One Word for 2019: Re-Engage

Resolutions? Pffft. Not this girl. Give me One Word to focus on.

I am not the girl for resolutions. Like most, I burst out of the gate with enthusiasm and energy…and then by March, those resolutions are cast aside like the photos from 2013 I printed in 2015 that still wait to be placed lovingly in photo albums.

A few years ago I came across the idea of choosing just one word that I can focus on all year long, one that can guide my goals, big and small. My word was “thrive” in 2015, “cultivate” in 2016, and in 2017 it was “conquer“. I confess while I chose “moxie” for 2018, I didn’t claim it (and then forgot about it); be it coincidence or not, I felt rather rudderless over the course of the last year.

Meanwhile, my actual word could have been “stasis”. I didn’t write much, I didn’t resolve much. I was unfocused and disorganized.

Needless to say, I was determined to pick a word for the upcoming year, one that would push me into action…once I figured out what that action was. After a whole lot of introspection and coffee, I realized my goal was two-fold: firstly, to uncover where my life was headed and what my goals are and where my focus should be. It hit me that, at 50, what I wanted in the past didn’t necessarily work for me now.

Secondly, my goal for the year was to actually ACT once I figured crap out.

Picking one word is harder than you think.

I stumbled on the word “Evolve” and it really spoke to me. As fellow OneWorder (I’m sure it’s a thing) Treva Hammond commented in an online discussion “it just so happens that my new word for 2019 is “becoming”…instead of thinking my life is half over at 50ish, I’m focusing on what is evolving.”

A big part of evolving is acting with intention. I liked it.

And…(because you know I’m going to overthink it)…the word felt highfalutin. Obnoxious. My 2016 word (cultivate) had the same effect (in hindsight. I mean, I’m not growing weed, I just want to have focus.

Wait….
I digress.

So I thought some more, I meditated, I vacuumed (which helps me clear my head) and I wrote. The problem with 2018, I realized, was that I had disconnected from my own life. I focused on the kids and the drama, and put myself to the side, making every and any excuse to disengage otherwise because I simply felt lost.

In 2019, I need to re-engage.
That’s my One Word.

With great thanks to Daniel O’Brien, an educator who jumped into the One Word discussion on Twitter, I have pretty much lifted his justification (to me) as to how this word fits into both the problem solving and action portions of my goals for the year, because I wasn’t sure it could do both.

He explained that the word would indeed cover everything because (I could) “Reengage in living deliberately, pursue your passions and fulfill your goals. Eliminate toxic relationships and spend more time with people you love and that love you, always being completely with them in the moment and fully engaged.”

After all: part of living deliberately is defining what that life should look like.

Finally, I had my one word.

I think the word resonates with me because it is approachable and not lofty. It is practical and practicable.

In addition, it shines a glaring light on my glaring weakness from the past year – disconnecting from my own life. I’ve gotten pretty good at burying my head in the proverbial sand, only it involved losing hours on Facebook and then drowning my subsequent regret with more coffee.

That’s no fun at all, no matter how much I like coffee.

* * *

Stay with me while I digress.

This past weekend I watched the movie “Dumplin'” with my daughter. The main character, along with her favorite aunt, loved Dolly Parton, and the movie was loaded with Dolly quotes.

One such quote has been following me around in the days since, and I finally wrote it down and stuck it on my cork board:

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

– Dolly Parton

I think this sums up my goals for 2019 in one line. Thank you, Dolly.

I choose to re-engage in 2019.
What about you?
Did you choose you “one word” for 2019?

Now, choosing a word is just the start. The next step is working out goals to get there. Some of it is easy. Some of it…I’m not sure where to start. I’ll be back to share all the ways I set goals. Yes, I have more than one method, because if I can’t over-kill it, why bother?