This is the third year in a row that I have selected a Word of the Year.
My 2009 Word of the Year was JOY. It is still my favorite word and you will find it all over my house. One of my favorite Joy quotes is “Man is that he may have Joy not guilt trips” I remind myself that on a daily basis.
My 2010 Word of the Year was the BLOOM. I wanted to be renewed and allow myself to grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Originally I had selected the word Abundance for my 2011 Word of the Year. Abundance is something that I had felt a lack of in 2010, in several areas of my life.
Too many times I allowed that lack of Abundance to overwhelm me. I knew I had to change things. I had to change the way I felt about Abundance and my definition of Abundance. I thought I had my word.
But I was wrong.
In some reading I was doing last week I came across this quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”
This quote made me realize abundance wasn’t my problem – my problem was that I was focusing on the wrong secret garden. Instead of focusing on the abundance I was lacking in my life I needed to focus on the abundance I did have – a wonderful family, good health, amazing friends, joy, pretty things etc.
I needed to change my focus. Thus I discovered my Word of the Year for 2011 –
Focus
Focus – a thing or place that is of greatest importance, a guiding or motivating purpose or principle.
I needed to refine and define my Focus. The focus of my life, my family, my education and even this blog. I have felt very distracted and pulled in multiple directions this last year. I have a tendency to get involved in too many “good things.” I have so many interests and things I love and want to do that I have found myself feeling fragmented and unable to focus on any one thing for any length of time. There is always something else, or a dozen something elses to distract me. I end up not doing any of them as well as I would like.
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” Tony Robbins
So here are some of the things I am going to do this year to be more focused, to improve my focus and to refine my focus:
1. Begin each morning, not at my computer reading emails, but in prayer and scripture reading. Focusing on what is really important
2. Focus on my inner core strength and balance by continuing Pilates and strength training
3. Create a specific focus for each month of the year – January’s focus will be my home and creating order. I will share each month’s Focus Journey in my new Finding Focus posts.
4. Regain my focus each Sunday by having a technology fast – no computer, no T.V. etc. and this goes for my kiddos too....we shall see how well this works
5. Improve my focus by staying diligent in school. I will get through this semester without procrastinating
6. Spend time focused on doing something I love to do - or maybe two - Serving & Crafting
7. Focus on others by asking myself each day – “What can I do to help someone else today”
“When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.” – Joel Osteen
I hope you have taken the opportunity to come up with your own Word of the Year – I’d love to know what it is.
