I was inspired by Elise to choose a ‘one little word’ for 2017 to help guide me through the year. I thought of a lot of words: joy, open, give, thrive, but one kept coming back to my mind and so I’m sticking with it.

I chose Listen.

At first I was not sure if this would work for the entire year since it’s such a specific verb word, but I love this quote from Elise’s podcast and listening is definitely an active word. At least for me.

I would say I’m not the best at listening so this is a perfect word for me to focus on this 2017. I’ve split my thoughts into three separate goals:

In 2017, I will be a better listener to friends and family. After moving away from anything familiar the year before, 2016 was all about planting our roots in our new home and making new friends. I was craving deep and real relationships with friends and family, but I felt like I had not time to commit when I had a full-time job that kept me home alone. I then started to realize that I am not a great listener. My mind is always moving and it starts to wander. I want to be the person that makes you feel comfortable and important and really listen to what other people have to say so they can feel heard and not alone.

In 2017, I will listen to my body. I am the kind of person that sits down in the morning and doesn’t look up from work until around 3:00. I rarely ever take lunch breaks and you could probably count the times I intentionally exercised on my fingers last year. Pretty embarrassing. No wonder I would frequently feel blah I would just plow through work and didn’t think about much else until my body couldn’t take it anymore.I always think my job tasks are so important that I have to get them done “right now, before anything else!” when really I can wait 2 hours to respond to that email and no one would flinch. So I plan on listening to my body and make sure to take breaks for eating, for getting my blood flowing, and to get out of the house just because!

In 2017, I will stop and take time to listen to the Spirit. Back when I was a teenager I had a lesson in church about learning to listen for the Holy Ghost and my leader showed us that the word ‘listen’ and ‘silent’ use the same letters. That has stayed with me since then and it resonates with me since my mind is constantly moving and I rarely have a true silent time in my brain. I also have to create the environment to invite the Spirit which can always be improved upon.

I am excited about this word and I hope it helps me get closer to the person I want to be. Join me and choose a word for your year!