One Word for 2019
This week I am meditating on what my ONE WORD for 2019 will be. What is the one word that will guide my daily thoughts, actions and behaviors? This word will help to build the motivation needed for the habits I continue from 2018 and the new habits I will build in 2019.
Last December I sat in this same place, praying, meditating and pondering the ONE WORD that God would use to challenge me to reach new goals and sustain better behaviors and relationships throughout the year. The word that seemed to enter my mind during those prayers was "consistency." I chose the word CONSISTENCY as my theme for 2018, meaning, this word would be kept in front of me at all times. It would be what woke me up every morning. It would be what drove my daily routines. It would be the motivation behind my habits, my choices and decisions about the kinds of things I would commit to and the kinds of things I would eliminate. It would be a word that would inspire and foster growth in every aspect of my life.
It was the first time I ever tried a ONE WORD focus in place of a New Year's Resolution. I created visual posters, framed them and hung them up in my bathroom, in my office, and created reminders of my word to put in my car and other places where I would see it often. I even selected a song titled "Consistency" as my morning wake-up alarm. I did not want to have any excuse or opportunity to forget about my vow. I would make 2018 the year of CONSISTENCY.
Whatever decisions I would make, I would be focused on consistency. Every little choice would be run through the filter of "consistency" in my mind. If I chose to work out, it would be consistently. If I chose a healthier way of eating, it would be done consistently. If I chose to get more rest, then bedtimes would be more intentional and consistent. If I chose to pray, read and write more, then I would choose to wake up earlier in order to create a consistent time and opportunity for those growth activities.
I am very pleased to say that, as of December 27, my ONE WORD for 2018 is still driving me today. It is not only driving me, consistency has become part of my identity. It is how I see myself in many of the areas of life I described above. I can't say I have been perfectly consistent in everything. There has been some failure. But a focused purpose has certainly helped to reduce failing in many, many places where there would have otherwise been failure.
I look back on this year with delight over things that I have been able to accomplish, only because I committed to the Lord, to myself, and to my family and friends, a ONE WORD resolution that would drive my purpose for the year. Just a few things from 2018 that I can attribute to my one word challenge of "consistency":
Began the year at 215 pounds, currently weigh 180 pounds
Began the year squatting 155 (5x5), currently squatting 285 (5x5)
Read 26 books
Wrote and self-published two books
Kept a daily journal expressing gratitude and goals
Waking up early every day
Less TV
Better relationships
Eliminated any desires for sugary foods and drinks
Feel better at age 46 than I did at age 26
ONE WORD is not a magic pill. I couldn't just choose "consistency" as my word and then assume everything would fall into place and be easy just because I printed a few posters and told some people that I was going to focus on consistency. I still had to do the work. Still had to make sacrifices. Still had to make tough choices. Still had to be inconvenienced at times. It wasn't always easy. But it got easier. It became easier when it began to become more of my identity.
That is why this one word will remain with me for 2019, and I will now select a new word to add to consistency. I won't set consistency aside. I will just stack my new word for 2019 on top of the consistency that has now become threaded into the fabric of my life. That's what I love about the ONE WORD challenge!
If you'd like to give the ONE WORD challenge a try, I highly recommend it. Feel free to reach out to me and we can talk about it in more detail if you'd like. I also wrote a more detailed post last January, outlining how to go about determining a ONE WORD focus for yourself.
Once you have selected your ONE WORD, be sure to share it. Send it to me. Post it in the comments or in your own timeline. The more it is out there, the better! We need accountability with our commitments. We all need the help of our communities, our family and friends, to be true to carry out the commitments and behaviors we so desire for ourselves. Make it happen, friends! It is worth it.