At the end of each year, I evaluate what went well and where I need to make adjustments and then begin considering what one word might inspire me most in the upcoming year. It is in the process that I’m usually reminded of a talk given in 2015 by Larry R. Lawrence entitled “What Lack I Yet?”
It was a pivotal time for my husband and me because of our response to Lawrence’s timely message. We felt inspired to consider what area we needed to focus on. We contemplated questions like: How did we need to change? Where did we lack and have room for growth? Those questions influenced our actions, as we made small but significant changes that have had a long-term chain reaction effect on how we live our lives.
“If spiritual growth is not a priority in our lives, if we are not on a course of steady improvement, we miss out on the important experiences that God wants to give us.”
Larry R. Lawrence – “What Lack I Yet?”
Choosing My Word
Choosing a word each year helps me focus on growth and improvement that will keep me moving in the right direction. It has been said that our speed is never more important than our direction. So my growth in 2023 is more about which way I’m facing rather than accomplishing a long list of things to do.
I’ve spent the last month contemplating where I want to direct my energy, attention, and power in the coming year — asking questions like, What do I want to start doing or becoming better at? How can I make my spiritual growth more of a priority? As I’ve reflected on what choices I need to make to be on a steady course of improvement, the word SEEK or SEEKER continued to come to my mind.
SEEK is an attempt or desire to obtain or achieve, search for, find, or discover. In 2023 I want to become a seeker of learning and truth, connection, order, peace, and gratitude. I want to seek acceptance for things I cannot change while discovering ways to incorporate more light, inspiration, and personal revelation. I want to seek “this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which bearers record of them may be and abide in you forever.” (Ether 12:41)
I’ve found that to make my word of the year really work for me; I have to find ways to live by it, be daily reminded of it and put it into action.
So this year, instead of creating New Year’s Resolutions, try choosing one word to guide your year with clarity, focus, and simplicity in all areas of your life. A great book to help you with this concept is One Word by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page.
So what will your one word be for the year?
