09 January 2017

One Word, One Year: 2017

I have shared in this post how 2016 was like for our small family. Thinking about the massive amount of merriment and mayhem that happened then, my one word last year pretty described how the previous events took place. Whenever I have to make a decision - be it great or minor - I have always gone back to my whys, my purpose. And for that, I was so glad I chose that word no matter how common it is, no matter how related it is to Justin Bieber, lol. 


For this year, it took me a few words before I arrived to one. I thought of "now", "kindness", "focus" and "accept". All these have strong impact to me as 2017 began. It was only when my husband finally left home to go back to work that I realized what I would love my one word to be. 

And that is, HUMILITY.

I remembered this line that a wise person once told me, "work hard and stay humble". It sounds so simple but it's never easy to actually live it. In fact, I should have posted those words everywhere here at home to keep me reminded, to keep me grounded. 'Cause when my #baonserye posts gone viral in July last year, I felt a different rush that I never felt before as a blogger. Thus, it greatly affected my character that lead to a lot of career setbacks. I lost an important online gig because my focus was on the Facebook page. On the contrary, though it wasn't really a big deal, I saw a huge number of unlikes on that said page a month after that.

However, as always, I saw that experience as a learning opportunity. I asked the Lord for forgiveness and guidance. I then ditched my worldly thoughts and ways. I went back to my purposes, my whys. He gave me blog collaboration with major brands and the #BaonSeryeTalks at Accenture as answers to my prayers. And just before last year ended, 10k likes were added to the page. The word humility quietly spoke to me thereafter.

That's when I knew what He wanted me to realize - to stay humble at all times; that I am not irreplaceable, that I am only as good as my last performance.

Yes, aiming to be a story of great success is something we all dream to be but let us never forget that there are more important things that we might neglect if we are just focused on that one goal. You see, not all successful people are truly happy because not all of them got their successes in a good way. Actually, I don't believe in the so-called "self-made man" catchphrase circulating in the interwebs fooling the millennials on how to become one. Everyone needs someone to become somebody. And that (please do not get me wrong), I'd rather see my daughter in the future as a woman with overflowing kindness than with an enviable career. 

Note to self and to you, too if you need it: Accept defeat, failures and perhaps, a thousand nos but keep moving forward. Focus on things that matter and always bring a pocket full of kindness in case needed. 

So what's your one word this year?

1 comment:

  1. It's almost the end of the year. I've never really tried having my one word for the year but reading your post, I'd like my word for 2018 to be "serenity". @017 has been a quite a turbulent year for me and I felt engulfed by worries towards the end. Thankfully, someone told me that I have to let go or else my family and I will suffer. I've learned that letting go of things I have no control over and letting God handle them will give me true peace of mind, true serenity. It is my hope for the year ahead.

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