The idea of determining a personal word of the year to serve as inspiration for the next months has gained popularity over the last few years.
Don’t just let this be something to do, a page to add to your journal; instead let this set the course for the year ahead.
Your word, chosen correctly, becomes your mission statement, your mantra, your focus for the days to come.
If you approach this thoughtfully, this word, your word can be something to lean into, something that can hold you up and encourage you to carry on. The scripture says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God… and the Word became Flesh and dwelled among men.” This encapsulates the story of ultimate manifestation, it starts as a seed, an idea, a dream and as we allow it to grow in us and in our conscious minds, a guiding force, until ultimately it becomes who we are.
How do you choose your word of the year?
For me the process of choosing my word has become a bit of a ritual of self-reflection and self-projection. It requires a warm bath, perhaps some candle light. It requires a journal and black pen, and some quiet time, and perhaps a little music.
This exercise requires us to go inward, and think about a word that encapsulates our desire for ourselves for the next twelve months. There are lots of great words, but the word you choose needs to resonate with your being. It is not just a word, it is to be your word.
The last few years have been the most difficult many of us have ever faced, many suffered tremendous loss, and heartbreak. Perhaps your word needs to reflect some aspect of self-care:
Nurture Parent Serenity Resilience
Nourish Comfort Quiet Well-being
Sustain Grace Contentment Compassion
Gentleness Care Gratitude Patience
Preserve Calm Allow Survive
Perhaps as you look forward to the year ahead you see completion to unfinished projects, you want to propel yourself into a life of personal success and artistry.
Create Manifest Intention Power
Believe Hope Beauty Strength
Achieve Confidence Expect Victory
Imagine Success Thrive Plenty
Dream Trust Achieve Strive
Check out Pinterest for other ideas, there are so many choices. As you go through the lists, there will be something that jumps out at you, an affirmation of something deep within that will resonate with your choice.
Do you publish it widely or hold it close to the heart?
Of course, this is ultimately up to you. Some people believe that certain ideas lose power when they are shared with the world. That they are more powerful when allowed to incubate in secret. You may want to sit with it for a while.
I love to create rituals to mark things of significance. You could create a piece of art around your word, either with paints or pens or computer software. Laminate it and hang it in your office. You could write the word and your intentions and burn them over a flame, sending them into the universe, you could paint it on a rock that you would keep in your change purse or pocket as a talisman, a reminder of what you want to embody this year.
On the other hand, I have a friend who had the word, “Believe” inked on her wrist. She had this physical reminder of the dream that she set for her future. She has a mindset of determination that she would meet this goal even though the journey is sometimes harder than she expected. Her word has been a source of comfort during hard times, and a source of encouragement and momentum on smoother waters.
