ONE LITTLE WORD 2015 - MARCH

The big idea behind the March installment of the One Little Word class was to create a list of word-related actions.  My word for 2015 is VOICE.  

I spent some time considering my intentions for my word and perusing my current goal list.  As I considered various ways to make "voice" a more tangible part of my life, I continually asked myself, "Will this allow me to share my voice?" and "Does this fit with my intentions?"

I ended up with three actions and a goal that I hope to achieve by the end of 2015.  

Action 1: Complete three Bible study or devotional books.

This action is not about my voice, but about taking to hear and study God's voice.  I have been working on this action consistently since mid-February and just in the past six weeks my heart and head have learned new levels of peace.  I feel like I am standing on firmer ground.  I am excited to see the ways that my heart can be changed and all that I can learn with continued study.  

Action 2: Complete a new capsule wardrobe for each season through 2015.  

My goal with each wardrobe is to choose items that feel like "me" and that make me feel comfortable.  I want to wear clothing that expresses my voice through color (the goal is more) and style (the goal is always casual and comfortable without being sloppy).

Keeping a minimalist closet is also a way of being true to the part of me that wants to own very few things.  Our house sometimes feels overran with toys and other "kid stuff," but my wardrobe is one of the areas where I can easily control what I have.  I keep it to the basics because that's what I prefer and what makes my brain happy.  

I've already completed my winter and spring wardrobes.  So, this action item is half done and I can't imagine any circumstances that would keep me from completing it.  

Action 3: Write with transparency, openness and less censoring.  Be real and write more.

This is a very literal interpretation of sharing my voice.  It's something that I always aim for, but sometimes don't reach.  

This is the only item on this list that is not objectively measurable.  Still, this is something that I can pretty easily self-measure.  I know when I am not being authentic or when I am holding back. 

Goal: Reach 10,000 page views per month. 

This was already on my goal list, but I thought that it fit nicely here.  I've currently reached 64% of my goal.

I believe that if I am being both intentional and genuine with my writing, this will happen.  It definitely won't happen if I skip too many days of posting.  This goal is about keeping myself accountable to continued creating, continued writing, continued community building and continued sharing.  

- - - 

This is not a comprehensive list of the things that I want to accomplish or keep in mind regarding my word, this year.  There are a hundred other ways that I want to be true (or truer) to myself.  But, I think this list is a good start.  If I cross these things from my list by the end of 2015, I will feel like I put solid effort into integrating my word into my life.  

After thinking about these longer-term actions, I keep coming back to the idea that what I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.  I started a separate page in my One Little Word album to write more about this idea.  My plan is to write a few ideas for making my word actionable on a daily basis.  But, I haven't figured those things out yet so I will share more next month.  

And one final One Little Word happening for this month:

When I wrote my intentions for the year, I wrote a bit about my mama-voice ingraining itself into my boys' internal voices.  It was something I wanted to keep at the forefront of my thoughts as I chose my words and attitudes.  

Toddler parroting is now out in full force.  I am literally hearing my own words and phrases come back at me in Sam's little voice.  I hear him talk through his frustrations as he tells himself, "I'm okay," "just wait" and "try again."  It is both sweet and humbling to know that the words we've given him to work through things are the words that cycle through his head.  

This phase is a good reminder for continued consciousness of the words and tones that we use.  Our voices matter because they are helping our children build their voices.

PS - More One Little Word posts.