Welcome to a brand new year! I know it is cliche’ to say that today offers a fresh start and a clean slate.  I often think of my life as a book which I am continuously writing.  Today is the beginning of a brand new chapter, which is yet to be defined.  The pages are still blank.  This optimistic view is the way I think about the beginning of most years.

But, I am also realist. Yesterdays challenges soon begin to spill into today. Too many things pull at our attention, the chapters of our story become mundane, or they continue to be written in the same manner. Time, left with no direction, will fall through our hands and before we know it, years have passed and we remain stuck in the same patterns of behavior.

Today is a good day for reflection. How is your story of life unfolding so far?  Are you longing for adventure, wishing you had more money or time?  Are you in a good relationship?   Would you like to learn a new language or change careers?  Do you dream of losing weight or stopping smoking?

The New Year always seems hopeful.  Most people make resolutions at the beginning of each year;  to lose weight, to give up bad habits, to learn something new and to spend more time doing things they love, seem to be the most common.   By the end of the second week of a new year, most resolutions have already been forgotten as we slide back into old routines.

By the end of the year, when we realize we have not met our goals (again),  we think back to our resolutions and feel like failures, yet every year we return to the same pattern of goal setting.  This self deprecating behavior has a negative influence on our psyche.

What if a small shift in attitude could redirect how you experience your days? What if we no longer set resolutions? How freeing would that simple act be?

Years ago our family gave up this New Year tradition, instead we began choosing a single word on New Year’s Eve. This word would still be reflective of the things we wanted to change, the growth we aspired to and the direction we hoped to go.

The word would touch all areas of our lives (relationships, personal growth, goals etc). Our word could be carried with us throughout the year.  We could interpret the word in any way which made sense to us.  By choosing just one word (or a few), we could focus on change. Anytime we honored our word, we would succeed.

The word of the year is a positive, inspirational and hopeful message, that change is possible. These little words simply focus our intentions, inviting more of what you need or what you hope to achieve.  They can reflect your ambitions, give you purpose, set goals and more.  These little words define and lead you to your best self.

I see the word as a kind of compass for the coming year.

For example a resolution might be to lose weight but our word choice instead became “healthy”.  How much more positive it became as we shifted our focus just a little.  With this tiny word in front of us,  we could give ourselves credit for every action we took throughout the year towards healthy living.  Maybe we drank an extra glass of water, or took a walk, or went to bed at a reasonable hour, or chose to skip dessert.

When we offered ourselves this positive feedback, we wanted to continue.  Perhaps the next day we did a little more, perhaps in a week we noticed we had lost a pound or two.  The goals were being met, but there was no pressure…just a little word reminding us of our intentions.

Intentional living is the underlying mission of this site.  Living your best life will always be the goal, it does not require a single day to begin, however New Year’s Day is the perfect time for change.  If you are reading this today and it doesn’t happen to be New Years Day, then just jump in.  Small incremental changes, lead to lasting results.

 

How to choose your word

1. Ask yourself questions.  What is it you want to change, learn or discover?  What would you do differently than last year?  Is there something you want to continue doing?  What do you want more of in life?  What do you want less of?  What is holding you back?  (Think of an opposite word.  For example fear becomes brave.)

2. Brainstorm.  Jot down as many words as come to mind.  These should be positive and affirming.  Think about where you want to direct your life this year.  It is okay if you have several or many words at this point. If you are stuck, there is a list of over 450 words below.

3. Narrow your list down.  If you are left with more than one word, consider breaking the year down into quarters or in half. You could even choose a different word each month!

Keep your word visible

Keep your word in front of you and make sure you can see it every day.  Make a cute graphic and put it on your phone.  Write it out in big letters and post it on a wall.  Put your word next to a place you use routinely…the coffee maker, a mirror or the back door.  Write it on a small pebble or piece of paper and carry it around in your pocket.  Make a plan(s)to bump into your word frequently.  Each time you do, it will remind you to live your word.

Put your word into affirmations.  Affirmations are powerful messages.  They are written, spoken or meditated upon in the first person.  For example, my word in 2019 was “expand”.  Every decision I made in that year, I asked myself if I was expanding.  This year in particular was a year of mental growth, as I immersed myself in learning.  I was focused on learning to:  garden, preserve food, write and improve my photography.  Here are a few of my affirmations:

” I am expanding my knowledge.”

“My relationships with people are expanding”.

“As I expand, I feel connected.”

 

Rules

As with all our word games, there are no rules, except those we define for ourselves.  If you want to choose a new word each month, go ahead and do so.  If you want to use more than one word at a time, that is okay too.

Our words

Here are the words I have chosen for the past few years:

2019 Expand

2020  Embrace

2021 Adapt

2022 Revive

After years of being stuck at home, not seeing family, missing celebrations, struggling with shortages of every kind and numerous challenges we have developed a bit of negativity about how the years are unfolding.  We have been very blessed in this life so we have decided it was time to find the silver lining in the moments.   We have worked hard throughout our lives and now have the means to travel and rest in our retirement.  We are surrounded by good people.  Our 2023 word gives us an opportunity to reflect on all the many, many things we still have to be thankful for.

Our word for this year is “Appreciate”.  We move forward into the unknown with an appreciation for all which we have, all which we create and an abundance of joy.

What word will you choose this year?

 

450+ Word of the Year Ideas

• Absolve
• Abundance
• Abundant
• Accept
• Acceptance
• Achieve
• Act
• Action
• Adapt
• Add
• Advance
• Adventure
• Affect
• Affluence
• Alert
• Align
• Alignment
• Alive
• Allow
• Amaze
• Amazing
• Ambition
• Amplify
• Anchor
• Appreciate
• Articulate
• Ascend
• Aspire
• Attention
• Awake
• Awaken
• Aware
• Awareness
• Awe
• Awesome
• Bad ass
• Balance

• Balanced
• Be
• Beautiful
• Beauty
• Become
• Begin
• Behold
• Believe
• Belong
• Best
• Better
• Big
• Birth
• Bliss
• Bloom
• Bold
• Boss
• Bounce
• Boundaries
• Boundless
• Bounty
• Brave
• Breath
• Breathe
• Bridge
• Bright
• Brother
• Build
• Calm
• Capable
• Captivating
• Capture
• Care
• Caring
• Celebrate
• Center
• Centered
• Challenge
• Change
• Charisma
• Chase
• Cheer
• Cheerful
• Cleanse
• Clear
• Comfort
• Commit
• Committed
• Communicate
• Communication
• Community
• Compassion
• Complete
• Completion
• Compose
• Compromise
• Confidence
• Connect
• Connection
• Conquer
• Conscious
• Considerate
• Consistency
• Consistent
• Contemplation
• Contribute
• Courage
• Create
• Creation
• Creative
• Creativity
• Cultivate
• Daughter
• Declutter
• Decrease
• Dedicate
• Dedication
• Deliberate
• Delight
• Depth
• Determination
• Determined
• Devote
• Diligence
• Direction
• Discipline
• Discover
• Dream
• Ease
• Ecstasy
• Education
• Elevate
• Elevation
• Embody
• Embrace
• Emerge
• Empathy
• Empire
• Empower
• Encourage
• Energize
• Energy
• Engage
• Enhance
• Enjoy
• Enjoyment
• Enlighten
• Enlightenment
• Enough
• Enrapture
• Enthuse
• Enthusiasm
• Enthusiastic
• Environment
• Epitome
• Escalate
• Examine
• Excite
• Excitement
• Expand
• Expansion
• Experience
• Exploration
• Explore
• Extraordinary
• Faith
• Family
• Fast

• Father
• Favorite
• Fearless
• Finish
• Fitness
• Flourish
• Flow
• Fly
• Focus
• Force
• Forgive
• Forgiveness
• Forward
• Foster
• Foundation
• Free
• Freedom
• Friend
• Friends
• Fulfill
• Fulfilling
• Fun
• Future
• Gain
• Generosity
• Generous
• Gentle
• Gently
• Give
• Giving
• Glisten
• Glorious
• Glow
• Glow-up
• Go
• Goals
• Grace
• Gracious
• Gratitude
• Grounded
• Grow
• Growth
• Habit
• Happiness
• Happy
• Harmony
• Heal
• Health
• Healthy
• Help
• Helpful
• Heart
• Here
• Higher
• Hold
• Home
• Honest
• Honesty
• Hope
• Humble
• Humility
• Hustle
• Ignite
• Imagination
• Imagine
• Immerse
• Improve
• Improvement
• Increase
• Indulge
• Infinity
• Influence
• Innovation
• Insight
• Inspiration
• Inspire
• Integrity
• Intent
• Intention
• Intentional
• Intimacy
• Intimate
• Intuition
• Invest
• Journey
• Joy
• Jump
• Kind
• Kindness
• Laugh
• Laughter
• Lead
• Leader
• Leadership
• Learn
• Less
• Liberate
• Life
• Light
• Limitless
• Listen
• Live
• Love
• Luxury
• Magic
• Magical
• Manifest
• Maximize
• Meaning
• Meditate
• Memories
• Metamorphosis
• Mindful
• Mindfulness
• Mindset
• Minimize
• Moment
• Moments
• Monetize
• Money
• More
• Mother
• Move
• New
• Nature
• Nirvana
• No
• Nourish
• Now
• Nurture
• Observe
• Open
• Optimistic
• Organize
• Overcome
• Pardon
• Partner
• Passion
• Patience
• Pause
• Peace
• Permission
• Persevere
• Persist
• Perspective
• Play
• Playful
• Pleasure
• Positivity
• Possibilities
• Possibility
• Possible
• Power
• Powerful
• Practice
• Pray
• Presence
• Present
• Prime
• Prioritize
• Priority
• Process
• Probable
• Progress
• Progression
• Prosper
• Purpose
• Question
• Quiet
• Radiant
• Re-brand
• Receive
• Reclaim
• Reflect
• Reflection
• Relax
• Release
• Renew
• Renewal
• Reset
• Resolve
• Respect
• Rest
• Retreat
• Revive
• Rich
• Rise
• Rise
• Romance
• Satisfaction
• Satisfy
• Seek
• Self
• Self-care
• Selfish
• Self-love
• Self-worth
• Serene
• Serenity
• Service
• Share
• Shift
• Shine
• Siblings
• Simple
• Simplicity
• Simplify
• Sister
• Sisterhood
• Slow
• Small
• Smile
• Soar
• Son
• Soul
• Soulful
• Space
• Spark
• Sparkle
• Speak
• Spirit
• Steady
• Still
• Stillness
• Strength
• Strengthen
• Stretch
• Strive
• Strong
• Succeed
• Success
• Successful
• Support
• Surrender
• Surround
• Surroundings
• Survive
• Sympathy
• Teach
• Tempest
• Think
• This
• Thoughtful
• Thoughtfulness
• Thrill
• Thrilling
• Thrive
• Today
• Touch
• Transcend
• Transform
• Transformation
• Transparent
• Travel
• Treasure
• Trust
• Truth
• Try
• Unchained
• Understand
• Unleash
• Unique
• Unlimited
• Unstoppable
• Value
• Vibrant
• Vision
• Visionary
• Vitality
• Voice
• Vulnerability
• Vulnerable
• Wake
• Wander
• Wealth
• Wealthy
• Wellness
• Whole
• Wholehearted
• Why
• Wild
• Win
• Winning
• Wisdom
• Wise
• Wish
• Wonder
• Work
• Worth
• Worthy
• Wow
• Yes
• Zenith