Thursday, April 18, 2019

One Little Word 2019 - "Current" First Quarter Update


It's been three months since I chose my 2019 word, so it's time for a little review/summary/reflection. I am writing it here - in public - to share a little behind-the-scenes action (and inaction) of working with a word for a year.

Sometimes it's a lot of luck, patience and trust. March was a month in which I had to let go of some control, and I lost sight of my word. There are still lessons here. In fact, if I really do the work of evaluation, these months of "failure" provide the greatest opportunities for growth. But I might not find answers and that's okay too.


FORMULA
Once I got the foundation pages and cards out of the way, every week is laid out the same, with space for three photos and one "Currently" card. I don't have a set day to complete the card every week, as long as it gets done. I've only missed one week so far and it was because I was deep into trip planning and packing.

Every month or so I go back through my photos and pick a few to print and include. I am trying to choose ones that best represent my goals, or my current state of mind/current self.

One of my goals/wishes for this album was to have space to add more photos, as I felt that was lacking in last year's book. Now I am starting to feel like I am moving out of balance the other way and plan on working to incorporate more writing and art into my book from this point forward. 
Not sure what that's going to look like yet, but I have lots of examples from my 2017 & 2018 books to take inspiration from.

STILL LOVING IT
March felt like such a set back, but the benefit of time and distance has softened my anxiety over it. When I look at my year as whole, "off months" don't have such a huge impact. I find having a word allows me to take both a bird's eye view and a closer examination of how I'm spending my days and moments.

I still feel connected to my word, but I feel there is room for more growth, exploration, and curiosity about CURRENT. I've got some big projects planned for April, so there might be an opportunity to take a deeper dive into my word through my art and scrapbooking. But I also want to take it beyond that and use my word to help me expand into my bigger goals.

I don't feel like I'm pushing myself in my word this year, but I also feel like I'm trying to take on too many things (Hello Burnout my old friend). My word was supposed to help me with this, so a more focused approach might really help me out.


MOVING FORWARD
I've been setting monthly feelings + actions goals and they sometimes engage with my word, but I don't purposefully make these goals in the context of my word. My goal with my goals going forward is to review them within the context of CURRENT as much as I can. I have already set my goals for April, but I will be evaluating them through the lens of my word and adjusting as needed as the month progresses.

This is your friendly reminder that if you didn't choose a word at the beginning of the year, there is still time. The New Year can be a hectic time for folks, and spring affords such a vibrant energy, that this would be a great time to choose a word to carry and guide you through the rest of the year. If you are interested in trying it out, my email is always open, or you can check out Ali Edward's (the creator of OLW) content online.

FURTHER READING
My OLW 2019 Intro post
My "Current 2019" Pinterest Board
All of my One Little Word posts are tagged here.

Find more information here about the creator of "One Little Word" - Ali Edwards - and the workshops and inspiration she provides.
My past words: Honesty 2014 // Simplify 2015 // Time 2016 // Action 2017 // Connect 2018


xo

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