TL;DR:
- This year, put the resolutions aside and engage with a word. Choose #OneWord to be your driving force.
- Start by choosing your word for the year, then share it. Don’t forget to interact with your word, too.
- Encourage your staff or students to engage with a word this year.
#OneWord
People are always striving for something; something new, something better. We inherently want to do/be something better. This is one reason that we like the beginning of a new year. We see it as a clean slate or the blank page of a new story. We look at the new year as an opportunity to start over, start again, and often set goals for ourselves.
Opening the first month of a new calendar provides the vehicle we need to set goals for a new year. Many of our resolutions center around being healthy, or making weight loss or healthy habit goals. We use our resolutions as a way to hold us accountable for the changes we want to make.
This year, I encourage you to put the resolutions aside and engage with a word. It’s not too late to start, even if you’ve already turned the page in your calendar to that fresh, brand new month of January. Choose a word to be your driving force. A word to give you clarity and direction throughout the year.
This is my fourth year participating in #OneWord. Choosing a word for the year to guide my journey keeps me focused, grounded, and purposeful. I chose a word to help me be my best, centered around what I wanted that year. My words have been focus, reflect, and believe.
Choosing Your Word
Many people will tell you that your word finds you. Sometimes that is how it happens. You start thinking about words and then you keep coming back to one word. The one word that just feels right. The word that seems to just settle in for you. Other times, it’s simply choosing a word that resonates with you or will be the perfect word for your focus that year.
- Think about what you want to accomplish during the year. What’s your purpose? What’s your mission? What do you need to do to be your best self?
- Make a list of possible words. I started with 3 words that I was contemplating and just feeling out. Then when I was concentrating on my words, a fourth one kept popping up so I added it to my list.
- Look at other people’s words for inspiration. If you’re still not sure where to start, look up #OneWord, #OneWord2021, or #OneWord2020 to read about other people’s journey with their words.
I recommend checking out the book, “One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page.
Sharing Your Word
This is YOUR one word. You can share it with others in the #OneWord community, or you can keep your word to yourself. This is about choosing a word for yourself.
If you want to share and be an active part of the #OneWord mission, you can choose to blog about why you chose your word. I blog about my word as a way to reflect on why I chose my word and how I will use it to guide me throughout the year.
Some people choose to create a graphic. This graphic allows you to share your word with the #OneWord community as well as give you a visual to keep your word visible to you all year long.
Interact with Your Word
Interact with your word all year long. This is the word you have chosen to guide you through the year. The word to ground you and give you purpose and clarity. You don’t want to just choose a word in January and forget about it.
If you use a planner, write your word at the beginning of the week. Reflect on where you are and where you still want to go. I wrote about my word ‘believe’ each week last year. I even found stickers and quotes to add. You can blog about your journey, keep a journal, or engage with your word through a creative process.
Last year, I participated in Ali Edwards’s one little word project. These workshops provided me with inspiration and encouragement as I participated in the monthly prompts. This was out of my comfort zone but I am thankful for the opportunity to dive deeply with my word and get to myself on a different level.
A dear friend sent me a keychain with my word “BELIEVE” on it and I had a bracelet with the word on it. These were two tangible ways I kept focused on my word all year.
Encourage Your Staff or Students to Engage with a Word
I’ve shared my passion for #OneWord with my staff and students. I started slowly and simply by sharing the #OneWord idea with my staff the first year. I had several teachers who chose to participate and share their words with me. And I created washer bracelets for each of them with their word embossed on them and a band made out of their favorite color.
The second year, we participated as a whole staff in #OneWord. We dedicated our January staff meeting to choosing and sharing our words. Each staff member painted a canvas with their word. I was impressed with their creativity and range of words. Their individuality really came through. Words ranged from ‘target’ to ‘fahrvergnugen’. I saw these painted canvas words proudly displayed in classrooms and offices.
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#OneWord: Give It a Try
We included our students in our #OneWord mission. I recommend two books you can read to students to kick off your whole school project. The first book is “The Word Collector” by Peter H.Reynolds and the second is “One Word for Kids” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page.
Students then choose their words and create a visual to hang up in their classrooms or to take home and hang up as a daily reminder of their word.
Sustaining Your Word
Now that you, your staff, and/or students have a guiding word for the year, how do you sustain it? Use some of the strategies I mentioned for interacting with your word with your staff and students. You need to be intentional with sustaining your momentum with your word during the year.
Create a monthly prompt or mini activity that staff and/or students can complete. It could be something simple that allows them to reflect on their word. It could be a monthly journal prompt, a simple drawing, or a painting.
You could provide your staff with a journal, or guide them in making their own.
This journal could be used at the beginning of each staff meeting to reflect on their word. Staff could be provided the opportunity to share their experiences with their word. There’s no limit to the possibilities of how you can sustain your word throughout the year.
I encourage you to engage with a word this year. Just start. Dive in and choose a word if one hasn’t chosen you yet. Share your word with the #OneWord2022 community. I’d love it if you tagged me so we can participate in this #OneWord journey together.
Here’s to becoming our best selves in 2022!
About Bobbie French
Bobbie French is an educational leader, presenter and writer from Massachusetts.
Bobbie has been an educator for over 24 years. She has been an elementary guidance counselor, classroom teacher, special education coordinator, Title I Director, Preschool Director and Administrator.
Bobbie is passionate about focusing on the whole child and creating an environment where all students have a sense of belonging. She appreciates and recognizes the hard work of teachers, and is committed to supporting others to be their best for kids every day. Her passion and enthusiasm for creating a positive and engaging school culture is contagious.
Bobbie is also an avid photographer and loves to tell her school’s story.
