One word…

…to live by.
…to think by.
…to underscore everything I did.

That word was Passion.

I factored that word into everything I did. At least I tried to do that.

I think I did pretty good most of the year. There were times I forgot the word, times I neglected to have passion. And I don’t have a good excuse for it. I was just lazy.

Having passion takes work. And sometimes I didn’t feel like working.

Reflecting on the past year and my attempts to accomplish so much led me to see what this year’s word needs to be.

This year might be a bit more tough.

This year might be difficult.

This year might strain me as I strive for this.

But I need it.

I’ve noticed this in myself: I don’t always follow through. I start something and I let it fizzle out. Sometimes it’s because I’m simply busy. I have a very large family and a very active ministry within my church and community. I have a lot going on.

But often, I fail to finish what I started because I didn’t commit myself fully to the task.

It’s too easy to be lazy.

For example, this year I’ve decided to get a head start on my day by getting up an hour earlier. Not a huge decision, but it’s big for me. Instead of getting up at 8:00, I want to get up at 7:00 every day. That way, I can spend more quality time with God without feeling rushed before I get into the thick of things for the day.

This worked fine on Monday and Tuesday. But today, I changed my alarm at 6:55 back to 8:00. And then I laid there, not really sleeping, until it went off. It was a complete waste of an hour. I didn’t get up and use it like I wanted to. But I didn’t sleep well during that time either.

It was too easy to slip back into the old routine.

I need to solidify my commitment to this change, and to others in my life.

I need to commit.

So that’s the One Word that I’ll be keeping in front of me during 2012. That’s the only way I’ll be able to continue to grow in last year’s word as well.

I’m going to commit.

What one word do you need to live by this year? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Find out more about One Word 365, and select your word to live by this year.

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