By Donna Gould, Open Heart Creative

What if one word had the power to help you connect more deeply with your customers? To see your products in a new light? Or to guide you on your path to something bigger and better?

 

I’m not sure where I first came across the idea of choosing a word to guide my year. But as the calendar turns to January, I find that doing so has now replaced my old habit of making New Year’s resolutions.

 

Think about how powerful words are:

• They can make us look witty, sincere, generous, and trustworthy.
• They make us sound foolish, cynical, shallow, and mean.
• They can make us call in love and shudder with fear.
• They can bore us to tears and keep us up half the night.
  

 If words can do all that, then a single word certainly has the power help us keep our intentions in sight as the year unfolds. My word grounds me in the story of my business and my life. And as I joyfully address the concerns of clients and offer support to friends and family, it gently reminds me to make my wishes and well being a priority.

Ali Edwards, creator of One Little Word® says her words “have each become a part of my life in one way or another. They’ve helped me to breathe deeper, to see clearer, and to grow.”

In addition to Ali’s year-long workshop, you can find other online “how to’s” for choosing and engaging with your word (check out Jamie Ridler and Susannah Conway’s websites.) But there is really no “right” way to go about it. Sometimes my word will simply come out of left field. Other years I struggle between two or three. Or four.

Once you invite your word into your life, you’ll discover the magic it holds. It will serve as your “true north”, the constant you will keep returning to, long after you’ve forgotten the resolutions you made this month.

 

Is there one word that will fuel your passion? Or nudge you to follow where it leads?

 

What’s that magic word?