A Review of my One Little Word 2013 :: Grow

Over the past year I've been on a journey to include GROW, my One Little Word, as a core part of my life. I wrote about using this process at the start of 2013 and mid way through the year. I will be using it once again in 2014 to help me bring certain things into my life this year because the process last year has changed me...

One Little Word, it is an online class delivered by the fabulous and inspiring Ali Edwards. Ali is a super talented memory keeper and was the first blogger to inspire me to do Project Life. Each year Ali delivers her One Little Word course about choosing a word and bringing that word into your life. Inspired by her passion and her long running course I decided in January 2013 to start a new tradition each year to follow this class. It didn't disappoint, it brought huge change into my life.

On the first of each month Ali delivered an inspiring video chat about our focus for the month ahead with our word, and provided resources related to the journalling prompts so we could explore the word in more detail through writing, planning and getting creative.

At the start of the class we created twelve intentions for the year that I used to help shape the year ahead. The intentions I decided on for me proved a pathway for my journey through the year. I wanted to GROW. I was able to focus my thoughts on how I wanted to progress with my word during the year...instead of new year's resolutions I used these monthly intentions for 2013…

Grow closer
Grow my savings
Grow creativity
Grow up Grow stronger
Grow and bloom
Courage to grow
Grow wiser
Grow a new seed
Make time to grow
Grow a cosy home
Grow an idea

It’s hard to know where to begin to tell you how influential the year was with the course and my progress with my word. What happened was a truly inspiring year for me. It has been a private journey...I've written in my journal about how I got on with my word during the year, talked to some of my closest friends and family about my word, and each month taken time a look back at the intentions to keep myself on track.

Surprisingly each of these twelve areas found themselves into parts of my life last year, many meaning different things to me personally than what may be obvious when you look at the list. What happened for me was a transformation and big change. I wont go into detail here, it really is just for me and my diary, but what I will say is that this process is an inspired way to bring into your life new things and make your word truly part of you.

When December arrived last year I was truly saddened that it was my last month of my word. I know that GROW will be there in the background, never forgotten and always impacting. I can’t say goodbye to GROW. The changes and everything the word brought into my life, and the influence it had on me, will always be there. Grow enabled me to explore new things, it got me to where I am in life right now.

Thank you Ali for a truly inspiring year! Onwards for 2014 with my new word for the year and another year of being inspired...