Back to the WOTY
Off by a day or two, but still, three posts in a week… a-MAH-zing!
I wanted to get back to my choice for WOTY (Word of the Year). I’ve been participating in this challenge for a few years now, with mixed results. Two years ago I picked the word energy, and felt… well, energized by it! Last year, I selected the word calm as my word for the year, and I would call that one a giant bust. 2016 was just about anything but calm!
This year I want to go in a different direction, and select an action word rather than a feeling. I selected the word service:
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the action of helping or doing work for someone.“millions are involved in voluntary service”
synonyms: favor, kindness, good turn, helping hand; More
Why do I want to go with such a lofty word? Because to me, service sounds somewhat sanctimonious. But I don’t mean it that way at all.
One of the greatest lessons I learned through my participation in a 12-step program is the value of getting out of my own head. In fact, the final step in the 12-step process is just that… to pass along what you’ve learned to another person in need of recovery.
And of course that specific type of service is a wonderful thing, but my word choice is a whole lot broader than that. Here’s what I mean by service…
Josie’s Definition of Service:
Considering the perspective of another before my own. Understanding rather than being understood. Leaving people better than I found them.
It’s really that simple, although as I consider the past few months, that would be quite a shift. In sitting around and moping about my foot and unfulfilled career aspirations, I wasn’t sparing a whole lot of energy for the wants and needs of others.
And either path, self-centeredness or service, is the kind which builds upon itself. When I’m wallowing in self-pity, I can sink deeper and deeper. Likewise, when I have the mindset of consideration and thoughtfulness, that tends to be contagious as well. The question is: which mindset provides the most benefit?
Because that’s the truly amazing thing about service… that while the intention is to help another, you wind up helping yourself in the process. So even if I sound all saintly by choosing the word service, really I’m just cultivating positive self-growth!
So there you have it… let’s try to make 2017 the year to give back. Hopefully I’ll be better about checking in on the progress throughout the year!
Today’s Miracle:
The positive boost that comes from embarking on a new goal!
Posted on January 5, 2017, in Recovery, Self-Care and tagged 12 step program, blogging, Calm, compassion, Energy, happiness, Helping others, joy, Service, Sobriety, Understanding, WOTY. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
LOVE this word!! I will say it’s something you’re already doing and you’re already quite good at considering others and their needs…but this will make your goals all the more attainable and will hopefully make this a more fun and engaging word for the year. Calm is overrated anyway. So I hear.
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Thanks Kristen, your kind words mean a lot. And calm is overrated… I think. Not having actually experienced it, I can’t speak with any actual authority!
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I really like your definition and the Benson quote. I was in a meeting last night (contemplative living) where this general subject was considered ala a sort of Mother Teresa manner. What I found interesting is that folks seemed to envision the service practice as one of emptying out and finding that process could be rather exhausting of inner resources. I wondered about this at the time because I have always found that through service, I can be fed. I have never done any sort of service work in recovery where I have not felt better and more alive after the act. I am wondering if this is something that is unique to addicts in recovery, but I really think not.
Thanks so much for sharing.
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I can’t imagine that it is unique to those of us in recovery, though I imagine we focus on it more than the everyday folk. Certainly I see it played out with people in the Church I attend as well. And I could not agree more… I am never more energized when I am outside of myself, and I am never more lethargic than when I am deep in my own head.
Thanks for the comment, Robert!
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I find the SAME thing!
Service gets me out of my poor me mindset, that is so destructive.
I love your definition, too!
xo
Wendy
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Thanks Wendy, I appreciate the validation 🙂
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Josie…love your word of the year. And love your concept of service too. Thanks for the motivation to pin down my WOTY. I’ve participated for the past two years as well…and I’ve been mulling back in forth in my mind as to my WOTY 2017 and I think I’ve got it….(post to follow soon!)
Jenn
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Yeah! Can’t wait to read it!!
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I just listened to episode 27 of Yoga Church Podcast. It opened my eyes about service/generosity.
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Oooh, new podcast to check out. Thanks Lori!
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