What's the good word?

When December started I was telling myself that this year I would NOT make New Year's Resolutions for one reason: I am notorious for setting huge goals for myself and then becoming literally depressed when I don't make them. I did not want to set myself up for that.

Then I read this post about focusing on a single word for the year in order to make changes in your life. I have since seen the concept in a few other posts attributing the idea to Debbie Macomber. I don't know who started it and really I don't think it matters. The point is that the idea is, in my opinion, a really good one.

The Concept

Here's the idea. Think hard about what you want to change in your life. Pick a word that encompasses the essence of that. For me, it came down to finding the root reason of why I wanted to change all the little things I could think of. Once you have that word, focus on it for the year. As you go about your daily life, keep that word in the front of your mind. Are the decisions you're making and the things you're doing helping you accomplish whatever that word means? 


It sounded simple and like something I could really do, so I'm giving it a go. 




The Plan
First, I had to come up with my word. After a lot of thought, I came up with this:

Healthy

Your first thought is probably that this is a redressing of the age old resolution to lose weight. Partly, yes it is. I do want to lose weight. I want to be physically healthier. I also want to be emotionally, socially, financially, and spiritually healthier.  

I'm hoping that by focusing on this word, when I want to hit snooze on the alarm clock one more time, I'll have to consider which is healthier - snoozing five more minutes or dragging myself out of bed to exercise? When I want to splurge on something, which is healthier - the short-lived happiness of a frivolous purchase or a well-stocked emergency fund? Is it healthier to fret about my problems or pray over them?

If this works, by this time next year, I'll be in a much better state all around.

The Accountability

photo by Gumuz (Flickr), CC-BY

I'm sure there is a statistic or study about this somewhere, but people stick to things better when someone is holding them accountable. This, my loyal readers, is where you come in. Every couple of weeks I am going to report on my word. What things have I done to make myself healthy? Where am I struggling? If you don't see this post from me, feel free to check on me. (Doesn't this cat look like it's about to jump out of the screen and get you?)

I invite you to join me in this adventure. Come up with a word and post it below. When I give you my update, you can throw in yours as well. We'll hold each other up and together we'll make better people by this time next year. 

So what's your word going to be this year?