Resilient - My One Little Word for 2016
For the past few years, starting in 2011, I have chosen a word at the beginning of January, and shared it visibly on my blog in hopes of using it to guide and define the upcoming months... a One Little Word. My words have been: begin, flourish, abundance, thrive and last year was wholehearted.
For 2016 the word "resilient" is filling my heart and my life. The first big impact this word had on me was in the form of an Instagram post from my friend Kristen of Kindred Cinema. She took a remark her chiropractor had made to her and turned it into an inspiring thought that struck me deep in my heart. "Underneath it all, in your bones, you are resilient." I kept coming back to her post and this thought and this word. It called to me, and I knew it would be the right word to guide this year. I was reminded of one of my best friends, Kris, who gave a TEDx talk last year on this topic, specifically as it relates to disasters. She shared that we all have our own personal disasters that change our reality, our normal and our sense of security, but what matters is how we respond to them. Resilience is not a trait or a characteristic, but rather a capacity that is strengthened by our thought process, our choices and our behaviors.
In so many ways I've let the things going on around me impact my internal dialogue, my behaviors and my worth, especially recently. Emotional upheaval has been a struggle on many levels and I feel depleted and flat. I want to bounce back from these hurts...to make the choice to overcome. To be conscious of how things are impacting me and decide how I want to react.
resilient [ri-zil-yuh nt] - adjective: 1) able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something difficult happens. 2) to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. 3) able to spring back into shape; bounce back. synonyms: hardy, strong, tough, robust, flexible, rebounding, buoyant, irrepressible
"Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient." - Steve Maraboli
"We are hard-pressed in every way, but not cramped beyond movement; we are perplexed, but not absolutely with no way out; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed. Always we will endure." - 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
"Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up." - Mary Holloway
"When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience." - Jaeda Dewalt
I want to let go of the things that have been holding me back and hurting me. I want to let go of the weight that has crept back on that I've been relying on to protect me. I want to let go of my internal doubts and resistance as I figure out how to be fully present in my life, my relationships, my worship, my work and my own big dreams. I want to let go of my reactionary nature and instead choose to rise above.
This year I am inviting more light into my life. I want to bounce back to a someone I used to be, and become more of the person that I want to be. There will be big smiles, belly laughter, intentions, and happiness. I want to invite the concept of resilience into my life in terms of how I'm caring for myself and those I love. I want to live better and give better and love better and choose to be better. I invite clearer communications, connection, acceptance of change, moments of self-discovery and a positive outlook. Connecting all the things each of my words have taught me over these past few years and bouncing back.
I am resilient. The past has taught me that and my future will reaffirm it, especially when I'm making a concrete and concerted effort to live with resilience. It is not a trait or a quality that I was born with, but rather, something I have the capacity for. My thoughts, my choices and my behaviors are shifting to reflect this.
Welcome 2016!
I'm so ready for you.
I'm so thankful to Ali Edwards for developing this concept into what it has become. I'm part of her One Little Word class again this year and love using her prompt for January as my guide to sharing this post each year. You can find out more about the class HERE, and the titles I used in this post are hand-written by her.
The "resilient" word art at the top of the post was done by Olivia of Random Olive. You can commission her to paint your word too!
Is this concept of having a One Little Word for the year new to you? Or have you found it helpful and true in your life too? I would love to hear what word you've chosen to guide you in 2016. Feel free to share in the comments or link to a blog post you wrote about your word.
