one little word {focus}

as in years past, i decided to stay on the ali edwards bandwagon of choosing one little word. i knew my word early this year, but i wanted to live with it for a short while before sharing it. (you might remember that i changed my 2010 one little word mid-year). i mentioned it back in early december and surprisingly, it hasn't changed yet. (sidenote: ali even has a year-long class to support this idea now.)

so, yup...that's the word - focus. it's not a very exciting word in and of itself. but it's packed full of meaning and intent. let's start by looking at it's actual definition:

fo·cus   [foh-kuhs]

–noun: a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity

–verb: to become focused.

—synonyms: center, heart, core, nucleus.

i was a little disappointed that the dictionary definition of my dear word wasn't more exciting. and then i saw the synonyms. and it all made sense. it was perfect. focus is about the heart, the core. last year, i strived for balance and was able to eliminate some less important things from my life. things that were stealing time from the core. now that i know what matters most, it's time to focus, focus, focus.

it can seem like a harsh word but that's not how it feels to me. it feels right. it feels like hugging a child or lounging with my family. it feels like pushing aside the grocery shopping so we can hang out in the front yard (something i did this past weekend). it's connotation is actually comforting to me.

and just in case there was any doubt about my word, as i went onto the smashing magazine website recently to choose my free monthly desktop wallpaper, i ran across this....

so, here we go -- 2011 -- the year of focus.

cheers.