#OneWord2021. By this point, I’m sure you have seen the social media posts. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and everyone’s blog are filled with people ringing in the New Year with their #OneWord2021 carefully selected to frame their year. EVERYone is eager to say Goodbye to 2020, so I am not surprised to experience a renewed energy in resolutions and goals for the new year.
Many years ago, I, too, embraced the #OneWord challenge. In fact, I traded lists of New Years Resolutions for #OneWord to drive my decisions and focus my reflection for the entire year. I’ve created artwork, designed screensavers for my phone, and placed my word on a Post-It note on my desk — all deliberate reminders to use it daily.
Previous #OneWord selections include Fearless (2014), Move (2015), Simplify (2016), Intentional (2017), Cultivate (2018), Embrace (2019), and Focus (2020).
Last year’s selection, FOCUS, turned out to be particularly important amidst a pandemic that impacted every profession, especially education. In a world where flexibility and the ability to pivot on a dime were traits that kept us afloat, the need to focus and implement on-demand was just as important. As we move into 2021 with a vision of normalcy in the not-so-distance future, I hope that we take what we intentionally weave what we have learned into the years ahead. Our newfound skills – as parents, teahers, and students – are the ingredients to transform the future of education, a change that is long overdue.
As the world around us changed at the speed of light, my FOCUS shifted, too. With intention, I focused on what I could control: my response to a pandemic. No, I could not control the outbreaks in my area, the decisions made by local and state governmental agencies, or the rapid-fire cancellations that stole hopes and dreams. I watched as my daughters dissolved into tears as Lacrosse season, Prom, and Graduation Ceremonies were canceled. Instead, we shifted our FOCUS. We took this opportunity to enjoy outdoor dining experiences at local restaurants that expanded their menus to stay open. During quarantine, we road the wheels off of our bikes as we explored a very empty island. We watched four NetFlix series together, many in the outdoor theater that we created as a CV-project. We decluttered our home of physical things, while filling our lives with memories of beach days, great reads in the porch swing, runs on empty roads, and photogenic sunsets.
When COVID closed colleges early, I focused on opportunity to have both of my girls home for 2.5 months again during the holiday season. What a gift!
These moments were important.
These moments deserved my focus.
The smiles filled with pride. The smiles that are hiding pain.
We celebrated: The big accomplishments, the small victories, and the things that bring smiles to everyday life.
While FOCUS was selected for an entirely different reason, it turned out to be the perfect word to maintain my positive compass as I traveled through 2020.
2021, however, is a different.
Each year, I wait patiently for the word to find me – in a quote, in a song, or in a book that I am reading, or in a conversation. I reach for a word that is different… not from a list. With only hours before this year’s chapter closes, I had started to worry that my word had not emerged.
I pondered. I researched. I thought. I reflected.
I reached out to an accountability partner, Erin, who helps me brainstorm big life decisions like this. As we pondered her word, she asked me what is important to be for the incoming year. And, it hit me…
My #OneWord2021 will be INVEST.
When I think of the word INVEST, my brain immediately goes to the financial investment of money. I realized that, in 2021, I want to treat my time like the ultimate investment. I want to critically analyze how I spend my time: Who am I with? What am I doing? Why am I doing it? And, question how that expenditure of time is serving me.
Each day, we are given 1,440 minutes.
How can I invest those minutes so that I am the best version of me?
In 2021, I vow to INVEST in the following ways
- Invest in my physical health through movement, nutrition, hydration, sleep, and self-care
- Invest in my professional growth through reading, listening, and learning
- Invest in opportunities to be creative
- Invest in drafts, allowing myself to be imperfectly human
- Invest in relationships by being more present
- Invest in a minimalist mentality
- Invest in quality over quantity
- Invest in gratitude and joy
#OneWord2021 Invest
Cheers to your New Year,
Holly