Oh, you don't have one?
Don't need one?
It's silly, right?
What's a word going to do for you?
Let's talk about it!
First things first: Happy 2021! Sometimes I'm surprised I made it through. But here we are, staring down another year that seems to be starting out as overwhelming as the one we just left behind.
But to me, a new year feels like a fresh start. A blank canvas, ready for me to spill colors across its surface. Even though the world is caught up in perpetual turmoil, I'm excited to see what I'm going to do with myself.
I have some big plans for 2021, so I knew I had to find a way to stay motivated.
Enter my word of the year. This is actually the second year in a row that I chose a word to focus on, and last year's, ironically, was 'Forward'. How foretelling is that? I took that into consideration when I sat down to reflect this time.
What exactly is a 'word of the year', you ask? And why is it important?
Much like a resolution, it's a word you choose to, for lack of a better word, define your year. What goals do you have for the upcoming year? What do you want to give your precious time and attention to? Do you merely want to survive? Or do you want to make an impact in some area of your life or someone else’s?
This is important to those who don't want to wander aimlessly through another year and wonder how it got away from them. P.S. If you're here, I don't think this person is you. In order to arrive at a destination you've never been to before, you need to build a map to guide your way, right?
I didn't set any resolutions this New Year, and though I believe that having direction for this blank slate is vital, my word this time is resolution enough.
The next few months are bringing with them some major changes in my life, and in order to manifest them, I need to focus and stand strong, no matter what, or who, is coming my way.
Have you figured out what my word is?
If you guessed 'Manifest', you're correct!
I chose this because it means to make clear; to bring to life. If I am going to achieve my goals, I need to see them clearly in my head in order to make them a reality.
I love this tradition and the focus it brings me, and if you give it a try, I hope you love it as well!
Here's a few simple steps to come up with your own word of the year and crush your goals!
Reflect on the previous year and decide what it is you want to accomplish in the not so distant future. Think about what worked for you and what worked against you. Write it out, meditate on it, or talk it through with someone who is in alignment with your goals.
Make a list of positive words, or words that just make you feel good. This link has a giant list! To give you an idea, my options for this year were 'create', 'manifest', and 'visualize'. They all work together, but....
Choose one that best describes your goals. The word 'manifest' combines creating and visualizing and makes it into a reality, and I'm not exactly going for a frame of mind here. I want tangible results, and I don't want to wonder if I'm doing it right.
Once you have your word, it is absolutely mandatory that you incorporate it into your daily life. Write it on a post-it and hang it on your bathroom mirror, journal about it, start your planner with it, or create a vision board. I design a vision board at the beginning of each new year, and I have it set up alongside my bed so that it's the first thing I see every morning.(See below).
Check in with yourself regularly. Is it still important to you after a week? A month? Three months? Don't be afraid to adjust accordingly. This is your year and you make it what you want it to be.
If you're wondering if this actually works, let me just tell you....choosing the word 'Forward' in 2020 was exactly the word I needed to get through that disaster of a year. I kept reminding myself that in order to make it out the other side, I needed to keep moving forward. And here we are. That's proof enough for me.
Tell me if you do this yourself, or if you're going to give it a try! I'd love to hear about your New Year traditions! And keep in mind....creating a specified focus is a major way to show yourself love. I look forward to hearing from you!
Happy creating!