Choosing one word for the year begins with a promise. It’s a way to tell myself where to focus, how to spend my time, and what to accomplish. Using one word distills the essence of my wants and wishes.
I’m looking towards my next chapter. In a few years, I’ll be leaving my current job to move on to something new. I envy those who know what they want to do next, who have plans, who see the future clearly. I don’t. What I do know is that I need to do something meaningful, interesting, and satisfying. I’ve struggled to settle on what that might be. A different job? A focus in another sector? A new business? A non profit?
Enter my #oneword 2020. It scares me to put this word down. All my previous #onewords (Grace, Explore, Action) have been easy. Those words implied some thinking and reflection, some small steps, and an overall gathering of direction. They didn’t scare me.
“Write” means I have to take this seriously. I’m signalling to the world and to myself that I want to be a writer. It’s true that I write in this space and for my job, and I’ve even started a semi-regular family update, but I want more. This is an entirely new feeling for me as I’ve never seriously considered that I could be a writer.
I spoke with a friend who’s a published author about this new direction. I was picking his brain about his writing process and he asked me some questions too. I mentioned that I’d been doing some reading about writing and he gave me a look. “What?’ I said.
“You could spend a lot of time asking, reading, and thinking about writing. That will lead to analysis paralysis.” His message was clear.
He’s right.
My #oneword for 2020 is WRITE. Here I go.
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