Monthly Archives: December 2018

2019 Word Of The Year: Simple

by habits

Since 2013 I have picked a Word every year to be my focus for the upcoming year. As I've written about before it's never an easy process.*  As a matter of fact, it can be downright difficult to pick one single word that becomes the guiding focus of the year. And oddly enough it's amazing how much that word will resonate throughout your year and your life. Last year's word, Change, for example, turned out to be really powerful on a lot of different levels both personally and professionally.

New Year New Word

This year, as I was going through the mental gyrations that I go through each year, I was beginning to despair of ever finding just the right word. I usually start by reading the words from previous years. This allows me to revisit my thought process and to reconnect with my intention setting goals. I then reflect back on the previous year; giving myself a report card of sorts. 

Luckily I'm not the only one who does this. At an end-of-year wrap-up meeting with some colleagues, we wound up discussing how challenging it can be to narrow your focus for the year ahead to just one word. One of my friends, Kirstin Nussgruber, mentioned that her word of the year for 2019 was going to be Simple.  As soon as she said that it really resonated with me. I announced that I was borrowing it and we were going to be word-buddies for 2019.

The Meaning of a Word

Part of the reason that picking a word is so difficult is that, for me, it that it has to truly have meaning. There has to be some deep reasoning behind it to make it my word. This is because for an entire year I am going to sit down and regularly focus on this word.  It's also going to start showing up in my life in a lot of different ways.
Sometimes, like this year, it's an internal "click" which lets me intuitively know that I've found the correct word. Once I've found the word, whatever it is, I then need to absorb it on a number of different levels in order to really make it my own. I start by looking up the meaning and then doing some journaling and introspective thought around the word.
According to the dictionary some of the meanings of the word simple are as follows:

Simple
[sim-puhl]
adjective,sim·pler, sim·plest.

  1. easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.: a simple matter; simple tools.
  2. not elaborate or artificial; plain: a simple style.
  3. not ornate or luxurious; unadorned: a simple gown.
  4. not complicated: a simple design.
  5. not complex or compound; single.
  6. occurring or considered alone; mere; bare: the simple truth; a simple fact.
  7. free of deceit or guile; sincere; unconditional: a frank, simple answer.

A Personal Journey

This resonates with me on so many different levels. First, and foremost, I am craving some simplicity in my life. After dealing with the last 16 months since Hurricane Harvey life has, quite frankly, been a bit of a roller coaster. Simple sounds really good right about now. There are a lot of areas of my life, home, work, relationships, personal development, that could all benefit from a focus on simplicity.

I also find myself really loving the idea of simple as not complicated. What I do, as The Ingredient Guru, can sometimes be very challenging for a lot of people to get stay abreast of. There is so much misinformation, conflicting information, and partial truths that staying on top of what's really in and on your food is a full-time job. I'm lucky, I love what I do, the research, delving into the information, and sharing. I'm also tremendously grateful that people see me as a trusted resource. I like taking what can be an overwhelming topic and making it simple, i.e., easy to understand and to implement.

Find Your Word

I encourage you to adopt the practice of creating an intention word for the year. You'll be amazed at how powerful it can be to condense the focus for an entire year down to one single word. If you'd like you can even join in the fun with others over at OneWord365 and see who else is in your word tribe. 

And whatever the upcoming year brings for you I wish you warmth and wonder, joy and health.  Be well.

* Prior words of the year: Inspire, Focus, Mindfulness, Balance, and Change.