“Do.”
At the beginning of 2018, I decided to just ‘Do.’
I had no idea what the journey of the year would be, but I knew from taking the course in 2017, that One Little Word could shape so much. One Little Word is an online course created by Ali Edwards, with content that is a mixture of journaling and memory keeping. I’m not very crafty, but I do enjoy reflection, printing photos, and choosing how to remember the year with intention. Plus, I purchased the course and the main kit offered for purchase to help fill in the gaps of my non-existent materials stash throughout the year.
Reflection
In 2017, I took the course and only completed about half the year, but I learned much from that first go round and felt ready to follow through in 2018. You see, One Word can become a mantra, a self-check, or even push you through moments that seem insurmountable. My experience with ‘Do’ this year has been especially interesting considering how many buckets I am juggling on a daily basis.
I knew 2018 would be busy.. even tough. However, I truly didn’t have a real clue of the mental and physical fortitude necessary to work all day every day for a long-term result. At times throughout the year, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I told myself to just ‘Do.’ I made my word visible, so when I step into my office, tired and ready to just push things to the next day, instead I tell myself to just get through my to-do list for the day. When I was uncertain whether or not I should take on a new client or whether or not I could wake up at 5 am every day, I told myself to just try.
Along the way, the course prompts pushed me to reflect on each month. To define why I chose ‘Do’ for 2018, delve into how I hoped to take action and develop a vision for the year. We spent time developing habits, challenging assumptions, and experiencing the world through photography. Halfway through the year I was told to regroup, evaluate, and move forward again. Then, I spent time saying yes, thinking about the stories I am telling myself, and coming back to the idea of giving myself grace.
It’s really quite interesting to realize what the world is trying to tell you over and over again. ‘Give Grace.’ That was the phrase randomly given to me by Inkwell Press with my 2018 planner. Then halfway through the year, when I was feeling down on myself, I was reminded to give myself grace. Finally, in the One Little Word course, I was again reminded to give myself grace and challenge the negative self-talk I was sitting in. I was so focused on executing and pushing through that I was not taking care of my mental health. Instead, I was ‘Doing’ everything and achieving goals without stopping to congratulate myself. Without allowing myself to marvel at all that I am accomplishing every single day.
This revelation led me to focus more on self-care. At that point, I was practicing self-care in a haphazard way, but I eventually defined self-care to make sure I was taking care of my whole self. After a little research, I decided to focus in on categories of self-care to manage stress effectively. These five categories include physical, emotional, psychological, professional, and intellectual self-care. Personal self-care is built into these categories, but I also find time to care for my skin, nails, and for the occasional soak in the tub. To execute self-care, to make sure I ‘Do’ these things, I create a monthly bucket list that covers all five categories in an organic manner.
The Year Ahead
As the year comes to a close and I reflect on how the word ‘Do’ shaped my year, I am amazed at just how much I accomplished this year. I even ENJOYED crafting, something I would never associate with myself. This year I spent more time with my loved ones just by saying Yes more often, telling myself “Just Do It.” In order to ‘Do,’ I had to let go of fear and doubt and instead jump in. As a type A personality, that isn’t always easy, but I did and I am better for having let myself experience the full power of One Little Word.
I have chosen my word for 2019 and purchased the course again as well as the main kit. As I move into year two of my five-year plan, I find focusing on One Little Word as a means to remember and document this journey to be necessary self-reflection. I have learned so much about myself this year, and I am more than excited to see how One Little Word enters and shapes my life in 2019.
Yes! I remember the blog you posted last year. I believe my word was BE. I honestly didn’t adhere by it throughout the year. I did however end up finding myself and being okay with certain decisions I had to make this year. Being me, allowing things to just BE, and being okay with not always being in control gave me a visual of what I know I deserve; and I’m okay with that. Thanks for the inspiration. You’ve truly lit a fire under my butt and helped me in so many ways you couldn’t even imagine.
I can identify with what you said about negative self-talk and learning to give yourself grace. Not a lot of people in my community have done what I want to do so I’m learning to be my biggest cheerleader.
Go
The one word I hear for myself is “grow” the last five years have been hard on me physically. I concentrated so much on the physical pain of my illness that it became a stumbling block to my growth. 2019 needs to be a year of organization, obtaining knowledge and actually have personal growth with that knowledge. Your blogs have really been encouraging to me. And I also go into reflective mode at every years closing. I was distracted this year so I know 2019 needs to be a year of focus. So I can grow physically (with mobility) mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially. I plan to do that by doing what I can do in exercising, changing eating habits and falling back in love with my natural hair. I plan on doing a lot more reading in 2019 as well. I enjoy your blogs as well as your YouTube channel. See you next year!
The one little word for me is “forgiveness”
My word for 2019 is to COMPLETE..not simply starting, doing, or being but completing tasks and achieving goals that will lead to success.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog. I find your content is very thoughtful… my one for 2019 is…forward
Be ! That is my one word for 2019, just be JasminJohnson! Love your post, an inspiration to my life is what you have done, and I thank you
This is awesome! As a mom o can totally relate to giving yourself grace… that’s my word for 2019
I really appreciate this article and what it means to me. My word for 2019 will mostly be “self”. I’ve spent a lifetime taking care of and looking out for other people. I need to put myself first and focus on my dreams.
I’m going to take this into the new year and focus on taking care of myself. As an educator that can be hard. This fall semester has been stressful and I refuse to carry stress over into 2019. Thank you!