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My Word for 2016


Happy 2016! 

It's a new year full of new possibility. The past couple years have been emotional for me, but I'm feeling stronger and feeling it's time to regain control. What better time for a fresh start than at the beginning of a new year? As with the past several years, I've chosen a word for the year rather than a list of resolutions. The word of the year has worked well for me in many cases, even though I'd say I lost sight of last year's word, "Open." But that that doesn't matter now. It's a time for a fresh start.

As I tried to decide what I want for my life in 2016, I started seeing a Facebook game that would generate a word for 2016. Several of my friends had shared it since they were given fun words like "Joy" and "Happiness." So I thought I'd give it a try. My resulting word was "Change." Ugh. I hate change. I'm a creature of habit. I had just gone through the most major of change in losing my dad. Change did not seem appealing. So I tried the random word generator again and I got the word, "Innovation." Hmmm. Isn't that basically a different word for "Change"? Where's my "Joy" or "Happiness"? So I walked away to reflect, of course only after a 3rd try that gave me "Wisdom." 

After some thought, I really started to like "Innovation." Innovation seemed like it could be a way for me to focus on new and creative methods of change. It felt a little more positive and less scary than focusing my year on the word, "Change" (even though change is necessary since I want things to be different). A way for me to look forward rather than backwards. Too much of my time has been spent looking backwards, leaving me feeling depressed from the pain of nostalgia and the shame of regret.  So my word for this year is "Innovation," which has already led me down some new paths that I look forward to sharing in the future....

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