03 January 2013

What's My One Little Word?

Have you heard of the One Little Word phenomenon?  My daughter Ani first introduced me to the concept about a month ago.  An avid blogger, Ani read the blog of Ali Edwards who started the idea of choosing One Little Word to be "your word" for the year.  A word that you can focus on in your day-to-day; something to help you in your self-reflection/self-improvement.   Interesting idea, right?  I started thinking about what word I would choose.  And then with Christmas, and the birth of our grand daughter,  I forgot about it. And then in Chicago, of all places, my step-daughter's best friend and I were talking when she asked, "Do you read Ali Edwards' blog?  Have you heard about One Little Word?"  Since returning home, I have been giving some serious thought to what my word might be.

Some of my close contenders were the words believe, hope, and love.  But after thinking about my New Year's goals, I found the right word for me.  BALANCE.

I'm a busy person by nature.  My life is full, and I tend to throw myself into all kinds of projects.  I'm active in my church, our homeless outreach, being a mom (and now a new grandmom).  I'm trying to build my jewelry business and my artwork. 

I LOVE the fullness of my life; BUT more often than not, my life tends to get out of control.  I get too busy, too tired, too indulgent, too intense.  And it ends up lacking balance. 

In order for me to reach my goals for this year, my life will need focus on this important word. 
I am hoping that by owning this word and making it mine, I will be able to be healthier, and therefore happier.

Balance will help me to not be excessive (whether it comes to food choices, getting enough rest, over-committing myself, taking care of myself).  I am trying to balance vegetarianism and weight loss; exercise and rest; committing myself to causes that are important to my heart and yet getting enough rest so I don't burn out.  Balance.

So that's the word.  I'm going to try to check in once a month on this blog and let you all know whether my balancing act is working or not.  : ) 

What's your word?  I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know what it is and why you chose it.  If you'd like to learn more about the One Little Word, here is the link to Ali's blog.  And here's the link to Ani's blog: "Love Well Crafted" where you can read about her word, and also about her 52 soups project.




6 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the shout out and the link to my blog. I'm excited that you're doing the OLW with me and we can keep each other on track. I think BALANCE is just the right word for you. Maybe we need OLW charms on a bracelet or something... ::wink wink:: Love you! XO

Anush said...

Notice how unbalanced my day is right now...im just getting to bed, it's almost midnight! And my alarm goes off at 5a.m. Yep, I think it's definitely the right focus for me this year.

Unknown said...

I have never heard of this one little word concept but I love it! I especially like your word BALANCE because I find that I have to do a balancing act for work, home, family, friends, things for ME, etc. I really like Ani's suggestion about making charms on a bracelet or even putting the word on a bracelet. I will give this concept some thought and will let you know what I come up with.

Unknown said...

I was excited to read you post and hear that you came up with a word. What a good one! I have my word too, {sing}. Take a look at the rusted chain for cute necklaces/ charms with your word. You're so crafty though you could probably make one :) Looking forward to hearing more about your {balance}!

Pomegranate and Eye said...

Of course the creative juices started flowing with the charm idea. I'm going to try something tonight (hopefully)...I'll do it in copper for now...just to see how they come out and will post it. I have copper metal clay and letter stamps! : )

Nicole...good one! I didn't know you sang. Also, is it okay that I link your blog to this post...since we did have that convo in Chicago!

Ellen, what's your word girlfriend?

Linda Maxwell said...

Joy!