I failed at New Year’s Resolutions.
For years I prioritized my dos and don’ts for forward motion in the new year. I was eager. Determined.
And I always lost my meticulously prioritized list by mid-February.
Sigh.
Now I am all about one word.
One.
The Why of One Word
I’m repeating myself for those of you who have read my other blog posts about my now-seven year commitment to selecting one word for each new year. Pardon the re-run. I want others to discover the benefits of concentrating on a single word for 12 months — or as a friend pointed out, the 366 days comprising 2012.
- It’s virtually impossible to lose track of one word, short of all-out amnesia.
- Research reveals it takes a minimum of 21 days to establish change — but it’s more like 66 days! (Thanks to fellow WSWC blogger Lucille Zimmerman for that statistic.) Imagine the satisfaction you’ll experience when you focus on one word for an entire year!
The How of One Word
I start mulling over my word for the next year in early fall, usually around September. It’s woven into my faith journey. My prayer time and significant Scripture verses play a vital role in directing me to my word for the new year.
I know some of you reading this would say faith isn’t part of your life. At all.
Can we pause for a moment, sit on the opposite sides of the supposed chasm that separates us? What I’d like to whisper across that great divide is this: I respect where you are. I’m not shoving anything at you.
Your “how” will be different from my “how.” Consider the circumstances of the past year. Can you distill down to one word the forward motion you’d like to experience in 2012?
The What of One Word
In previous years, my words were:
- 2006: gratitude (a gratitude journal revolutionized my glass-half-empty attitude)
- 2007: simplify (severe illness morphed this word into survival)
- 2008: content (being content with what I had — and yes, I bought a lot less)
- 2009 & 2010: forgiveness (had a lot to learn & unlearn)
- 2011: hope (choosing hope no matter the depth of my heartache)
- 2012: trust

Post Author: Beth K. Vogt
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an air force physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She writes contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.