Determining your word of the year is a practice that provides focus and clarity to your goals for the new year.
The new year presents new opportunities for everyone. We love the new year because it gives us a time to start anew and become the person we want to be. It can also present difficult challenges or long awaited blessings. If you’re at a pivotal stage in your life, you know that focusing at the beginning of 2020 on where/who you want to be by the end of the year is imperative.
Something we all need to keep in mind is that self-improvement is always possible, and it should be something you work towards. You should never feel embarrassed or ashamed to try to improve yourself. Whether it be improving your relationships with people close to you or getting back into the gym, you’re dong it for yourself and no one else.
While many people try to keep new year’s resolutions, another fun practice is keeping a word of the year. This word embodies everything that you want to be/accomplish/do that year. It’s something that you can apply to your daily life and serves as a reminder for you to keep up with your goals. It brings focus and clarity to your goals rather than just having a resolution.
How to choose a word
Choosing a word of the year can seem daunting. The important thing to remember is that this word serves a purpose for you and only you. It can have a literal interpretation or an interpretation that only makes sense to you. All that matters is that it’s something you will keep in the back of your mind throughout the year to help you become who you want to be.
To choose your word, try thinking about the below:
- What do I need?
- What do I want less of in my life?
- What characteristics would I like to have?
- How do I want to feel?
Going into the new year, what’s something you need? Something you need to improve on, something you need to achieve, something you need to do. It might be “I need to love myself more” or “I need to get a promotion.”
What’s something you want less of? Or some characteristics you want to have? Maybe you want to doubt yourself less, or you want to have more self-confidence. Think about what you want, and use that as a starting point for finding your word.
Next, think about how you can achieve that want.
Ask yourself what qualities you need or actions you need to take. If you want to love yourself more or get that promotion at work, think about the things you can do to achieve that. Whatever these qualities or actions are, they will lead you to your word.
Make a list
Write down a list of words that culminates what you are trying to achieve and how you’re trying to achieve it. If none of those words speak to you, use a thesaurus to find similar words that provide the meaning and context you’re looking for.
Ask yourself one last question
Are you committed? It’s easy and fun to come up with a word for the year, but it’s challenging to maintain the effort required to achieve your goals. New year’s resolutions are so easy to drop and forget about, but having a word with the qualities that will lead you toward you goals will help you. The only thing you need to do is put in the effort. So, make sure you’re ready for the commitment and willing to better yourself.
Here’s a list of some words you can use as a starting point:
- Discover
- Value
- Trust
- Immerse
- Inspire
- Bravery
- Complete
- Love
- Confidence
- Loyalty
- Heal
- Courage
- Bold
- Adventure
- Mindful
- Daring
- Cherish
- Build
- Rebuild
- Gratitude
- Dependable
- Cultivate
- Embrace
- Active
- Thankful
- Truth
- Intention
- Breathe
- Faith
- Learn
- Yes
- No
- Whole
