For several years I chose one word to focus on for the ensuing year.
2011 – clarity
2012 – contentment
2013 – sing
2014 – forward
2017 – open
Open was a great word for 2017. Being open pulled me out of my comfort zone, leading to new experiences, new friends, and some great adventures.
As the author of the “One Little Word” blog post explains:
And what do you do with this one little word?
You live with it. You invite it into your life. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities.
My Word Choice for 2018 is: Cultivate
According to vocabulary.com,
When you cultivate something, you work to make it better. Originally, the word referred only to crops that required tilling, but the meaning has widened. No matter what is being cultivated, the word implies a level of care that is reminiscent of gardening. Sometime friendships come naturally and sometimes you have to cultivate them. To cultivate anything requires an attention to detail, an understanding of what is being cultivated, and a lot of patience.
I have several areas of my life where I wish to cultivate better habits, things that require attention to details and a lot of patience. I also like the more literal meaning, cultivating my gardening abilities. And, yes, cultivating new friendships.
I’m glad you posted on this since I’ve been thinking about this for a few days. My word is “Endure.”
Endure? At first I thought that sounds like a rather depressing word. But I looked up its definition and found these synonyms:
abide, persist, persevere
I hope those are what you had in mind for 2018.
For me, endure means to keep on keepin’ on. Many things are out of my control, but I will endure. It is like “suffer.” I will suffer whatever life throws at me. It sounds negative, but it is a power word. I’ll tolerate whatever and keep on existing. I will abide, persist, persevere, suffer, and endure.
This post is inspiring. I admire how you frame your goals around a single word. Cultivate is a perfect choice.
Thanks, Roberta! Sometimes the word picks me, sometimes I pick the word. This year I think it was a little of both. 🙂