The Power of “And,”

I used to pick a “Word Of The Year” and then spend the calendar year using that word to filter my experiences and remind myself to think beyond the now. To represent my WOTY, I selected a tangible image to keep me company. An item in my vehicle, around my neck or wrist worked well. The images kept me focused all year long.

And then came “And,”. “And,” became so big and meaningful that I couldn’t contain it. I wanted to share it with my clients and not keep my WOTY private so I printed out an enlarged version and framed it. Since I have both a work office and a home office, I framed it twice. When the year ended, I wasn’t ready to find a new word. There was still so much to be learned from “And.”.

That was 3 years ago. “And,” is still my word.

What makes “And,” so powerful for me? First of all, notice that there’s a comma, not a period after the word. That alone is significant. A period says done, over, fini. A comma let’s us know there’s more to come, this isn’t all, include this. Combining the comma with the word “And” reminds me to look beyond the now and hold hope.

I use “And,” often to encourage clients. Someone has cancer? We say “And,” and discuss what else we do, think or feel. Someone is getting divorced? We use “And,” to remind us that we are not defined by that. Someone lost a job? We say “And,” to explore new options. The basic idea is that we don’t stop with a loss and freeze up. We acknowledge it and then continue moving ahead.

“And,” is not only reserved for the hard things in life. It can be used when we are feeling blissed or blessed to remind ourselves of this treasured moment to register thanksgiving.

I don’t know how many more years “And,” will be my Word Of The Year. And I will always keep it on my walls as a reminder.