Do you do the word of the year thing?
Despite doing it for a few years, it still feels relatively new to me. I love the concept of having one word of focus, something to help guide you in your decisions and actions throughout the year.
I think I learned of having a word of the year when I first used Lara Casey’s PowerSheets in 2016. Since then I’ve done great having a word and also not so great. For example, I have no idea what word I chose in 2020. Like my goals for last year, it went out the window pretty quick. I think that’s part of the reason why choosing a word and staying focused on it for this year means so much to me.
So how do you choose a word of the year? I’m sure you could Google the phrase and find various ways to go about it. Here’s my process for picking a word.
- First, I take a close look at my life and assess the different areas. This is something I learned from Chalene Johnson and that I incorporate when I am working on my goals. I examine my life from different points (like physical health, relationships, career, etc.), identify the areas that need the most work, and then choose the three most important to me.
- With those three in mind, I think about any way they might be connected. For instance, if my areas are family, career, and financial, career and financial go together.
- From there, I think about words that could apply to those areas. A word like grow or develop might be a good choice if I need to increase or better myself in the career and financial areas.
- Then I pray about it. Because I am a person of faith, talking to God about it, asking for His direction is important. I usually meditate on the areas and associated words for a day or two. During that time, one word, sometimes two, will rise to top of mind. When that happens, I know that’s the one.
Once I have my word I like to keep it present in my life. Just like your goals, if you don’t look at something every day, it’s easy for that to slip out of mind. When you know your word(s), write it on your bathroom mirror. Put it on a sticky note in your car and at your desk. Put little reminders of it anywhere and everywhere you are daily. I even have a lock screen on my phone with my word.
So what’s my word?
I wouldn’t categorize myself as a disciplined person overall. Throughout my life, there have been certain areas where I have been able to cultivate and maintain discipline. These are things like having a quiet time/Bible study daily, working out regularly, and staying organized. 2020, with all its troubles, put a big dent in my discipline, even those areas where I had done well with discipline before. It didn’t take much looking into my life to realize discipline would be my word.
One other thing I do when I pick a word is look up the definition(s). So many words have various meanings and uses, particularly if they have both a noun and verb use. For instance, my podcast partner and friend, Cherie, has calm as one of her words. If you didn’t know her, you may think she has chosen that word because she needs to calm down when in actuality it’s because she wants to bring a sense of calm into her environment.
Looking up the definition of words can be extremely helpful, especially if you have multiple words you are choosing between. For my purpose this year, I’m using the following Merriam-Webster definition of discipline:
a training that corrects, molds, or perfects mental faculties or moral character
Can you have more than one word? Sure! My friend Barb always seems to have several words. Sometimes they go together and sometimes not. And that’s ok. It’s all about you and the words you feel can bring more life to your life this year. I do caution you to try and not have more than three to five. Don’t have so many words that you stress yourself out!
Whatever process you use, it only matters if it helps you in discovering your word(s) for the year. There are no rules or regulations. It’s completely personal to you.
Back to my original question, do you choose a word every year? If so, I’d love to know which word will be your focus in 2021.