The past few years, there have been a growing number of people have turned to the concept of One Word as outlined in a book by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gordon. Rather than a New Year’s resolution, they chose one word as their focus for the year, and tried to create experiences based around that word. As an example, if someone chose the word PATIENCE, she would focus on being more patient with her co-worker that doesn’t share the same work ethic.
With many goals I want to accomplish this year, I started by writing down everything I hoped to do and prioritized the top seven items. For each goal, I then wrote several steps needed to accomplish those goals. A pattern formed. I realized most everything I wanted to was possible, but I needed to be more disciplined in completing the necessary steps. As I thought about which word encompassed all I wanted to do, one word became clear.
My One Word for 2016 is INTENTIONAL.
Each of my seven top goals for the year fall under two categories where I want to be more intentional.
Be INTENTIONAL about spending more time with God.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day rhythm of life and forget about our spiritual wellbeing. I am not a morning person, but I’ve learned that when I begin my day focused on my faith, I tend to have a better day.
I plan to get up at 5am each weekday to spend time reading the Bible and in prayer. (On weekends, I will do this the first thing when I wake up). I am using a One-Year Bible reading plan, so by the end of the year, I will have read through the entire Bible. In one of the first week’s readings, I found the perfect verse to accompany my year-long intentional journey: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No…” (Matthew 5:37). I need to be more intentional about seeking God’s direction for my life and be willing to give a whole-hearted “Yes” to those things He wants me to do. I also need to be intentional about saying “No” to things that get in the way of my goals.
Be INTENTIONAL about how I spend my time.
Once I’m off the clock at my job, I am fortunate to have quite a bit of flexibility in how I spend my time. That flexibility is great, but lately I’ve found myself mindlessly watching reruns of old sitcoms or playing on the internet. We all need a little down time, but If I’m going to accomplish all that I want to do in 2016, I need to be intentional about keeping a regular schedule and establishing deadlines for the various projects I have in the works.
In an effort to support this goal, I signed up for an event called 30 Days of Hustle led by best-selling author, Jon Acuff. The purpose of this challenge is to focus on one or two goals and use the first 30 days of the year to develop an intentional plan for accomplishing them – the what, why, when, where, and who of your goal. Each day provides a new action step to apply to your hustle – that thing you have committed to doing and/or changing this year. By applying these principles to each of the goals I have set for the year, and I can map out my schedule and deadlines for each goal, both personally and professionally.
With two weeks in on the new year, I admit I am still learning how to be intentional. I am still learning how to change old habits. I am still learning how to prioritize. But the great thing about learning is that the more you learn, the better you do.
**Do you have One Word you are focusing on this year? If not, can you think of a word that would support your goals for 2016?
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I really enjoy the forum topic. Really Cool. Coleen
I would have loved to have read a personal story in here. I got to the end and still felt like I didn’t know you at all. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
Hi Anne. I appreciate your observations. I am still working on getting my “About Me” stuff updated, but I know I can add some more personal touches to the posts as well. Thanks for reading!
Your title drew me in! Great writing and inspiration!
Thank you, Sharon. I appreciate you stopping by!
I love this. I haven’t posted about my one word yet, but I have chosen intentional too. It’s just my year to get things done and really be intentional about how I do it, if that makes sense. I look forward to reading more on your blog!
Great to have another intentional thinker! I have several detailed goals, but they all fall under the bigger category of time management. Intentionally scheduling time to work on each goal has definitely helped me make good progress so far.
I love the word intentional. I have had a word for the year for the last few years and it gives real shape to me as a parent and a Christian. This year my word is masterpiece (which I know sounds weird but I break it down here http://miriamjessie.com/2016/01/04/masterpiece/ ) Thanks for this. Visiting from the link on Michael Hyatt’s fb invite. 🙂
I love the word masterpiece. It evokes a strong sense of both the visual and emotional. I will definitely take a look at your site.
Love this! Intention is the word I choose for this year, so basically the same as yours! I like how you are focusing on two areas instead of a ton at once.
Thanks for checking out my post. I have never formally done the One Word thing before (just did it half-heartedly in the past). It’s been fun to really see how so much if what I want to do comes down to being intentional in decisions if how and what. Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out 🙂