My Un-Word

So yesterday was the release of my latest book. It was also the day my online friend Darlene  and a few others were launching “My Un-Word” a way cool idea about choosing a word for the year to strike from your vocabulary.

Unword2014badge_rough-draft-1I’d planned to help promote it. But I also needed to celebrate my own book launch a little. So, I didn’t write about My Un-Word.

Then, this morning, I felt bad. Like I let her down. Like I shoulda found a way to do both.

But it is okay. You see, I had already decided my “un-word”. The word I need to STOP using.

It is “shoulda”.

Oh boy do I beat myself up with those seven little letters.

“I shoulda spent more time reading the Bible this morning.”

“I shoulda thought ahead and made a hot meal for the neighbors this week since they lost a grandparent to cancer.”

“I shoulda taken off this extra 15 poiunds long before they turned into 25.”

“I shoulda checked my Facebook feed better. I totally missed two friends birthdays and they never forget mine.”

Shoulda
Shoulda

SHOULDA

Well, I am banning that word from my vocabulary this year. I want to make the most of every moment and not regret the moments that have passed. Moments I can’t go back and do over.

How about you? Do you have a word you need to eliminate from your vocabulary this year?

Head over to My Un-Word for more info.

Oh, and if you do pick one, tell me what word in the comments here. I’d love to know!

 

15 Comments

  1. Karen, my {UN} word for this year is {UN} afraid. Unafraid to step in faith with my Papa God. I like your “shoulda” word too. I can realte to that one also. God bless you Karen with your new book. Beth

  2. Love is my word. I feel like that word is over used so much that it has lost it’s meaning. I’m not trying to totally eliminate it from my vocabulary. I only want to use it when referring to people that I truly love and not over use it on inanimate things like ice cream.

  3. My unword is “I can’t” when I start to doubt my abilities to do something. Sometimes it is also just a matter of feeling comfortable in my comfort zone so I use this phrase as an excuse to get out of it. I feel I have missed some opportunities in life by not getting outside my comfort zone more in life. I guess it is hard for me sometimes since I tend to be a creature of habit. But I do my best to achieve the task when it is God calling me to do something to glorify Him.

  4. I would have to claim ‘I need to’ as my un-phrase for the year. It’s a very passive set of words. But removing it from my vocab doesn’t seem like enough. It’s a set of words that warrants a replacement set. My replacement phrase is now ‘I will.’ It is definitive and decisive, not passive and complacent. And now I will close my note, I will get some water, and I will fold the laundry.

  5. Mine is more of a phrase: what-if. I mull over the what-ifs of life more than I ever should and oh my goodness does Satan use that against me whenever he gets the chance! Since the one word I am focusing on this year is discover, I don’t think the what-ifs of life have any place with the discoveries that have been/are/will be happening!

  6. Ridiculous…that is my “un-word”. I use it way too much when I am fed up with a situation or frustrated with a member of my household. “This is a ridiculous way to act!” “It is ridiculous how long it is taking to get out of the house!” I have been realizing how much I say it and it is too much! Thank you for the challenge!

  7. Karen, thanks to your friends who came up with this idea.
    Coulda has been on my list, for a good while. My therapist has wanted me to quit saying coulda, shoulda and I need to.
    He says they are negative works. I’m going continue working on these three words this year, shoulda is going to be my un-word for this year.

  8. I would have to agree with some others. “I can’t” and “shoulda” are words that I need to “un-word” in my vocabulary for this year.

  9. My unword for the year is I can’t. I am doing Made to Crave and have decided that those two words are not in vocab this year. I can do all things in Jesus’ name. He will be my can. Also working on restoring my relationship with my 13 year old. That is another can. I know that this will not happen over night, but they will happen. ;)

  10. Hi Karen! Is it okay to have 2?! My are “I can’t” and “shoulda”! I let can’t and shoulda keep me from trusting God’s plan for my life and moving forward. :(

  11. I can’t

    Living with a new pain the last few months, that “I can’t” seems to be a big part of my vocabulary. Sure need to remember that I can do all things thru Christ and when i do remember – I can!

  12. Coulda-I beat myself up on the coulda – gone to a better college, coulda gotten 2 degrees,etc. I have to leave my past in the past and start and start doing my “shoulda”.

  13. That’s it! That’s mine! Just ask my family. Regret is a constant in my life – I don’t ever feel like I did enough or made the right choice. I have an “I shoulda” for much of what I do, and all the things I think I should have done – especially if it was for someone else. Then I feel bad for a bit while I regret it. This is a great idea! This should be interesting – and a relief to my family. ha

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