and I really think I am going to choose the word open, which I was leaning away from because it was Ali's word last year. I didn't take the class last year and I haven't seen her album but... I have looked for another word and haven't come up with anything. I may look around a little more, but I have to decide soon.
We were forced to move from a place I loved to a not so awesome place because of my husband's job, and I really need to find a way to be more accepting of what my life holds now instead of what I feel that it should hold. I am not really interested in words like accept because that feels like giving up and open seems more like watching and waiting and trying to find something good in a situation that I am not in love with.
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Hi, this is my first year of participating in OLW! After trying a few words on for size (namely Gumption and Completion), I've settled on 'Consistency'. To me, this means consistency in everything I do. I'm excited to bring more consistency into my life in 2014 :)
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My word is JOY. It found me. I kept writing it over and over again. After my husband passed away I just felt sad. Now I am ready to find the joy that exists all around me. I can hardly wait to consciously seek and recognize what is good, happy, and what brings me joy in this very precious life.
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Waiting......it found me and I knew immediately it was right.
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My word is "relax." Last year was such a crazy, busy year - I moved and bought a house! This year I just want to "relax." I have to keep reminding myself to slow down and just enjoy this time.
I have been doing OWL since 2007! I love this concept!
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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
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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!!!
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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.
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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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