One Little Word® 2016 | Whole

For 2016 I'm going with "whole" as my One Little Word®

Since 2007 I've been choosing (or letting a word choose me) a word to focus on over the course of a year. I love the process of walking with a word for 12-months and seeing how it works in my life. Some years it's been super visible and other years it's been a slow burn below the surface. I tend to choose words that have layers of meanings and can be applied to my life in various ways: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I love learning more about the word throughout the year and taking the opportunity to reflect each month via the process of working on the prompts from the workshop and via taking action on the things I'm inviting into my life. 

If you are interested in hearing me talk more about One Little Word® and my choice of word this year, check out my friend Elise's Get Crafty podcast where we both share our words for 2016 and talk about our experiences living with a word. She also includes a link in the show notes to a past episode where we talked about the process as well.  

A lot of times I begin my year with a question or two related to my word. This year my questions to myself are this: 

What does it mean to be whole? What does that look like and feel like? 

I'm interested in investigating "the pieces of the whole." What are the pieces of my own life that work together to create the "whole" and in what areas do I need to be letting go and in what areas do I need to hang on tighter to create a more "whole" life for myself? And where does acceptance fit into this? Lots of great questions for me to explore and wrestle with and ponder and learn from. 

I'm also interested in investigating more emphasis on whole foods - maybe try Whole 30. And I want to continue making yoga a priority as I work on the "whole" of myself - the physical, the mental & emotional, etc. 

Two specific quotes that are resonating with me related to "whole": 

“I am a broken person. And I know exactly where my cracks are and how deep they run. I don't pretend to not be a broken person and therein lies the big difference. Because the truth is, we are all broken in places, but it is those who know exactly where and how they are broken, who also know exactly where and how they are whole! And we may not be whole in all places and in all ways, but we take whatever wholeness that we do have, and we make good of it. And we try hard to work on the broken parts, and we ask for help when we need it.” - C. JoyBell C.

“I want to die living. And I want to be remembered as one who lived with purpose, joy and feeling. I want to spend my time learning what goes into a whole and happy life, then building that life the best I can.” - Steve Goodier

Some years I'm super clear at the start what I want to invite my life and what I want to work on throughout the year. This year is less concrete but feels "just right" for 2016. Remember, there is really never a perfect word - there are any number of words that can work for any one of us in our lives at a given time - don't get hung up on choosing something perfect. 

I have no idea what will happen in my life in 2016. I know, because I've been around the block a time or two, that it will likely be a mixture of awesome and tough - those beautiful highs and lows that we all experience throughout the course of a year. My hope is that this word will play a role in my continuing quest to fully live the length and width of my life. 

Let's do this. 

PS | The lovely "whole" heart talisman featured in the photo above is from my friend Liz Lamoreux's Soul Mantra shop. She'll make one for you too - order a custom bracelet, necklace, or talisman here.  

SHARE YOUR WORD THE COMMENTS

I’d love to read what word you’ve chosen or are considering for 2016. 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, 20132014, and 2015.

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, 2015. I've also created a selection of products to help you document your journey with your word - check those out here. During the One Little Word® 2016 Kick-Off ordering period (between now and 1/31/16), items featured on this One Little Word® 2016 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.

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387 thoughts

  1. JuliaH says…
    12/30/2015

    LISTEN. My word came to me last month and rose out of my relationship with my 2015 word, KIND.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Fozziemead says…
    12/30/2015

    Nourish.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. ScrappinMyHeartOut says…
      12/30/2015

      We have the same word! See you on the Facebook page!

  3. cilla073 says…
    12/30/2015

    Hi! This is the first year I am participating in One Little Word. I haven´t fully decided yet but I think my word will be BALANCE.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. kimberdavis says…
    12/30/2015

    BRAVE - I am taking some important steps in 2016 to make sure that I am strong (physically and emotionally) and present in my life for my children and my husband. The steps and choices I am making are outside of the way I have chosen to live for the past 15 or so years. I have forgotten how to take care of me and it is time to do that. In my mind this requires bravery - because it is easy to slip into bad habits and take the easy road - when the going gets tough. I want to be BRAVE in the face of adversity and BRAVE in sharing my strong choices with friends, colleagues and loved ones.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Brenna says…
      12/30/2015

      Yes! This is also going be my word this year for some of these reasons as well.:)

  5. kelseyespecially says…
    12/30/2015

    GAINZZZZZ. Mostly in the gym – finding a solid balance between aesthetic, mass and speed, i.e. trying to achieve all three without compromising any of the others, which is really difficult to do – but also financially (paying down debt and upping my income) and creatively (trying new things and turning my memory keeping hobby into a source of income).

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. SueinMtVernon says…
    12/30/2015

    REFRESH -- I want 2016 to be the year that I "refresh" my house to be a reflection of who I am; I want to "refresh" my body and mind with new adventures (Baltic cruise already scheduled for July!); and I want to "refresh" my everyday life with positive thoughts and actions. I used an on-line Thesaurus to help me sort through word options that resonated with what I want to accomplish in 2016 and REFRESH just screamed "I'M THE ONE--PICK ME!"

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. opheliar16 says…
      12/30/2015

      This is mine as well. I just want a breath of fresh air in many aspects and I LOVE the idea of refreshing my spirit.

    2. boolies says…
      12/30/2015

      My word is Fresh!

  7. AlizaD says…
    12/30/2015

    Not quite sure yet about a word. I just wanted to say that the first quote you used, and some of the things you wrote about here, really resonated with me. In fact, last night I was working on some journaling for a layout in progress (using this month's story kit, no less), and some of the same words and ideas showed up there.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      12/30/2015

      Awesome :).

  8. IsabelMS says…
    12/30/2015

    My word for 2016 is Courage.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. CarolynMarnon says…
    12/30/2015

    JOURNEY-

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. emym says…
    12/30/2015

    energy

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. sugarcreekfarm says…
    12/30/2015

    INTENTION (i think)

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Viv40 says…
    12/30/2015

    BALANCE - I need and want to get the balance of things in my life better this year and build on my word last year and its effects on my life - UTILISE

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. boolies says…
    12/30/2015

    FRESH - For 2016, I want more FRESH in my life ... FRESH starts, FRESH ideas, FRESHly painted furniture, reFRESH myself and FRESH food. Looking forward to joining you again for One Little Word 2016! Wishing you a Happy New Year!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. amycmiller says…
    12/30/2015

    Joy - choose joy. Be the joy. Find joy.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. vicki_dalton says…
      12/30/2015

      Love it!

  15. benay127 says…
    12/30/2015

    Just signed up and feeling very inspired. The word I chose is VALUE. Getting back to what is important and living my life with intentions!

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. juliee says…
      12/30/2015

      Love this word

    2. ScrappinMyHeartOut says…
      12/30/2015

      Great choice!

  16. sgortzak says…
    12/30/2015

    My One Little Word for 2016 is PURPOSE. To help me stay focused, to help me choose, to think about my own purpose. To consider what purpose some of the stuff in my live serves.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Gitaprana says…
    12/30/2015

    EMBRACE as in embrace every moment wholeheartedly whether peaceful, pleasant or challenging.well, this one has so many levels!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. essie1807 says…
    12/30/2015

    my word is Focus! i want to focus on what i want in my life. i also starting photography classes in january! i want to focus on ME this year

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Brookelynn825 says…
    12/30/2015

    My word is build. I want to build others up, especially my children and husband. I want to build my home and life more around my priorities. I want to build my faith and relationship with God.

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. paperjunkie says…
    12/30/2015

    HEART

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Ljoque says…
    12/30/2015

    release. A lot to release - physically and emotionally.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. vicki_dalton says…
      12/30/2015

      That was my word last year

  22. sortedscrapper says…
    12/30/2015

    Shine - 'Know what sparks the light in you, then use that light to illuminate the world'. My past words have led to a place of knowing. Now it is time to shine.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. ScrapSony says…
    12/30/2015

    PREPARE - I'm recycling this word from 2012. I lost focus of it after January that year and never finished the preparations I wanted to make towards retirement. I've been retired for 2-1/2 years now and I'm still floundering. I'm not doing the things I envisioned I would do. I want to take this year to get myself ready for the rest of my retirement years, to get my house and myself organized, so I can enjoy better health, less clutter, and more crafting time. It's a lofty goal, but every step in the right direction helps!

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. lylyxwoman says…
    12/30/2015

    BUILD

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. GretchenFrance says…
    12/30/2015

    My word in intentional. I want to be more intentional in all areas of my life - my parenting, my marriage, my faith, my health.

    Reply 0 Replies

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