Recap Word Of The Year 2011

I have been choosing a word for the year for a while now. It's just been interesting to see where it appeared and how the meaning of the word changed over time. Last year I decided to kick it up a notch. I wanted to see if my life could be changed by choosing a word for the year. It was like a little personal challenge. Here's what happened:

Almost exactly one year ago I chose my word for 2011. The word was BRAVE. I can't even remember exactly why I chose brave. I've been looking for the journal where I wrote about it, but I haven't been able to locate it. I did blog about it here. I started to find all kinds of interesting bits about brave. My favorite by far has been Brave Girls Club. I have loved receiving inspirational emails from them. Take Soul Restoration 1. And then doing Soul Restoration 2. Now I'm excited about starting Body Restoration in January 2012. These are FABULOUS courses--real life changers.

I also credit a little class I took with Jen Lemen and Odette and Innocent for this subtle internal shift that I can't explain. I don't even try to figure it out or over analyze it. I've just been going with the mystery of it all.

So where exactly did this journey going? It took a really twisty path through the most heartbreaking year of my educational career. My personal life and relationships had some big speed bumps, too. Isn't that the way life always is. I feel today like courage is really just refusing to stop. In the face of it all I did want to quit--many many times. Instead I just continued to move along. Sometimes I was sprinting. Most of the time I was really crawling off into the darkness of uncharted territory and wondering what I was doing.

The results have been pretty darn AMAZING. Here is some of what the word "brave" brought me this year:

• I started blogging more right here
• A return to a bit more professional and personal sanity
• Lots of tickling and laughing with a 2 year old
• Lots of walking in the woods
• The creation of the website BraveTeachers.com
• Lots of photographs and photo cards in the Brave Teachers Etsy Shop
• Creating an amazing little pdf on the power of affirmations to Heal A Brave Teacher Heart
• My first ebook, There's No Magic Wand, a book of transformative hope and wisdom for brave teachers. Check out a chapter of the book here.
• I'm in the process of expanding the ebook into a physical book that has lots more real life heart care for teachers. I'm making it the kind of book I will want to open again and again!
• The development of an entire heart care curriculum for teachers called The Art and Soul of Brave Teachers
• Guiding The Art and Soul of Brave Teachers 2 times last summerBrave Teachers Fall Retreat
• Creating Visioning The Best School Year Ever 2011-2012
• Hosting the first ever Brave Teachers Fall Retreat
• Planning the first Brave Teachers Play Day, Jan. 16, 2012
• Starting a Brave Teacher Newsletter that was weekly in the summer and is now monthly.

Honestly I've done sooooo much. I also returned for another year as a classroom teacher. If for a moment you doubt the power of words, I beg to differ with you!

I found this to be so powerful, that I put together I mini-workbook to guide you in choosing a word for yourself for the new year. Grab this FREE pdf, Word of the Year 2012!

I'm still defining my word for 2012. What's your word for 2012? We would love to know!