WORD OF THE YEAR?
Do you believe this ‘word of the year’ trend is silly? Impossible? Too simplistic? Do you choose one? How do you decide?
I listen to a lot of podcasts when I walk my dog or when I am in my car. Art, Small Business, Creativity–lots of different topics. I listened to two this week, Elise Joy’s Elise Gets Crafty and Raise Your Hand. Say Yes. with Tiffany Han, both discussed choosing a word of the year. Listen and see what you think, but the concept is that a list of goals or resolutions is hard to keep in front of you. You write them down, look at them occasionally. But a WORD. To drill down to a word is an easy reminder of what’s important to you.
I joined the tribe and chose one for myself this year.
I considered ‘purpose’, ‘intention’, ‘focus’, ‘content.’ I thought about simplify. Which sounded like a lot of work. You know, cleaning out closets and getting rid of stuff.
In Tiffany Han’s podcast she suggested that the word should ‘feel good’ on your tongue. So, I chose simplicity. SIMPLICITY. Say it out loud. Isn’t it prettier than simplify?
Why simplicity? Last year I spent a lot of time rebranding and designing my website, rewriting my marketing materials and reaching out to new venues to collaborate with and sell my art. And my business grew.
Now I need to paint. Paint more often, more routinely. Which is a problem I’m very excited to have. But as a creative, I have lots of ideas. I tend to over-complicate things and go in too many directions. Should I design ornaments, sell prints, make Lucite trays, and lunch boxes, try a new storefront?
No. I need to paint and show people what I made. Then do it again. Get better at it by doing it often. Reduce my overwhelm. The word simplicity sums it up, and it’s a lot prettier than the word focus.
Do you have a word of the year?
Intention Bracelet from MyIntent.org.