I’d Like a Word

On this 24th day of our writing challenge, it seemed like a good day to reflect on my word of the year for 2024! Throughout this Slice are links to various reference points or previous Slices with overlapping ideas to today’s Slice. 

Focus. Intention. Love. Breathe. Bloom. Strength. While it may not work for everyone, for me I love having a mantra, a focus phrase, or a word to motivate me.  Setting a New Year’s resolution doesn’t always get me far, but having a word that encapsulates my priorities or overall goals for the year feels helpful.

This idea to have a word for the year is discussed on one of my favorite podcasts, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, co-hosted with her sister Elizabeth Craft.  I love Gretchen’s ideas, episodes, and books on the topics of happiness, creativity, human nature, and habits among other things. 

My word for 2024 is Focus.  To me, it is three things: a reminder to stay focused on tasks while working, a reminder to focus on what is most important to me, and a reminder to focus my attention on the people I am with.  

As far as working goes, I am a lifelong procrastinator and for better or worse, it is just how I operate.  I am trying to use the word Focus to keep me on track during times like my planning period during the school day or my writing time at home.  I tend to jump from task to task (a la If You Give a Mouse a Cookie), but trying to focus on getting one thing actually accomplished is really helpful.  Otherwise, I end up with several not-quite-finished tasks and feel like I have nothing to show for my work time.  This is true both in school and at home if I am not careful. 

When it comes to thinking about what is most important to me, my focus is on things like my health, my family, quality time with my loved ones, time outside, and time doing what I enjoy such as reading and writing. I am trying to use focus to accomplish things like overcoming a lifetime of bad sleep habits, getting exercise on most days, and getting myself and my kids outside.  I am trying to focus on using my time well and accomplishing my goals. 

When I am with my boys, I am trying to focus on putting my phone down or away, and quieting my busy mind to truly focus and be present with them.  Sometimes I struggle with trying to use my phone to multitask, but really my full attention is what my kids want. I want to take photos and videos and capture my time and memories made with them, but sometimes making the memory is better than stopping to capture it.  I’m still figuring out this balance.

I’ve chosen various words over the past several years, and many of them have a similar bend to them while packaged into a slightly different word.  These words include:

• Strength: following my MS diagnosis, I wanted to work on being emotionally strong and on strengthening my body.  I wanted to remind myself that I was strong enough to overcome a challenge. I came up with a mantra that I would repeat in my head while walking or meditating or exercising, which I pictured calming the chaos of my under-siege neurons: Strong body, calm mind. Strong mind, calm body.
• Bloom: a celebration of my growing family, and a reminder to do my best and “bloom where I am planted” – to shine and bring light.
• Breathe: in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, I needed a reminder to literally remember the importance of breath, and to remind myself to stop and breathe when life was stressful. It also reminds me of my yoga work and the importance of connecting to your breath.
• Love: a reminder to speak to myself with more kindness, love, and positive self-talk. Also, a prompt to appreciate and love my body, my home, my family, and my life.
• Intention: this word is similar to focus, but served as a reminder to move through my day and my life with intention.  To try to reduce time-wasting, choose and meet my goals, and live each day with purpose. 

I believe in the power of words to impact ourselves and those around us.  For me, the power of choosing a word for the year, or a word for a season, or a mantra (like I Am Here) holds great power and motivation.  Your word can reflect whatever is important to you or whatever you want more of in your life, be it more whimsy, more motivation, or more gratitude.  

I hope my words speak to you, and I hope you can find a word that speaks to yourself.

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This piece is part of the #SOL24 March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted by the Two Writing Teachers.