Monday 8 January 2018

One Word: 2018 Edition


Good morning, groovers and shakers. Hustlers and movers. Artists and makers. And, you know, everyone. Because of course everyone reads my blog. 😉

A Merry New Year to you all. Can't remember if I said that last time. If I did, it still applies and is worth saying again. I say merry because we can't be happy all the time but we can be merry. Oh wait, is that the same thing? Oh well. Enough about that. 

In keeping with new years, comes the whole 'new year, new me' thing. Additionally there is also the 'one word' phenomenon. The way it works is, you choose a word which is meant to encapsulate your year. A kind of a theme or guide, so to speak. Something like that anyway. I'm probably not explaining it properly.

At any rate, my usual tendency when faced with such frivolities (or important rituals, depending on your point of view), would be to eye roll and dismiss it as claptrap. Because, let's face it, claptrap is, in itself, just a great word. As is codswallop. However, they are not the usual suspects when it comes to choosing your 'one word'. It's the common practice to choose something a little more uplifting.

I certainly wouldn't want my whole  year to be defined by codswallop, while at the same time, I would rather like the opportunity to say such a word at decent intervals throughout the proceedings. I'm weird like that. 

Therefore: codswallop.

Right. Hopefully I have gotten that out of my system for now. Moving on.

In the interest of being a bit more open to things and less cynical, I thought I'd have a crack at this one word malarkey last year. The word I chose was:

MOVE.

Um. Yeah. That didn't go as planned.

Well, there was SOME movement, but not nearly as much as I would have hoped.  But you know what? I am not going to berate myself for this. You know why? I have decided that my one word for 2018 will be...

Drum roll, please...

COMPASSION.

Image credit: http://mallorybecker.com/self-compassion/


With particular emphasis on self-compassion.  You see, I have this inner mean girl who mocks, taunts and castigates me constantly. Yet I would never do such a thing to another human being. What is that all about?

I have gotten somewhat better at thanking my mind for some of these jibes, and then just moving on. This is a practice derived from ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy). So I feel that taking this practice a bit further with some self-compassion on the side will be quite beneficial. That's the plan anyway. 


Image credit: https://www.slideshare.net/marva78/selfcompassion-60420359


I expect it will be uphill work. When you've lived with your inner mean girl for almost 47 years (next week), it's not gonna happen overnight. It will be a work in progress and we'll see how it goes this time next year. It's truly a lifelong thing, isn't it? But this year is about setting it all up for the rest of my life, however long that is. 

And hopefully when I am being much nicer to myself that will help to motivate me to move more. I will be more likely to do the things that benefit and nourish me. Instead of thinking of myself as a fat, lazy sloth creature for not moving, I will tell myself that it's not easy but I can do it. I like the sound of that. Wish me luck! 

What about you?

What do you think of this 'one word' phenomenon? 


Do you have a word for 2018? 

14 comments:

  1. Kick that mean girl to the pavement...and happy birthday for next week :)

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  2. Compassion is all well and good, but I'm such a fan of codswallop that it's not funny. Could you somehow make it your word for 2019 and then use it at every possible interval? You'd make me so happy.
    I think I've set a word once, and it was last year. What was that word? No. Effing. Clue. I tend to roll through life with no real idea of what I'm doing so I may just institute one word for the rest of my life: Clueless. It's worked well for me thusfar ;)

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  3. We all have a mean girl don't we, Ness? Even at 60 she still visits me sometimes. I love your word for the year and yes, we all need to be kinder to ourselves.
    Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond

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  4. That negative inner voice is a killer - I battle mine constantly and it seems to be a problem for a lot of women in our general age and stage (the millenials seem to have a better handle on it). I hope you find an inner cheerleader this year x

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  5. Haha. This was so good. Compassion is THE perfect word for dealing with that voice, after all, someone just gave her the wrong information about how life is. She's confused, that inner voice of yours, time to compassionately set her straight.

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  6. Agree with the previous comments, compassion is perfect for dealing with that negative inner voice.

    SSG xxx

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  7. I'm not a one word girl either - perfect words you have chosen for yourself.
    I wish you everything.

    If I had to pick one "MOVE" except from my home. It covers all the bases.
    It's the one thing I am doing so if I keep moving , I'll be ticking all my boxes.

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  8. Of course everyone reads your blog, and if they don't, what the hell is wrong with them? Seriously!
    Wine helps with the merriness, as does the people you have around you. Tell that mean girl to shut it :) .... disclaimer: I also have one of those mean girls, she makes me anxious, and cry sometimes. She's a bitch.
    Be kind to yourself, campassionate even, and realise that biatch is full of shit. You are amazing xx

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  9. THANK YOU Ness for booting that mean girl right out of your life.Nooooo you may not come back. I am so pleased for you and I will encourage and cheer you on all year. I too have needed to learn to be self-compassionate. So easy to do to others, so hard to do to oneself. But if I can, at ahem 21 years OLDER than you, then you can and you can have all the advantages I never had at 47. Love this post so much!! Thank you for linking up for #lifethisweek 2/52. Next week the optional prompt is My Favourite Weather.

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  10. It's no secret that I love the one word tool. I highly recommend it to my clients to assist with decision making, prioritising and focussing on what they need to do in order to make positive forward movement with a healthy and happy mindset. I find the ones I set for business actually work better for me than those I set personally though. Not sure why ... perhaps because of that whole self-compassion thing. We just don't tend to work on ourselves as much as we do on our work. We don't make ourselves a priority. I'n glad you are making yourself a priority Ness and nurturing your inner nice girl cheerleader

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  11. Yep we all have an inner mean girl but really everything she says is codswallop so do ignore here and be compassionate to yourself. Happy 2018

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  12. I'm trying to read up on self-compassion a bit more and practise it too. It's hard work but as a fan of ACT and Brene Brown, I feel like it will be justified in the end. Plus the research on self-compassion is getting stronger. It's a good motto to have. Hope you have a compassionate 2018!

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  13. I am also agree with you all kick the inner girl and live happy. I read all comment every one give you happy 2018 but I give you wall the best for full life.I am learn some think on this post.

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  14. Inner girls have over confident and that's irritatings for others. We almost embrace girls inner beaty. I think these types of girls never taunts others. So, we should embrace girls for inner beauty. But neither fat nor ugly is a feeling, and speaking in this way blunts our young people's emotional vocabulary and places undue emphasis on their looks. Linked to this negative body talk is awkwardness around accepting compliments, or feeling that talking about what we're good at is boasting or vanity.

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