Stephanie Vetne

I was first introduced to the concept of One Little Word in 2006 by Ali Edwards. One Little Word focuses on choosing a word to focus on for the year – it can have many different meanings and uses, but I use it as an easier and more broad way to set goals. 

In the past, I’ve used words such as simplify, balance, and enjoy. Last year I chose the word work.

This year, I’ve chosen the word joy as my One Little Word. 

Last year was our first year as empty nesters and I was very excited to focus on work without the daily kid schedule dictating how much I could accomplish. And I loved it! I expanded my business a bit, had more time to spend with customers, and really enjoyed my job! I also focused on working on my physical health and mental health and learned a lot about myself through the process.

But because I worked so hard last year on both my job and myself, I’m also exhausted and need more balance. So I want to focus on finding the joy in life and here’s how I want to do that:

• My job – All three of our kids are in college (Andrew is a sophomore, Elizabeth is a senior and going to law school in the fall, and, while Emily is working full-time in a very fulfilling career at Wabash College, she’s also finishing up her second master’s degree) and my job is what allows us to pay for their undergrad. Our goal has always been to get our kids through undergraduate school without any debt. And it’s hard with two in undergrad at the same time. To say the least! So I’ll still be focusing on my job and working as hard as I can this year but I’m going to work on streamlining a few things so that I can focus on the joy I get from doing fundraisers and the friendships I’ve made.  
• My customers – I lost three friends this past year to tragic accidents and two of them were also customers and good friends. I never want to take relationships for granted because life is too short. So I want to focus on helping my customers feel comfy and confident – that’s what brings me so much joy. I’m starting a Style Challenge later this week with that goal in mind.  
• My family – Obviously, family relationships triumph over anything, so I’ll be making sure that I continue to work on communicating and prioritizing time for family. My goal is to make sure that I’m not so focused on work that it gets in the way of my time with family. I want to take more trips, spend more time with family, and be present when I’m with them, instead of being so distracted by work. The joy that my family gives me is more important than anything. 
• My physical health – I made some major changes to my diet and exercise regimen last year and I want to focus on the joy that the gym brings into my life. I love feeling stronger and more capable!
• Travel – My oldest daughter gave me a trip to Europe last fall and it was the gift of a lifetime! And I refuse to go without that joy now! So I’m working hard on saving money and time so that my husband and I can do it again. 
• My creativity – I love, love being creative! It’s one of the best ADHD traits that I have and I want to spend more time being creative! I’m going back to at least one craft – I used to scrapbook, quilt, and crochet alllllll the time – I was a “professional scrapbooker” for over 10 years. The easiest of those to incorporate back into my life is crochet so I’m going to be blogging about some of those projects to hold myself accountable! 
• Reading – I am a voracious reader when I make the time and I need to add that love back into my life!

So, that’s my focus for 2023! Have you ever chosen One Little Word? Tell me about it in the comments! And join me this year in finding a word to focus on!