Checking in on the Three Words of the Year
Did you choose three words (or one word) to live by this year? Have you checked back to see how you're doing with these words?
Last December, in a post titled Three Powerful Words for An Amazing New Year, I announced my words and the thought behind them. Since we're halfway (gasp) through the year, I thought it would be fun to revisit my words and see how I'm doing. I'm wondering if you might think it is time to do the same thing with your words.
One reason I'm doing this is because I've written the words on a post-it note that is stuck to a cabinet above my desk, and my gaze falls upon them when I stare off into space. Most of the time, I barely notice them, but once in awhile the words come into focus and I ponder them. Yesterday, I pondered them so hard that I finally checked back to the original post to see how I'm doing.
The answer is that I'm doing okay. Probably not great, but okay.
My three words for the year are creativity, faith, and inquiry.
I'm going to talk about faith first, because its the word around which I'm doing the best. In my post I wrote about my faith in God, which is important to me, but also faith in myself, what I'm doing, and that everything was going to be all right. I wrote about having faith in my ability to go deep within and uncover the riches that are buried there. And in the six months since I wrote that, I've been learning to do all of this on an ongoing basis–learning being the operative word. What I'm learning is that faith of this nature responds to effort, maybe even requires effort, and that by making the effort you begin to create the faith. One of the hallmarks of this year is that I've been consistently making the effort.
I'm doing fairly well with inquiry, too. In the original post I wrote about not wanting to take things at face value, to dig a bit deeper mentally and form my own opinions. I still leap to judgment, oh dear lord how I leap to judgment. I can read a rant on the internet and be totally convinced of its truth, then read oppositional comments and switch to the other point of view immediately. Such is the curse of the impressionable mind. One way I am using inquiry successfully is to turn off the internal blame machine, and this is a wonderful thing. If I've eaten a piece of chocolate cake, for instance, or fallen down on my writing goals, I say to myself, "Hmmm, I wonder why that happened." Or, "Wow, that's interesting. Wonder what's going on?" This allows me to observe myself more objectively. The thought occurs I should turn this style of inquiry to the outside world as well.
And finally we get to creativity. Falling down a bit here. I'm a lifelong knitter and I love the craft. It soothes me, satisfies my need for beauty, and allows me to make useful things. There's nothing I love more than spending an afternoon poking around yarn stores, then coming home with a new project and casting on. But here's the deal: I don't do it enough. One of the things I wrote in my year-end post was how I wanted to partake of this kind of creativity more regularly. I've got opportunity: my pug Buster loves nothing better than for me to sit with him and watch TV in the evenings, and Buster is ancient old and so I figure I better humor him while I can. This would be a perfect chance to indulge in this creative hobby of mine, but do I? Sometimes. And I can't figure out why I don't do it more. Time to take advantage of that inquiry that is the other hallmark of this year.
Alrighty, then. That is far more than enough about me. What about you? Did you choose three words for the year? What were they? How are you keeping up with them?
Karen Phillips
I love this post, Charlotte. I didn’t “choose three words this year,” but if I had, I believe they would have been courage, finish, meditate. Those seem to be part of a theme that’s happening. I love the idea of choosing three words.
Karen
Susan
I chose one word for the year Integration.
Just yesterday, this word came up over and over. Working on my own intuitive painting, I noticed this is my way to “get out of my own head” and create. But how does this relate to my “business”? Integration is the key….now to discover just how this works into my life…
J.D.
I am still toying with my New Year resolution. I have six of my ten goals for the year. Three words? I have a start on that: punctuality.
Charlotte Dixon
I think you should just choose those three words for the rest of this year. They are good ones! I love that you are exploring meditation at the moment.
Fear of Writing
I loved the honesty of this post! And I’d venture to say this post qualifies as practicing your three words all rolled into one convenient place. :~)
I agree that faith and self-belief strengthen through the very practice of them. I’ve managed to increase my self-belief enormously by taking more risks with the amount I already had. And that led to more and more. I love that kind of rolling snowball, as opposed to the kind that spirals us down with words of lack of faith in ourselves or our ability to be connected to the spiritual source.
I did do a check back on my 2012 creed a few weeks ago and was delighted to see how far I’d come since then. In January I wrote two posts where I talked about not buying into doomsday thinking but instead practicing my creativity *as if* this would be the last year of my life. And, for me as well, it had a spiritual basis. Blogging my creed for the year really must have stuck because I’ve been insatiable ever since, even doing too much and having to pull myself back. :~) But that’s a better problem to have, I think. Plus, that huge appetite for living/expressing my gifts has been spilling over into my marketing, which was an area I was really dragging my feet in. Now I’m on fire with it and I don’t have to feel guilty that I’m spending all my time being creative and not enough time marketing my valuable services.
Charlotte Dixon
I totally agree with you about creativity and marketing. Once you really get aligned with who you are and what you want to express, it becomes so much easier. And you are on fire with it! I love it. Years ago a local author wrote a book called "Having Everything Right" and I feel like that's the state you're describing. Thanks, as always, for stopping by and writing such an eloquent comment.
Sandra / Always Well Within
Charlotte,
I’m impressed with how deeply you explored the notion of faith and with your conclusion too. “Faith” was my one word for the year and somehow it is mysteriously manifesting. I feel a greater sense of trust and that feels good. Nice to ease up and be able to relax with it all.
My one word seems to float more on my birthday year, so just like last year “faith” began to emerge in the months leading up to my birthday in September. And this year, I feel a new word emerging now. And it’s not even close to the new year.
Good luck with your creativity / inquiry! It seems you are very creative in your writing and your blog.
Charlotte Dixon
Thanks, Sandra. I love how your word, faith, has been manifesting for you in your life, and how you are sensing a new word floating up. That is beautiful! I can't wait to read about the results, if you feel inspired to share them.
Debbie Maxwell Allen
Somehow I missed the first post, but I love this idea. I think the word that comes to mind for me is perseverance. Now to apply it for the rest of the year!
~Debbie
Charlotte Dixon
Love the word perseverance, something every writer needs! And yes, there's plenty of time to adopt a word for the rest of the year!