Push.

So, if you have a photographic memory or you're my Official Stalker and you know way too much about me, you might remember me talking about not picking a word for the year....like two or three years ago! That was the last time I even gave it any thought until now. Let me take a step back and explain.

If you are at all even remotely familiar with scrapbooking and people associated with scrapbooking, you may have heard of (just a guess) a woman named Ali Edwards. If you are not the family scrapbooker and you're squinting your eyes at the screen to figure out who this is, I have an easy way to find your answer: go to the shelf where your wife/sister/daughter/mother/aunt/friend keeps her books about scrapbooking. There, I'll bet you a dollar, will be at least one book written by this Ali Edwards character. 

Ali has not only written her own books, worked for scrapbook magazines and designed her own line of scrapbook supplies and fonts, she has created an entire movement in the industry. She has a distinct simple, graphic, story-based style that most scrapbookers could recognize in an instant. She loves telling stories. 

And what better way to start a story is to base it on a single, motivating and inspirational word. Every year, people across the globe (I'm not being dramatic here, it's true.) choose a word - One Little Word - to sort of define their year. Each word is chosen for distinct reasons. For some it's motivating, for others it's meditative. For me, it's always felt restrictive. The last time I considered it, a few years back, I couldn't think of a word I felt comfortable enough basing my entire year off of. It felt like making a vague New Year's Resolution. I don't make resolutions. Why? Because what happened when you broke your resolution? You felt bad, disappointed in your failure. I don't need that. So I never picked a word for the year. Maybe I was being a downer to other scrapbookers, but at least I was being realistic with myself.

This morning I was on the treadmill. For some reason this idea of One Little Word entered my head. It hit me. In an instant I thought of a word I could live with, live for. I swooshed it around in my mouth for a bit, making sure I liked how it tasted. I think this could actually be something. 

My word:

PUSH.

It's really pretty simple. I want to push myself to try harder, do better, learn more, succeed.

I want to push my husband to meet his goals.

I want to push my children to be the best that they can be.

When I think I'm done - exercising, reading, writing, baking cookies, whatever - I'll push myself to give a little bit more. I'll push myself not to defer to the easy answer, to laziness.

This isn't a life-altering word choice. It's natural. In truth, it's what I already try to do. Putting a label on it will just make me try harder. It will make me, yes, here it comes -- push myself.