Burdened With Glorious PURPOSE (My Word of the Year 2019)

 This was written on February 8, 2019 for my professor blog.

I’ve adopted the vision boarding technique of choosing a word for the year and making it the focal point of my endeavors, activities, and thought process for the entire year.  I discovered this online in a Facebook group for Planning.  It hit me like a ton of bricks… “This could work for me!”  I embraced it and went full force with the idea.

My word for the year is PURPOSE.  Google.com dictionary defines the word as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”  It also means, “have as one's intention or objective.”

Dictionary.com defines the word like this, “the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.”  Another definition is “an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.”  One last definition, “to intend; design.”

All of the definitions about fit.  But the one that best suits my purpose is…

“an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.”

That’s what I’m focused on this year… an intended or desired result.  I chose the word PURPOSE specifically for that reason.  I want to act on purpose to accomplish several goals.  If I accomplish these goals, it will help me have a sense of accomplishment and will help me be better because I will have grown, matured, and changed some habits and my thinking.

I have some things I want to accomplish, and to accomplish them, I will need to be PURPOSEFUL with my actions, thinking, and planning.  There are four areas in my life where I have a specific purpose.

In regards to my faith, I want to find, join, attend, and get active in a church, making it my home.  I haven’t had a church home in over a year, so I need to find one and get busy.  I have gifts and talents that I need to use.

As a professor, I want to change the hearts, lives, and minds of students, specifically about writing, but in thinking about college success, too.

One other thing I want to do is to inspire a writer like my creative writing teacher from high school, Mrs. Spightner, did me.  She helped me discover my best writing gift, and I want to do that for someone else.

I want to read more this year.  Here’s what I want to do… read as many books on my calling and gifts as I can.  Write down what I learn and apply it.  I have to remember to apply.  My purpose won’t be fulfilled if I don’t apply it.

Lastly, as a writer, I want to finish all my unfinished NOVELS!  This is where the idea of purpose came from.  I have too many novels that I haven’t finished, and I need to finish them on PURPOSE and with PURPOSE.  I have tried in the past to finish them, but I wasn’t successful.  I feel that this year is filled with purpose, so I’ll be able to do it.

I feel like Loki of Asgard… 

Learn how to use Your Word of the Year

Using a Word of the Year

 

I do not use New Year’s Resolutions.  I stopped using them somewhere in the 1990s.  They did not seem to work for me.  But, I have always used goals as a way to measure successes in my life.  So, in leu of resolutions, I began to create goals for the new year.  In 2018, I learned about using a Word of the Year.  After I heard about it from the group and read more about it on my own, it made sense for me to incorporate it into my arsenal.  I believe life is all about growing, so if it will help me grow, then I am going to use it.

Using a WOTY is a good way to end the previous year and start a new year.  At the end of the year, you can look back and see how you progressed over the year with a specific goal – being intentional about how you wanted your year to go.  You can see how things went and how well your year was.  At the beginning of the year, you can make an intentional plan to set a tone for your year.  That is what a WOTY does for a new year, set the tone.  And with this tone, you will have intentionality and purpose for your year.

Read about my journey with A Word of the Year.

 

WHAT IS A WORD OF THE YEAR?

Taken from my Word of the Year Manual (get it here… https://tinyurl.com/wotymanual )

A word of the year is a word that “sets an intention, a theme per se, for how you want your year to flow.” (Elizabeth Rider)

A word of the year is “a practice that helps you to set intentions for the upcoming year with just one word.” (Masha Plans)

 

WHY CHOOSE A WORD OF THE YEAR?

Using a Word of the Year can help you stay on track. It will help keep you focused and moving forward, even in moments of tough times.

“Your yearly goals and resolutions can change, become irrelevant or simply be forgotten after the first month. The word of the year, however, is a more flexible practice that will stay with you throughout the whole year as a gentle reminder of your focus.” (Masha Plans)

“Whenever you’re in doubt or struggling (for example when you feel like your goals don’t work anymore and you are thinking about changing them), your word of the year will be your compass and it’ll show you the right direction.” (Masha Plans)

 

I recommend you try using a word of the month (the same principle as a word of the year, but shorter in time) to see how it will work for you.  I believe it will be helpful for you.

 

If you want a resource about how to find and use a word of the year, check out my resource and the companion workbook by clicking here…