Average Jane's One Word

I've signed up for Reverb 10, which will provide daily prompts throughout the month of December that are designed to allow me to reflect on 2010 and set my intentions for 2011.

Today's prompt: Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

2010 = Stretch

I chose this word for many of its connotations. This has been a year in which I've started reaching outside my comfort zone to achieve some new things. I've set more goals for myself than usual and some of them have already been achieved (although others were a bit too much of a stretch at the time and will have to be revisited later).

More literally, I've made a point of practicing yoga and doing other exercise to make my body more resiliant and stretchy. I've also been coming to recognize some of my physical limitations and learning to work around them.

In many ways, I've been stretched too thin this year. Budgeting both time and money has been a challenge.

Finally, I'm coming to the end of a period where I'd become a little too complacent and set in my routines, so I can picture myself stretching as though I've just awoken from a long sleep. Now it's time for me to reach for new challenges and undoubtedly stretch myself in ways that I haven't even conceived of. That's why I've chosen the image of the slingshot. My plan is for this final stretch to launch me to bigger and better things next year.

I'd like my word for 2011 to be momentum. If everything I've set in motion pays off the way I hope it will, next year should be a year of more and better that just keeps building.

Photo credit: Phil Symonds

Comments

[A Librarian]

I would love to do this Feb. or March when I don't have the giant stack of books to power read.

[Emily]

If I hadn't just done NaBloPoMo, I might be inspired to join up with this. Maybe I'll just do some of it. It looks interesting, and I'll be reading along while you participate. :)

[Barb Holter]

I continue to admire your (and your sister's) self-improvement goals and your constant striving for personal growth. I like your choice of "momentum" as your word for next year, too. I shy away from too much introspection, which I'm sure must be a fault of mine. I don't have the slightest idea of what I would pick as a word and would rebel at a daily prompt to make me think. I admire that you are challenging yourself and you make a fine role model for me. bzh