The Beauty in a Word: 5 Tips on Choosing Your Word of the Year
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With the welcome of a new year, many people like to set resolutions for themselves, and by February, those resolutions are never spoken of again. I was once ‘many people’, but for the past six years, instead of a resolution, I have chosen a Word of the Year that serves as my theme for the rest of the year. I have gone as far as to choose a word for the beginning of the new year and one for my birthday to serve as the theme for my next year of life. Having a Word of the Year has been a great way to set my intentions for the New Year. It allows me to focus on creating positive change surrounding that particular word. Throughout the year I strive to make every one of my actions, my decisions, my goals, and my dreams, mirror my Word of the Year.
Through trial and error, I know that the first step to creating or achieving anything you want is to be self-aware and very specific about your intentions. Having a Word of the Year sets you on the right path and pushes you to make sure everything aligns with one another. It’s a constant gentle reminder guiding you to your next level of greatness.
How to Choose Your Word of the Year:
Reflect. On a piece of paper or in your journal, reflect on the past year. Write down all the things that went well, your accomplishments, your happy thoughts; all the things that you may need to work on, where you fell short. Then after, ask yourself questions like:
What areas do I need help in?
What are some things I can change?
How do I want to feel each day? A year from now?
What characteristics would I like to embody?
Answering these questions will point you in the right direction of how to move forward and being able to visualize areas that may need some change.
Make a Word List. Spend a few minutes writing down all the words that come to mind. Words that feel good to you; words that you won’t mind seeing every day for the next year. A few of my past Words have been:
Abundance
Love
Surrender
Focus
Discipline
Consistency
*Feel free to use any of them*
Write Down Your Goals. Write down any goals or resolutions you may have made and review them to see if you have a similar theme amongst them. For example, if most of your goals revolve around finances, a good word for you may be Abundance or Stewardship.
Review. Review your list of words and narrow down your favorite ones. Maybe one will speak to you or maybe three. Choose the one that best aligns with your goals and how you want to feel for the year.
Don’t Overthink It. Seriously, please don’t. There’s nothing worse than choosing a Word of the Year that doesn’t resonate with you or feels forced. Your Word of the Year is to uplift and encourage you, not to beat you down or stifle your progression.
I encourage you to pray and even fast during this process. There’s nothing better than having the Lord lead you to your Word.
Praying that this year is full of abundance, discipline, consistency, motivation, focus, overflow, and any great word you choose.
Have you chosen your Word of the Year? Do you plan to choose one? Let me know in the comments.
Forever In Awe,
C. Yejide