One Word for 2011: Dream

My One Word for 2011 (thanks to Alece Ronzino for this idea) is "dream."

Last year, I think, the word of the year was "ship" (a la Seth Godin's Linchpin). It was all about delivering something, about getting a piece of work (good, bad, or ugly) out the door. It was about doing. This year, though, is different. 2011 is about dreaming.

Here's what I wrote on Alece's blog: "I haven't dreamed in a long time. Cynicism has gotten the best of me for a number of years. It's time to dream again."

Some of this has come out of my involvement in the Youth Ministry Coaching Program. Many of cohorts have encouraged to think more about the dreams that God has placed on my heart and to step out into some of them.

I've identified a number of reasons and excuses why I haven't thought much about my dreams in the past four years, but I think that it ultimately comes down to one: fear.

It's scary to dream, to step out on a limb and take a risk.

I've learned a lot in this past season — about humility and submission and serving someone else's dream first. I've sense that it's time to dream again. The only holidng me back is fear — of failure, mostly.

But that's not enough anymore. I'm taking some steps to move myself in the direction of pursuing some godly dreams — both responsibly and passionately.

First, I've shared these thoughts with my boss Seth, who has been so gracious as to mentor and coach me through most of this season of life. He and I are putting together a plan that will move me further down the road of achieving my dreams. For now, what that looks like practically is that my job at AIM will be morphing into something that ultimately better suits my gifts and passions.

Second, I've signed up for a seminar on making your dreams come true — a workshop happening later this month that I am particularly excited about.

Third, I'm starting now. I'm not waiting any longer. I've dreamed for a while about writing, and although I've kept up consistently with this blog, there are some other projects I've thought about pursuing that I haven't even begun. It's time to start those. I'll share more about that later.

What's your one word for 2011?