Energy.
Follow through.
Wherewithal.
These are my words of the year from the years 2012, 2013, and 2014, as I’ve written about here before. And as I start year four of this family tradition, I’ve been doing some serious thinking about just how much impact one word can actually have on the outcome of a trip around the sun. For me, that impact has been notable and perhaps even sizable. To intensify the impact, I’ve used visual reminders (vinyl letters, yo!) and other reminders (incorporating the word into my work network passwords, for example, so that I am required to type it out multiple times a day). I’ve also made my word choices public and have invited friends to share their words. In some of my circles, the word selection has become an important part of the holiday season. I’ve also encouraged my own children to choose words for the year. We are all in this thing!
I started thinking about my 2015 word right after Thanksgiving. I knew that I wanted to focus on getting stuff done in my life. I have managed to claw my way out of an energy suckhole (see the years 2009-2012) and did, in fact, dig deep into myself last year for resources and resilience. But some of the marquee goals that I’ve been offering lip service to for many of the past years – a completed book manuscript, financial health, sustainable physical fitness – are still listed as “Coming Soon…”, like some kind of out of date website teaser.
I considered the word “productivity.” Yes, I want more of that, but that word somehow connoted looking busy or seeming busy, which I’m already very good at, rather than actually completing projects. I briefly considered “Git R Done,” a semi-popular bumper sticker slogan, but rejected it for being too long and for failing to contain only complete words. At that point, I sort of stumbled onto the word “output.” Almost immediately I knew that it would be my word. I like its utilitarian feel. “Output” is about measurable stuff, things that get done, completed projects, and finished journeys. Enough with the spinning my metaphorical truck wheels in mud, I want something to show for my time and energy.
And so I am kicking off this year with my own Rocky-inspired training regimen, minus the sparring with frozen sides of beef. And minus the one-handed push-ups. And minus the upside down crunches. Minus all of the really tough physical stuff, really.
But I am challenging myself to get stuff done in those areas I listed above. Come December 2015 or before, I want to have measurable outcomes in the areas of personal finance, personal fitness, and personal fiction. If that looks like me on a beach in a bikini fanning myself with a book manuscript, I won’t complain. If it looks like me with a 100,000 word Word document wearing a smaller size of jeans while checking my Mint.com deets, I’ll be happy too.
Output. I like the sound of that…
Now how about y’all? Any words that have bubbled up into your January 2015 minds?