We live in a fast-paced world that is full of distractions. It’s easy to gradually slide off track and end up responding to life rather than creating it. You can’t let that happen. Each of us has to be very intentional with our time and what we pursue. That’s why I believe that this One Word concept, which I explain below, has the potential to help us bring clarity and focus to our year and in doing so that will greatly impact our lives and the lives of those we influence.
Let me unpack that a bit…
Most of us set goals and some of us establish resolutions but have you ever picked a theme word for your year?
In December I helped Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page launch a new book called One Word that Will Change Your Life.
It’s a short book to read but it packs a very powerful message. At first it might even seem simple but don’t underestimate how profound simple can actually be.
You see, their idea is to pick ONE WORD that will serve as your theme for the year. It’s not just any old random word but a word that you select, very intentionally after reflection, prayer and thoughtful consideration.
From the GetOneWord.com website:
Each year, resolutions are rarely kept and goals are often easily forgotten. But One Word sticks. One Word creates clarity, power, passion and life-change.
I agree and that’s why I’ve spent some time thinking through what I want my One Word for the rest of 2013 to be.
My One Word is: LEVERAGE
Why? Because I want to better leverage my time, resources and impact.
This isn’t just a word for what I want to achieve in business, it’s holistic. It’s a word that embodies who I want to be and what I want to do this year personally and professionally.
My One Word for 2013
What does this mean? Well, I’m not 100% sure yet from a practical perspective but I know it means that I’ll be looking at everything I do through the lens of leverage in order to see if I can tweak, modify and amplify. It also means that I’ll be reevaluating priorities and that I will be saying NO to certain things so that I can say YES to others, to the things I feel will reap a better reward for what I want for my life.
As a way to help remind me of this, I’ve used the SHARE YOUR ONE WORD tool at GetOneWord.com/Share and generated a poster image of my One Word. I’ve saved this image to my computer desktop and printed it as a poster to pin above my desk so that I see it every day. I’m also sharing my word with my family and a few close friends so that they can help hold me accountable and to encourage me throughout the year.
As a matter of fact, our family is also going to go through this One Word exercise together. Each of us is going to create our word and perhaps we’ll make a collage or framed piece with all of our words together.
The possibilities are endless.
So my question to you now is, what’s YOUR One Word?
You Might Also Like:
- Ways to Kick-start 2013 with Possibility and Perspective
- Resolutions Don’t Work (but Sustainable Actions Do)
- My One Word for 2011: Residual