One little word...

...can be a powerful thing. I try each day to teach my children how important words can be. How not to take them for granted, and the inability to take them back once they are said. I always love brushing teeth at night and asking the girls to put the toothpaste that they just squeezed out onto their brushes back into the tube. It can't be done, they say. Much the way words can't be taken back once they are said. I hope my children grow up to understand the power of their words. Where am I going with this? A few of my friends follow Ali Edwards "one little word" project. This project is about

"pinpointing one guiding principle and then walking with that word throughout the year"

Each January they choose a word and use it to guide their life in the direction that they most need. It may be words like: Calm, Create, Invite, Give, Organize, Reach, Strength, Believe, Pause, Praise, etc. Any word that will help them align their overall goals to their principles. I like this idea. It is simple, yet has the potential to be very powerful. The past few months I have often felt as though I have bitten off more than I can chew. I have been searching for clarity in where I can scale back, where I should give more, and when to just throw in the towel. I have been S.L.O.W.L.Y. reading, "The Best Yes" by Lysa TerKeurst in hopes that I can figure out where to say "no" and not carry the guilt that often comes with it. I'm reading it slowly on purpose as I tend to pick it up on the nights that I feel like a train wreck and it often helps put things into perspective. So...my word for the year...

I hope to keep this word close this year, so that I might slow down and focus on the importance (or irrelevance) of each moment. Is my focus where it should be? When I'm with my kids am I focused on their needs or the mile-long to-do list in my head? At work am I focused on my students, or the stacks of papers piling up? Is my time spent focused on the people who mean the most to me, or am I people-pleasing and wearing myself so thin that in the end no one is happy? This could be a simple change in mindset that makes a huge difference. 

If you picked one word to focus on this year, what would you choose?