Updated on June 12, 2024
2019 Word of the Year: Change. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Dan Millman
Happy 2019! Every year for the past six years I have chosen a word of the year to help provide clarity and focus throughout the entire year. It helps me remind me of the “big” picture and what I need to focus on to move forward with living my best and most purposeful life. This year is no different.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Please read my full disclosure policy here.
2019 Word of the Year
For the past several years I have set not only goals but chosen one word to guide me throughout the year.
2013 Focus | 2014 Happy | 2015 Create | 2016 Do | 2017 Balance | 2018 Simplify
This year’s word is CHANGE.
I love the fresh start of a new year and new season. However, one thing I don’t love is change. Seems strange to fear change if you love a fresh start, but that is my truth. Change can be scary and hard. Instantly my mind starts to race with “what ifs?”.
I am learning a fresh start doesn’t really mean much if you aren’t willing to allow things to be different.
Each year I choose a word of the year, think about my goals, and carry on with my year. I do okay throughout the year, but over the past several years have felt stuck and like I am not making much progress. I have felt lost and confused and stressed out.
This is somewhat due to us having a couple of really tough years. Both 2017 and 2018 were hard on our entire family for so many reasons.
I have neglected my health and taking care of myself. As a result, this has made it difficult to take care of and love on my family well.
Change
This year I am trying something new. Change. I am using PowerSheets to better definite my goals and how to get there. I am working my way slowly through the prep work and it has taken a lot of soul searching and sitting in some uncomfortable truths for me. But, I think that is good. I think the only way I can change is to be honest with myself. And then look at what works and what doesn’t.
I am again using my Emily Ley Simplified Planner in the Happy Stripe daily edition. There is plenty of space to write out everything on my mind and what I need to get done each day. Last year I made a helpful discovery that has helped me leave a little more margin in my days.
Last year was the first year I used a daily planner. If you are unfamiliar with these planners, there is a side for timed appointments and the other side has space for a to-do list. This should seem obvious, but I finally realized that if my appointment side is full, then my to-do list side needs to be short, and vice versa.
This was a huge a-ha! moment for me (even though this may seem obvious to most other people). I finally learned that if I have a lot of places to be, appointments, and commitments at certain times of the day, my to-do list needs to be a lot shorter because there simply won’t be time to get it all done.
And on the flip side, if I don’t have a lot of places to be I can have a very productive day getting lots of things checked off.
It is little things like being aware of what you can actually accomplish in a day that set you up for success and not feeling overwhelmed and worn out with little to show for your efforts at the end of the day.
Change is hard, but necessary to move forward and do things you have never done before. I am excited about all the changes this new year will bring.
“If you change nothing, nothing changes.”
– Joyce Brothers
You may also like:
Leave a Reply