my one word prompt {12.23}

Here we are.

My last prompt of the year.

(And the shortest!)

ASK ’23.

I’ll do a wrap: Look back through my word’s file folder (a catch-all, really; I use it instead of a journal). Reread my monthly posts; collect takeaways, print them or otherwise note. Go over my mind map…What’d I forget? What’s no longer relevant?

Summary of Curate in ’21

Ask ’23 mind map

My well-worn lookbook! Engage ’22

Having a year-in-review, like the one I did for Curate (above, left), is helpful and convenient — especially over time. More often than you’d think, I look back through my One Word folders for something I can vaguely remember but can’t quite call up. It’s a cheat sheet, of sorts. An ‘at-a-glance.’ This year, I may opt for something more colorful. Fun. Creative. Maybe along the lines of a ‘lookbook.’ like I made for Engage ’22 (above, right). Maybe something different altogether?

It’s like…each word has a Legacy.

And by the end of December, ASK will join those ranks!

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Speaking of which, I’m remembering the work of Words Past this month.

December’s an exemplary month for the ‘cumulative effect’ of my words.

Going back to my first — Authentic ’15 — when I barely knew what to do with One Word, I can still see it on my wall calendar: Scrawled across, in giant letters. Light enough to still write in the grids, but dark enough to see every time I made a commitment: What am I saying Yes to? Is this Authentic Me? Or Obligatory Me? Am I doing this out of sincerity? Or am I should’ing all over the place? More recently, I Curated (’21) all of the rituals and traditions we’ve carried on…Asking (’23) how I want to Engage (’22) at holiday time?

One way to look at this…accumulation…is Wow, can’t she get it right the first time? How effective is this practice?!

Which isn’t out I see it. Or feel it.

(But I can see how one could.) (And it made me chuckle here.)

Thinking back to conversations I’ve had…the three-part series (with many of you!)…phone calls with friends…workshop discussions…it’s less about Which Word to Choose and trusting that, whatever we ‘pick,’ it leads where we need to go. And often, ‘where we need to go’ is more than a one ‘n done. Not just the work of a month. Or even a year. But, often, it’s layered. Cumulative…! Or you could think of it as a Becoming.

[Here’s that three-part series! I think you’ll find some familiar faces. Part I Part II Part III.]

This week, while checking in with our words, I’ve read thoughts on reassessing the practice. As well as bring on ’24’s word already! One blogger’s wrapping a series of words and next year’s takes a whole new direction. I see trends in my own My One Words Past, and My One Word ’24 feels like a culmination.

I also see…a bit of a mess! Like, I can’t even find Engage ’22 in my stack of folders and journals and mind maps. I never cleaned out my workshop folder from January; maybe some of it’s stuck in there? I’ve got digital files in a few different places (which makes looking for something a whole lotta fun). So I’ll set aside a few hours next week for…some housekeeping…you could say.

(A mess? It’s a cumulative thing, too!)

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And with that, I wish you happy week-ending. Whatever it brings, I hope it’s just right.