{"id":1814,"date":"2025-10-13T13:32:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/?p=1814"},"modified":"2025-10-13T13:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:32:55","slug":"prevail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/2025\/10\/13\/prevail\/","title":{"rendered":"Prevail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My corkboard companion for 2024<a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/@thedailylines\"><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally posted Jan 10, 2024, Substack newsletter<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My word of the year is <em>prevail<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a strong choice and even has a brutal side, though I\u2019m opposed to brutality as a technique for getting anything good to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s also got a polite face. The gentility of, <em>Could I prevail upon you to pass me the herbed butter, yes, there next to the ornamentally-carved crudit\u00e9<\/em>\u2014although that\u2019s not what I\u2019m talking about either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve chosen <em>prevail<\/em> because I\u2019m done with down-trodden-ness as a state of being, as a feeling I am compelled or allow myself to feel. I need to get up on top of some things in life, and I like the way <em>prevail<\/em> feels in my mouth and mind when I say it. It\u2019s just the right progression of plosive start, clean-sharp vowel sounds, and an embracing but nevertheless finalizing curl of consonant at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A very tidy word in a time when I need propulsive energies, order, and reassurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why choose just one?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choosing a word of the year is a practice I adopted from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/abbeyofthearts.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/30\/give-me-a-word-retreat-a-love-note-from-your-online-abbess\/\">Give Me A Word Retreat<\/a> offered annually by Christine Valters Paintner, online Abbess of the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks and a tremendously inspiring author. If you have a spiritual bent (if, for that matter, you have a creative spirit at all) I do recommend investigating her body of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, words I\u2019ve chosen have been more encouraging and contemplative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2023 \u2013 onward<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2022 \u2013 let\u2019s<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2021 \u2013 able<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2020 \u2013 engage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2026and so on back to the early 20-teens when I first discovered the practice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each year I\u2019ve written my word on an index card in a font suggestive of its tone (some quite artful) and pinned, taped or framed it near my workspace. They\u2019ve provided an anchoring focus when the surface of my desk and depths of my mind are, well, an unholy jumble of chaotic activity and stagnation. Yeah\u2014it happens. That truth, alone, could be enough to choose a word like <em>prevail<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s card is simply handwritten, all caps, underlined in green. The word and I are facing things directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"689\" src=\"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1-1024x689.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1815\" title=\"leafless trees\" srcset=\"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1-1024x689.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1-300x202.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1-768x517.jpeg 768w, http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@8moments\">Simon Berger<\/a> on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\">Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here, broadly, are the challenges \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accomplish well-established goals in defiance of the resistance that\u2019s frozen them mid-stride.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complete the dozen-or-so, well-under-way creative projects I\u2019ve been nursing along\u2014some unfinished for years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Act on professional decisions made and re-made (and re-re-made) with authority and assurance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Energy up!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As verbs go, <em>accomplish<\/em>, <em>complete<\/em> and <em>act<\/em> are imperative and pretty vigorous. Even writing them feels like it ought to register on my step counter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s the energy I\u2019m going for: off the sofa, standing desk, take a walk in the woods <em>prevail<\/em>ing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you taking steps to keep your productive energy flowing in the new year? Write and share your strategy (and subscribe so we can keep encouraging each other)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My corkboard companion for 2024 Originally posted Jan 10, 2024, Substack newsletter My word of the year is prevail. It\u2019s a strong choice and even has a brutal side, though I\u2019m opposed to brutality as a technique for getting anything good to happen. It\u2019s also got a polite face. The gentility of, Could I prevail [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1816,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814\/revisions\/1816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/llcn.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templa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