WRITE!

As we rolled into the new year, plenty of people were blogging and Facebooking and Tweeting about reflections on 2012 and bright ideas for 2013. As you know from my new year’s video greeting, I didn’t spend much reflective time during the hectic holiday season. Since then, however, I’ve tried to give such contemplation its due.

New Year’s Resolutions

Like many of you, I suspect, it’s been years since I actually made a formal new year’s resolution.  I found myself making the same ones year after year with only halfhearted follow-through.  Or the resolutions I made were unwieldy, unrealistic, forgettable, or for innumerable other reasons simply broken yet again.

Other people take different approaches, such as “burning bowl ceremonies” to burn pieces of paper with phrases written on them to symbolically “release” feelings or things of the past that they don’t want to carry forward.  Others participate in a “white stone ceremony” to set their intentions for the new year with a word or two (written on a white stone or tile) that represents the changes they wish to make or manifest. I’m sure others of you have your own traditions as well.

But, nope, I didn’t do any of those things this year either.

The Word

What I did happen to do was keep up with my blog on Facebook and Twitter. In doing so, I noticed a continuing trend of people talking about “their word” for the year.

Have you heard about this?  It is the concept of choosing a word to represent you in the upcoming year.  Some accounts hold that this movement was started by Ali Edwards and is now even incorporated into an e-course entitled One Little Word. Here’s how they summarize this:

Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2013?

It can be something tangible or intangible. It can be a thought, a feeling, or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother’s word or your spouse’s word or your child’s word—this is YOUR word.

One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here’s one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our heart speaks to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren’t ready for it yet.

Again, be open to the possibilities.

My Word

As I scrolled through my social media feeds, I was unaware of this level of detail about “the word” (and only researched it a bit recently to prepare this blog post for you all). Nope, I was just casually surfing the web and browsing my Facebook news feed on January 8, when I came across something from Jodi Chapman of Soul Speak. (You may recall that Jodi has inspired me before with her concept of the “stories” we tell ourselves, captured in my Pollyanna post.) On her Facebook Page that day, Jodi wrote:

Each year, I pick a word that will serve as the theme… this year I chose Nourish. I’m ready to add more yin to my yang – more BEing instead of DOing – more resting and loving and nurturing my body, mind, heart, and soul. How about you? What is your word for 2013? ♥

Without hesitation, I responded by typing “WRITE!”

Huh. How ’bout that. No reflection. No quiet meditation. No percolation. No pause to seek out my inner nudgings.

Just the first thing that popped into my head. It was merely a Facebook comment, afterall.

WRITE!

I didn’t think too much about it then, but in the days that followed, “my word” kept crossing my mind.  In the reflection that HAS ensued, I believe my knee-jerk response to Jodi’s post was an inspired action and that “WRITE!” is the perfect word for my 2013.

For some time now, I’ve been feeling inspired to WRITE! For the blog, for some personal writing projects, and to really launch my freelance writing business.

You may have noticed, for example, that when my updated blog was unveiled earlier this year, it included my new “Writing Services” page. I also transformed my resume, put up a Linked In profile, subscribed to several freelance job boards, put out a few feelers to corporate writing connections and took other steps to WRITE!

Since January 1, I’ve already completed a few corporate projects and even a fun online magazine article that smacks of Better Life kinds of things. I’m also bursting with blog inspiration, including some collaborations with other bloggers. My challenge now is to make time for it all. “Island busy” has just gone up a few notches!

But never fear, I remain committed to my Better Life principles, which means controlling the pace of Life so that it doesn’t control me! At least where I can. I still try to remain relatively unplugged during my evening and weekend time. I’ve sacrificed that a bit lately to meet freelance deadlines as I put my best foot forward. But I’ve still enjoyed daily views of the beautiful sea, spectacular sunsets, Angel antics, time with Beau and even a last-minute getaway to a nearby island that was a ton of fun.

As we proceed deeper into 2013, I hope to remain heart-focused and work-focused, all at the same time, and continue to WRITE!

What about you? Is there a word that sets the stage for your 2013?