Resolve to have a “word of the year”

If I asked you what your “resolutions” were for 2014, would you remember?

If you made any, did you even write them down?

Did you jot them on a holiday napkin on New Year’s Eve and then someone spilled their drink on it?

If you answered yes to any of the above, I am sure you are not alone.

A new year is a clean slate.  A chance to do things differently.

When the ball drops at midnight, it’s a whole new opportunity to get things right.

But what does “get things right” mean?  We make our “resolutions” an all or nothing proposition.  Our goals are usually way too broad and while we start out with good “intentions”, we unintentionally set ourselves up for failure.

I am guilty of following into this same pattern.  I’ve done it much of my adult life. Making those same resolutions much like my Catholic confessions when I was a kid.  (When you are a grown up can you still talk back to your parents and fight with your sisters? Hmmm…I guess you can.  Anyway, I digress.)

That is, I used to follow that pattern until a few years ago when I discovered a little something called the  “Word of the Year”.

Instead of making general statements about things you will “resolve” to do, you choose a word that has meaning to you.

One that signifies what you want, contains an energy and brings images to your mind.

For example, this year my word was consistent.  I have been consistently inconsistent in the past and this year, I wanted to make a change.  Instead of resolving to “write a blog” every week (which when you are not in the mood to write, can be a torturous task), I just needed to be consistent.  I decide what “consistent” looks like.  It took me a few months to get in the groove and it might not be every Wednesday at noon but it’s weekly and  I can say that’s consistent.

Your word can bring you back to the vision of what you actually want and you can use it when you have to make a choice or decision about something.

If your word is “healthy” and you are at fast food drive thru at lunch time where they are kind enough to give you the caloric breakdown of your options, and you can smell the french fries yet you recall that your word of the year is “healthy”, do you order the giant sandwich meal and super-size the fries or do you select the salad with grilled chicken?  Hopefully, referring to your word will bring you back to your senses and you will make a good choice.

You can also have a “theme”.  A few years ago, my friend Grete’s theme was to “put herself out there”.  She wrote a book and her goal was to become a published author.  Putting herself out there was stepping out of her comfort zone but every time she came upon an opportunity or had to decide whether or not to do something, she referred back to her “theme”.  Would doing it help her to put herself out there?  It worked.  By the end of the year, her book was published and she had done many things she might not have tried if she hadn’t created a powerful theme for her year.

You’ve “heard” me say again and again that it’s all about baby steps and building momentum. Setting a “word of the year” and referring back to it is that baby step that can help you transform your habits and your life.

Let’s start a new, positive trend.

Let’s choose a “word of the year”!

Share your word for 2015 in the comments below.  I’m excited to see what we can create!

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