Why and How I Choose One Word for the New Year
My One Word for the New Year 2021
I’ve been choosing One Word for the New Year for almost 10 years. I first discovered OWNY back in 2012. And I tell you, it was so freeing the minute I found my word.
Instead of a list of vague resolutions – eat healthy, exercise more, plan more meals, stress less – I had a word to guide me through the year.
My first word was Now. I was in a season where I felt called to act, to do some of the things I had put off as a busy mom.
The next year, my word was Change. That’s when I realized my word had a way of finding me. As a committed change-resistor, I would never choose that word. It found me and challenged me to accept and even embrace the change that was inevitable – a home becoming only a part-time base to my grown children; a marriage relationship shifting without the glue of raising children; a career I was freer and more challenged to pursue.
In subsequent years, my One Word has been Push, God, Release, Soar, Enough, and last year, Metanoia – meaning deep and/or spiritual growth.
Before I move onto the next year, I like to take a look back. Where and how has my Word shown up, influenced me, challenged me, guided me? Metanoia was big, unfamiliar, and a little lofty. But I knew it was my Word for the Year as soon as I heard it.
As I look back and ponder Metanoia, a few threads of transformation and depth strike me…
The pandemic has required a deeper level of dependence on God. I had no choice but to go deeper in my faith. At one point, we faced financial strain with a temporary slowdown, my mom passed away in April, so much uncertainty drew me closer to the One who is certain.
Having adult daughters back in the nest has been unexpected, wonderful, and challenging. I would not trade this time for anything. I could never have anticipated it. However, having my 32- and 26-year-old daughters mostly on the home front since March has required relational and self-examination. We’ve had to shake off some old patterns and habits. We’ve forged more adult relationships with better boundaries (not my forte) than ever before. Honestly, having my daughters here has been an adventure I’ll forever be grateful for.
In a very literal way, I have been physically transformed with a replacement hip. No longer simply made of human parts, I am now a bionic woman! I fought this surgery until I was unable to walk without a great deal of pain. I was frankly terrified. Now, I’m recovering…and I’m just starting to feel what others who’ve gone before me have promised – much better than before the surgery.
Turns out Metanoia was the perfect Word!!
Now it’s onto my Word for 2021. I’ve found it…or as I’ve said earlier, it’s found me. My Word is Initiate. I’m not resisting this one. I know it’s time. Many things have stopped me from initiating ( by definition - to cause or facilitate the beginning of). Related words are launching, innovating, originating. I am a big idea person. I love imagining books I’ll write, coaching programs I’ll develop, projects I’ll take on. When it comes to actually starting and doing, fear takes over. Fear of failure, success, rejection. A sense of unworthiness, not enoughness. I can push through and I often do.
But claiming this word Initiate has power. I know God is in it because I always seek God as I consider my One Word. My approach is always prayerful. I have plans this year to offer a coaching program I’ve been thinking about for years. This year, I will go beyond planning to beginning and launching. The plan will come to fruition.
One of the ways I’ll keep this Word top of mind is to make a Vision Board that sits on my desk where I can see it every day. These boards I once viewed simply as fun, colorful, and a little overwhelming, have become a way for me to articulate my dreams, hopes, and plans for the coming year. You can be sure Initiate will be front and center.
How do you approach a New Year? Do you have One Word? Do you do a Vision Board? How do you make your thoughts, dreams, visions become a reality?
If you haven’t found a Word but would like to, watch my mini-workshop here. Click here to get my One Word How-To worksheet. And if you want to commit to you through the power of a Vision Board, sign up for my Virtual Vision Boarding Workshop below. I’d love to see you there!!