One Word - 2019

I started thinking about what my One Word for 2019 would be back in December. I wondered if it was even worth bothering with – my track record on following up with my One Word is not good. But hope springs eternal, as they say, and I wanted to try again. For a long while, I considered the word “no” as my word for 2019. “No, you may not have a second donut,” “No excuses, get to the gym,” “No, I’m sorry but I don’t have time to do that thing you are asking me to do.” But no matter how hard I tried to think of it as a positive thing, “no” still felt negative. So I took to the internet. What were other people choosing? And then, without even looking at the person’s reason for choosing the word, I found someone who had chosen the word “enough” and I knew that was my word, too. 

Merriam Webster has these definitions for “enough:”

1. occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations.
2. in or to a degree or quantity that satisfies or that is sufficient or necessary for satisfaction; fully, quite; in a tolerable degree.
3. a sufficient number, quantity, or amount.

Oxford Dictionary also includes:

Used to indicate that one is unwilling to tolerate any more of something undesirable.

I chose the word “enough” to:

• Remind myself at meals to stop eating when I’ve had enough, to drink enough water, to get enough sleep, to work out enough,
• Say “no” when I’ve done enough already or have enough to do already,
• Remind myself to make enough time for the things that are important and the people I care about, 
• Be happy with what I have
• Remind myself that I am enough. As Stuart Smalley used to say, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” I was a joke when they did the skit on SNL all of those years ago but it really is something we all need to remember.  I really am smart enough, skilled enough, talented enough, creative enough to take on anything I choose and strong enough to bear anything that life throws at me. 

Going forward, the goal is to really work, each month, on new ways to implement this word into my life and to be mindful of it every day.