Last year was the first time I chose a “word of the year”. I’ve always liked the idea, but didn’t do it until 2018 because I was afraid my word would limit me. But that wasn’t true at all!

As I’ve matured I realized that with limits, come freedom. (I owe that quote to Gretchen Rubin.) Choosing just ONE word doesn’t mean I can’t have multiple goals or make improvements in many areas of my life.

It just means I come back to that word as a way to galvanize my focus. It gives me a fresh way of approaching my goals.

So enough dilly dallying!

The word I chose for 2019 is Joy.

Why did I pick that word?

Because it’s a challenge for me.

Being fun and light is the opposite.

Hustle isn’t hard for me. Discipline isn’t that hard. Habits aren’t that hard anymore.

But for some personality types, myself definitely included, being HAPPY is challenging. (In the four temperaments, that likely means I’m melancholic. I have been fighting this tendency all. my. life.)

Of course, I AM happy. It’s just that I often don’t know it. Or more accurately, I don’t FEEL it.

Celebrating my wins is hard. Setting and meeting goals isn’t so hard. Being joyful in the process and along the journey, is work for me!

One of the biggest things I want to do this year is have more fun, even when I’m “working hard”. As one of my mentors says, funny = money. Work doesn’t have to be serious. I love what I do, so injecting more fun only makes sense.

How I’m Going to Work on “Joy”

There I go again.. “working” on joy seems an oxymoron, no? 😉

1. Keep an ongoing list of things that make me happy. If I’m feeling low, do something on the list, pronto.
2. Practice a daily and weekly review.  The purpose of this as it relates to joy? To help me see the things I enjoy. Since I’m out of the habit of paying attention to that or prioritizing it! I’m going back to my 5 Minute Journaling habit, and one of the prompts is “3 amazing things that happened today“.  This will help. I also created a reminder on my phone that Sunday evenings are my weekly review time.
3. Diffuse my FUN essential oil. (I’m a distributor for Young Living, only for the discount. If you need any help with oils, I can refer you to my friend and health coach.)  YL has a “Joy” oil, but oddly I dislike the smell of it. Ha!
4. Look for fun prompts to put around my desk. I don’t love shopping, but as I’m out and about, I’ll look for cute little signs or pictures that remind me to have fun doing what I’m doing.
5. In my daily Bible reading, meditate on scriptures that mention joy. My Creator wants me to have joy. He’s not about me being a stodgy old, serious person. 😉

What’s your word of the year? How do you plan to stay accountable?