What’s your ONE word?

At a staff meeting in 2013, my boss gave out the book “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. The premise of the book is that instead of focusing on a goal or multiple goals, you focus on just one word for the year.

I vividly remember my bosses word being HUSBAND. He chose this word because if he focused on being a better husband, he’d also be a better father, he’d better manage his time, he’d be able to say “no” more often, and so on…

This thought process reminds me of one of my favorite articles about the mircale of small wins - “The Goal Snowball” . When you roll a snowball down a hill, it continues to grow as it gains momentum, picking up all the snow around it on its way down. Everything you choose to do because of your one word positively affects all the actions that follow.

That year, my word was ‘debt’. Every decision revolved around paying off my student loans. I worked extremely hard. I said “no” a lot. I didn’t spend money on things I didn’t need. The result? Over the course of just 2 years, I paid off over ~$50K of student loans. (Read the article I wrote about that experience here” Debt Free at 24 in 24 Months)

Focusing on ‘debt’ proved to be successful, but it came at the expense of my health. So in 2014, my one word was ‘sleep’. From that year on, I’ve continued to focus on just one word: 2015 was ‘dance’, 2016 was ‘minimalism’, 2017 was ‘read’, and 2018 was ‘physical activity’. My word for 2019 is ‘share’. Sharing is challenging for me because I fear the potential criticism that may come with it. But instead of letting fear continue to drive my decision not to share, I’ve decided to focus on that ONE person my thoughts may help. I don’t want to go to my grave with lots left to say.

Of the many ways to share, my personal favorite is to write.

“The pen is the tongue of the mind.” ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Therefore will be writing twice a week for Medium.com for a total of 104 articles. No topic will be left unturned; exercise, coaching, philosophy, current events, business, history, medicine, technology, finances, etc. My hope is to use these posts and your comments about them to create a book, which means I would love to hear from you! Please share any thoughts, experiences, perspectives, disagreements, or parables in the comment section below.

What’s your ONE word for 2019?