One Word

How a Streamlined Process Helped Me Achieve My Goals

One Word for 2023

I started the ritual of choosing one word as a focus for the year long ago at an Indiana State Reading Association meeting. It became the heart of action and reflection for me. A word is easier to remember and allows me to hyperfocus on an intention. What I have also found is nuances of the word come through as I live with it through the months and reflect in my journal.

I invite you to choose a word for 2023.

Some years are full of contemplation over the perfect word and I have been known to change it before January 1st multiple times. This often involves lists and freewrites for days or weeks. I created a One Word workshop to lead my writing community through the process. [If you are interested, let me know and I can send you the recording.] The choosing of a word is not a new concept and certainly not one I made up. Many people have delightful resources available. One I highly recommend is Susannah Conway’s Unravel Your Year workbook. 

For 2023 my word came easily: DEEPEN

My plan is to deepen the experiences and learning I engage in during 2023.

I love to be the resource person and to take a large amount of content and curate it for other people. It is part of why I love to teach. But last year, I found myself feeling like I was just checking off too many things on a list. I wasn’t savoring or learning, just racking up numbers. Part of that was stress and things that only I could do. 2022 was a year of extremes: bliss and trauma.

I do not want to feel that way anymore. I want to savor my life, not just check off days. I want the reading and writing I am doing to be wild and deep. I want to delve into a topic for days and not go wide. I want to push past what I think I want to say until I think I have nothing else to say and see what lies beyond that.

I plan to reread books that I have loved in the past and learn something new from them. The first for January is The Alchemist. This book came to me when I needed it the first time and I read it quickly. I plan to examine it more closely this read and write in response to passages and ideas.

There are other ideas I am exploring around this concept and what it means for me. I am not sure how it fits yet but there is a sharing vs not concept that keeps circling in my head. It is like a crow that won’t land so I am trying to be patient.

What small change will you make today to get yourself closer to the life you want?

Do you already have a word chosen for 2023?

I would love to see it in the comments!

Thank you for joining me on this creative journey. I am excited to see where it leads!

Happy Wintering!

Tammy