One Little Word

It is January and tradition tells us to make a 'New Year resolution(s)'.  People are making resolutions and harboring hopes of a better year, a more productive year, a healthier year, a happier year ahead. We go along for days, weeks, or sometimes even a month or two with those goals and hopes and then something happens that destroys our resolution. Maybe we fail at keeping the goals or a life event dims our hope and we abandon the resolutions thinking we’ve blown it again this year, I'll just give up. This is one of the reasons New Year resolutions fail—because we are thinking in terms of years. We set the goal for a year and it is only February...what am I going to do for the other 10 months?!
So we wait until next year to begin the process again.

Having experienced that year after year,

last year I decided to choose a WORD OF THE YEAR to focus on

 rather than a long list of resolutions that would most likely be forgotten or

dismissed after 'failing' or 'falling short' of the high expectations I put on myself.

Every year is a new beginning....but isn't every day a new beginning also?

New beginnings don’t have to be measured in years. I found a scripture that made so much sense to me, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). In other words, our physical bodies might be growing older and becoming weaker, but our inward being, our spirits, are renewed daily through Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.

That is one reason I like having a word for the year instead of goal resolutions. My word is not something that is kept or broken like a goal; it just floats with me in whatever I am doing. If I am cleaning the house, I’m thinking courage--do it better than ever before...even if it may be dirty again in an hour. If I am creating, have courage to try something new--and enjoy the journey. If I am with an old friend, I’m thinking have courage in my friendship--don’t take friendship for granted but cherish it. Instead of feeling like I have something extra to do, my word resolution enhances and invigorates everything I am already doing. In this way I help the natural process of letting the Spirit renew me day by day by day without getting discouraged or being tempted to give up.

My word, BELIEVE, last year was amazing. I know it carried me through different circumstances through the year. Towards the end of 2011 I found myself frustrated that I couldn't decide on my 2012 word.  Matt told me that I can't force it, which was exactly what I was trying to do.  So many words were wonderful but none of them felt right, for me.  Then at church last Sunday, I knew.  Once during a testimony and then again during our Relief Society lesson.  The spirit whispered to my heart, "this is for you".

This year my word is...

My amazing friend Drew based her lesson on the talk from President Monson,

"Living the Abundant Life"

President Monson shared what he called 'his own ABCs to help us all gain the abundant life.'

A---ATTITUDE

"We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude."

B---BELIEVE

"believe in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles"

"Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.

You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith."

C---COURAGE

"Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

When I heard the word COURAGE, I knew that was the word for me.

Naturally, COURAGE comes after believe and COURAGE takes your thoughts and deeds to the

next level, if you will.
COURAGE to now DO what you believed you could do.

COURAGE to try again.

COURAGE to be YOU!

I do have things I would like to accomplish this year or
just change my attitude about and I KNOW
this one little word
will make all the difference in 2012, for me.

Do you have a "word" this year?