ONE WORD 2017

Hard to believe ANOTHER year has passed and in the books!   But... time does march on and we are lucky if we can keep up with it!   I am not feeling like I am doing that very well right now due to so many things, events, people, projects, etc., that HAVE to be done and now.  It seems like I am having a harder time finding the time I need to reflect and enjoy a bit of peace at this stage in my life.   Because of our current near "empty nest" stage it often baffles me how infrequent I have quiet time to myself.  I am sure if I wanted more of it I could find a way, but I guess I enjoy life too much to just want to sit around and have quiet time.   However, there are times when I would absolutely love to just sit and BE STILL!  I am writing this at 6:00 a.m. because I still have a house full of holiday guests and I have not found a single break to be able to write this and it's already January 8th.  

I have been reflecting for a few weeks on what I want my ONE WORD for 2017 to be.  Usually I have several that I try to choose from but it was very interesting how this year's word almost fell from the sky into my lap.  I KNEW immediately what the word was to be.  That kind of worries me in a sense because I think it may mean I am going to need this particular word for some reason this year.  LOL  

My word for last year was PURGE.  My plan was to PURGE 25% of my "stuff".  Not just physical stuff, but emotional as well.  I did really well in the physical department and de-junked a lot.  It wasn't near 25% and I need to continue to PURGE into this year - and the rest of my life if I ever want to get rid of all the accumulated "stuff" (aka crap) I have collected over the years!  I didn't even make a dent into how much I still have to do, but the stuff I DID get to purging, I always got rid of at least 25%.  I feel good about it.  As far as the emotional purge, I have a long way to go still on that too, but because of focusing on that one word, I got rid of a lot more than I would have had I not chosen that word.  Here are some of the words I have chosen in the past:

My goal is to keep working on each word I have chosen through the years as I go through life but always have one each year to FOCUS on.  So what word did I choose for this year??

Drum roll please.....

UPLIFT is the word I have chosen for 2017.    

Why did I choose this word?  Or maybe I should say why was it chosen for me...because I cannot deny I was guided to choose this word this year.  But, I believe however it was chosen, that EVERY SINGLE person on the planet, no matter WHO they are, or how rich, successful, happy, well adjusted, content, etc. they are... NEEDS to hear uplifting words from others.  We live in a very harsh world at times and I am willing to bet most people rarely hear words from others that are kind and thoughtful and make them feel better inside.  In fact, it's probably quite the opposite and most end the day feeling a little beaten or downtrodden.  And then add to the mix the new "invention" of social media, which can contribute to making life at times a bit brutal.

The words we hear from others are powerful!  VERY powerful.  I have always known that and I have always tried to use words to uplift instead of tear down, but I feel like this world needs MORE of that and people are starved for it right now.

I actually have a bracelet I bought for myself last year to remind me to UPLIFT others each day.  The reason I bought it is because I am the kind of person that is always thinking good things about others, but I don't tell them as frequently as I should.  When I have a good thought about someone, I should tell them what I am thinking, but oft times those thoughts stay in my head.  No reason why really, other than maybe the opportunity didn't present itself or I just haven't made a conscious effort to do it as often as I should.  I do it very easily with little children, but it's some thing I need to work on more with adults.  I have had several friends and acquaintances over the years that are quite the opposite and very critical of the things they see in others.  I am not sure if that is why I try to see the good because I don't want to focus on the negative (we ALL have that and don't need someone pointing it out), or if it's because I am comparing myself to the good in others and striving to be more like them, or what.  I also have friends that are very good at uplifting others and telling them what they see in them that they notice.  I want to be that person because I know how much it affects me and what a difference it makes in my life when someone says something to uplift me.  Because, like I said above, words ARE powerful!  ONE WORD can affect someone's entire day.  Even just a simple smile can do that.   I don't think we realize the power we can have on others if we go out of our way to UPLIFT them. 

A great benefit of uplifting others is you UPLIFT yourself in the process.  You can't uplift someone else without uplifting yourself.  It's just is an immediate byproduct of the act.  That, of course, is not the reason to do it.  However, if you are struggling in your life to feel joy and happiness, it would be a great reason to start doing it.  You can never go wrong and you will never regret uplifting someone else.

My goal is to be able to write down at least one person each day that I went out of my way to say an encouraging word or compliment to, or in some small way made them smile.  And since I am consciously trying to do that, hopefully, I will have many more than one each day.  But I need a goal and I think striving for one each day is a very doable and attainable goal and since I want to see success, that is my quest.  Notice, I said, "go out of my way".  I wrote that because I want it to be someone that I actually have to say something to that I normally wouldn't.  I have noticed since I decided this would be my word, that I have MANY opportunities every single day to uplift someone, but it often takes a little more effort than just telling a family member (who hopefully I am saying uplifting things to each day already) to actually go out of my way and tell them.  I frequently miss out on those opportunities because of the fact it required me to go out of my way.

For example, I saw a mother in the mall who was being VERY kind and patient to her unruly children and I thought to myself what a great mom she was.  I decided I needed to tell her what I was thinking and not keep the thought to myself.  But, I had to go out of my way to find her again so I could tell her.  So, I am only going to count the times I actually have to make some kind of an effort.  I will never forget when this very same thing happened to me as a young mom.  I was shopping with my mom in Costco and had several of my boys with me who were very young at the time and not always a joy to take shopping. haha  But a woman (a complete stranger) came up to me (she went out of her way to do so) and told me how she had been watching me and was so impressed with what a patient and loving mother I was.  I remember really needing to hear that at the time. That happened about 15 or more years ago and I STILL remember it.  Her words are STILL uplifting me!  And because she told me that I became an even more patient mother. 

Words are POWERFUL! 

  

So, here's to a very UPLIFTING 2017!  Maybe I will even work on a few other things that also need uplifting....like body parts, wrinkles, etc.  :)

A few inspiring quotes: