New Year Resolution in ONE Word

I love the New Year.  It is an opportunity to reflect, plan, and start with a refreshed look on life.  It is a time to rededicate and recommit ourselves to becoming our best while striving to reach our full potential.  It is a time of renewed hope and anticipation for that which is to come. 

Recently I was asked what I thought about the new trendy “one word” resolution.  If you haven’t heard about this let me briefly explain.  Rather than writing down wordy resolutions or reaching for an insurmountable number of them, we simply pick one word to define our year.  This word would act like our theme for the year and we’d do things to help us become more of what that word means to us.  Some examples I’ve heard include “healthy”, “faith”, “balanced”, “courage”, and “resilient”.  The idea again is to pick one word that will define our focus for the year.

This idea reminds me of the “three word” vision, a similar trendy idea that has developed in the business world and has spread to other areas of life.  Like the one word resolution the three word vision statement is designed to be clear, concise, and direct.  Its purpose is to provide focus and avoid confusion. 

Like the three word vision I think the one word resolution is great!  It is easy to remember, simple to understand, and doesn’t feel, sound, or seem unreachable or overwhelming.  The one word resolution is designed to help us be better and I believe can be very motivating.  So in my mind anything that can help inspire us to be better is a good thing.  And I do really love the focus and power the one word resolution can potentially provide to many of us. 

With that being said I’d add one small cautionary note.  The one word resolution may not be for everyone.  If it doesn’t feel right to you and you have another way of approaching resolutions and achieving them then keep doing that.  Like almost everything, I rarely believe there is a “one size fits all” solution.  If a one word resolution doesn’t seem helpful to you then don’t worry about it.  In the end each of us needs to do what we believe works for us and what we feel is right.  If we haven’t found a good strategy yet or are unsure on how we should approach resolutions this year then perhaps trying the one word resolution in 2015 is a great idea. 

I’m excited about the New Year and feel it will be a great one, I hope you do too!  Whether it is a one word or a multiple word resolution you prefer, the most important thing is that each of us is setting goals that help us reach our full potential and become who we want to become in 2015.  It’s a New Year—a fresh start…let’s do this!