One Little Word® for 2017: PERSEVERE

Hi and hello, welcome to a new year. Goodbye 2016, hello 2017.

Aaand… the new year is already 5 days old. I’m telling you, someone must be flipping the pages on that page-a-day calendar fast on purpose.

In true new year’s fashion, I am jumping on the One Little Word® bandwagon again and I’ve been thinking about which new guiding word to pick for 2017. (Here are the words I picked in 2015 and 2016.)
I struggled a little bit to come up with a word for this year, because I had a few swirling around in my head and I could have easily justified any one of them, but yesterday – in a spur of the moment decision – I  finally settled on the one word that seemed just right.

My word for 2017 will be persevere.

It’s a word that has long accompanied my journey in a way and it’s seems fitting now more than ever. Some of its synonyms reaffirm my choice: persist, keep up, press on/ahead, be tenacious, go the distance, hang in there, stick to.

After the election results in November, I was in a serious emotional rut for a couple of weeks. I am usually someone who always, always sees the glass half full and to see me so defeated and emotionally depressed was something that J hadn’t seen in the 15 years we’ve known each other. While inauguration day is getting closer and the last few weeks haven’t really given me much hope in terms of a Trump-presidency, I personally want to persevere and start seeing the glass half full again. I want to press on, do things that are in my power and have a positive impact, no matter how small or limited it might seem. If all of us do a little bit, we can achieve a lot.

I want to persevere in believing in the good of people. It’s been hard lately with all the hate and violence everywhere, but I believe that people are inherently good and we have to press ahead to bring out the best in all the people around us.

I want to persevere in my job. I was once told that I landed my internship and the subsequent position because of my perseverance. I still feel as dedicated to my job as ever, but some of my  tasks lately have been repetitive and somewhat dull and I keep hoping that this will change again and I will feel more invested in my work.

I want to persevere in my workout routine, even if it’s hard sometimes. I’ve gotten to the point where I pretty much don’t ‘think’ about going for a run, I just go. Not leaving any room for changing my mind has helped tremendously with sticking to a plan. I’ve set new goals for this new year and am willing to go the distance to achieve those goals.

I want to persevere and keep investing in my relationships with family + friends, most of which are long-distance, which can make it hard to be present sometimes what with the time difference and busy every day lives and all. But, I know that I have a really, really good group of people around me and I want to keep up those important relationships.

I want to persevere with healthy eating habits, drinking plenty of water, and cooking (mostly) from scratch. This is not something I drastically have to change, because I’ve already been focusing on that, but it’s always good to keep up good habits, and of course,  there is always room for improvement.

What’s your word for the new year? I love to hear what word you picked and why.
Let me know in the comments! 

  1. Great choice of a word! mine is going to be- consistent/consistency :)

    1. Thanks! Oh, and I love your word, too! :)

  2. I love your choice !

  3. Love your word choice, and it is one that I need to work on myself in 2017: to persevere in my career (as I am feeling a little bored myself, though my job is good), in beginning the search toward a new companion/love life, and hopefully in furthering my education! Happy 2017!

    1. Thank you… looks like that word will be fitting for you as well :) Hope all good things are coming to you in 2017!!

  4. I’ve always wanted a tattoo that says “perseverance” in Hebrew. The word is “hatmadah.” Go get ’em this year, my friend. <3

    1. No way! That is awesome! :) What is holding you back? I feel this word carries SO MUCH meaning.

  5. I love your word for 2017! I wish you luck in your endeavors this year. If anyone can persevere, it is you, my friend!

    1. Oh Stephany, thank you. That means a lot!

  6. Hey San,
    what an interesting word choice but I can see why you came up with it.
    I wish you lots of (positive) energy to make all those goals come true.
    Looking forward to another year tagging along and reading fun things here.
    Happy New Year, Tobia

    1. Thank you. I had quite a few other words to choose from, but this one just clicked for me a few days ago… :)

  7. Love your word and I think it is a good choice. I can be perseverant sometimes (my husband would call it “being a pain in the ass” probably) but need to work on being it more when it comes to routines like eating healthy or going to the gym.

    I don’t really have a word for 2017 but one goal I have becoming more healthy. Haven’t had a year without any health problems since 2010 so it definitely is time! Goals are eat a bowl of fruit each day, drink more water, go to the gym at least twice a week and find a job to get out of the house more. So I guess HEALTH is my word.

  8. That is a great word as it applies to so many different areas of your life. I don’t pick one word for the year, but if I did, I think it would be ‘discern’. I need to do a better job of discerning how I should fill my days and what should get my attention. I over commit and sometimes feel like I could be focusing my attention better in terms of friendships.

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