#oneword2018

It's amazing to see how a hashtag on Twitter can catch your eye.   Over winter break, I kept seeing people in my PLN post about #oneword2018 - One word?   What word?   Huh?   I soon learned about this wonderful read.  

It got me thinking... what would my one word be for 2018?   Could I do this?    And if so... how?
My first stop was to Amazon to order the book.   I immediately learned that in order to find my word I needed time to prepare my heart.   Reflection time.

Book excerpt:

As I read the book it became increasingly obvious that I needed to unplug.   The irony of this is I read it on my Kindle and my word deals with connecting.    

I needed to ask myself some questions.

1.  What do I need?

2.  What is in my way?

3.  What needs to go?

All sorts of words were popping into my head and when I narrowed it down, it came down to CONNECT.

The past 12-15 months have been all over the place for me in my personal life.   Specifically, regarding my health.   As I read on, I found myself lost in my thoughts and the word connect came popping into my mind time and time again.   To be honest, I thought my word wasn't profound enough.  It seemed so simple... but sometimes the simplest of needs end up being the most complex.  

So the nerd in me broke out ye olde thesaurus and went old school with a Wordle and made this:

I then reflected on the word CONNECT and related it to the six dimensions listed in the book

1.  Spiritual

Am I where I want to be spiritually?   No.   Absolutely not.   This is something I really need to work on and to be honest I'm not sure how public of a journey that is or should be.

2.  Physical

My body has been through so much since the end of 2016 and I need to keep working on it.   I'm down 40 pounds thanks to Weight Watchers, but there is much work to be done.   I need to not only be mindful of the weight I'm losing but also focus on rebuilding the muscle mass and strength I lost.  

3.  Emotional

This is important!   As teachers we tend to put the needs and emotions of our students long before ourselves and let's face it - that can eventually take a toll on our bodies.  This is where mindfulness and Zen practices will really come into play.  

4.  Relational

I need to continue making the connections in my professional life but also rebuild the connections in my personal life.   How often do you get together with someone over the Holiday's and you either think or say - "We should do this more often."   And do you?   Do I?  Believe it or not, I can be quite introverted.  

If you're in my life, I want to connect more.

In The Power of Moments I couldn't help but think about making every moment count and making moments happen.   It's critical.   In some regards, it feels downright mandatory to me.  

5.  Mental

This is where my reading list comes into play.   We ask our students to make connections with the text.   I should be doing the same.   I have so many wonderful books on my Amazon wishlist.   I set aside goal to read SIXTY (yes, 60) books this year.   What connections can be made simply by reading a book?   Where can a book take you?   Endless possibilities!  

6.  Financial

Ah yes... there is a financial aspect to this.   Let's face it, we teacher folk aren't rollin in the dough. To be completely honest, I'm not sure how to connect when it comes to finances.   But I know that proper management of my finances will allow me to make further connections.   How cool would it be to get on a plane and connect with some of the amazing people in my PLN?

Next Steps:

Doing this with my students!

Holding one another accountable!

I'd love to hear your feedback on this post!

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Tell me your word!