We’re a couple months into the new year now and many of us have chosen a single WORD as a declaration for a specific intention and purpose in our lives.  I’ve heard from some of you and your words are: listen, positive, faith, less, love, unite, focus, create, slow.  My word is clarity.  (NOTE: My original word I chose on January 1 was “focus” but three weeks in, I changed it to “clarity”.  I explain the stress my first word was causing me here.

While we may have chosen a word, as the days and weeks forge on, we forget about the word, and all the intention and purpose behind it.

If you do it right, choosing and purposefully living out your word for the year will be life-changing.  Seriously.  Life-changing.

Today, I’m sharing 5 simple steps to help make that happen for you…

Recap from our video:

5 Steps to Success From Your Word for the Year

• Place your word in prominent places where you will see it often.
  — Type out your word in a huge font, print out and hang in your office, your bathroom, on your fridge, in your day-planner, in your car, etc.
  — Write your word on a sticky note and post around.
  — Make yourself a bookmark with your word on it.
  — If you’re feeling really crafty, paint your word (free-hand or with stencils) on a canvas or on a piece of wood and display in your home.
  — Create a tile mosaic for your garden.  (Wouldn’t it be neat to make a small mosaic each year with your word as a stepping stones in your garden?!)
• Get intimate with your word by doing a simple word-study.  Google “definition of (your word)”.  Read the definitions and write out the meaning in your own words.  Look at the synonyms.  Look at the antonyms.  Look at the word origin.  This may sound like a lot of work, but it will take you less than 2 minutes if you Google it.  My word for the year is Clarity.  Here is what came up with my Google search:
• Talk about your word.  Tell your friends, co-workers, and family what your word is.  This gives you a bit of accountability, but also helps others understand your intention for the year, so they can support you in it.
• Ask others about their words.  This takes the accountability to a new level.  When everyone around you has their own word, it often becomes a point of discussion.  (Share this post with your friends, family, and co-workers, so they can get on the bandwagon, too!)
• Journal about your word.  (You didn’t think we’d get through this post without me suggesting journaling, did you?) As you’re journaling, check in with yourself as to how your word is showing up or not showing up in your daily life.

I’d love to hear from you!  Leave your answer to these two questions in the comment section below:

1. What is your word for the year?  Was that your original word, or did you end up changing it, like I did?
2. How will you display your word to keep it top of mind? Are you a post-it note type, or will you be painting your word on canvas for display?

Here’s to living a life with intention and purpose!

Jill xx