For at least 20 years every January I resolved to exercise regularly, eat more vegetables, focus on one thing at a time and stop being so impatient. That never worked out and by January the following year I felt bad about myself and resolved to do better next year. Sound familiar? It was kind of a ritual, I suppose. But one that wasn’t doing me any good.
So, when I heard about the concept of a Word of the Year (WotY) I jumped at the idea. Because we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results, right? A WotY shakes things up by reducing to the max. You condense your intentions, wishes, goals, and desires for the coming year into one word. Difficult? Perhaps. But constraints make us creative and the challenge of finding just one word to guide you all year, to give you a direction to move towards, can be fun and quite revealing.
It’s not a final goal, not a resolution to check off and that’s what I love about it. It’s a guiding light, a direction to go in but not the actual path to get there – because life happens and we need to be flexible but we also need something to shine for us, to light the way.
How do you find your Word of the Year? I suggest starting with a reflection on the past year. Looking back to enjoy the view – really appreciating how far you’ve come, what might have gone differently and what delighted you about it – before looking forward. Then, to look forward spend time thinking about different aspects of your life. Create a word cloud with everything that comes to mind: new things you’d like to experience, characteristics you’d like to nurture, passion projects you’d like to start, emotions you’re hoping to feel; really anything that comes to mind.
Then re-read all that you’ve written and see what jumps out at you. What words keep repeating? Is there a word that you’ve noticed keeps coming up for you? What is NOT your word? Find the opposite. It can help to sleep on it and see what comes up in the morning, too – one workshop participant went to bed convinced her word was “create” and woke up to realize it was actually “discover”, as her focus needed to be more on the process and less on the outcome. Whatever it is, your word should excite and challenge you, it should feel a little scary and also very much “right”.
Once you have a WotY make notes about how the word will apply to your personal life, your work, your relationships and your self-care. What would successfully using it to guide you look and feel like? My word for 2021 was “health” with a focus on work & personal relationship health. By the end of the year I had grown my network and reconnected with friends and family around the world.
The final step is to use your word. Really let it permeate your life and guide you all year, whatever comes. But how? Well, what makes it easier to get your kids off to school in the morning or to bed at night? Routines & rituals. The same applies for you.
Find ways to remind yourself of your word every day. Hang a picture of your WotY over your desk or use it as a daily journaling prompt. Set a background image on your phone that represents the word for you or group the apps you use most often into a folder and name it your WotY. Maybe a popular song has your word in it. When you hear it think about what it means to you. Make reflection on your word part of your routine while doing other mundane tasks (such as making school lunches). Accountability can also help. Tell friends & family about your word and let them remind and challenge you – a past WotY participant had “imperfection” as her word. Her language teacher reminded her of this all year when she got frustrated with her learning progress. It worked wonders. You could also team up with a friend for a monthly check-in & chat or get a group together.
However you choose to do it, making your WotY part of your daily routines will keep it present in your mind, allowing you to use it in a way that suits you and your life. So next year when you reflect on 2022 you will celebrate how adaptable you were in the face of what happened and rejoice in the many ways your WotY helped keep you focused on what was really important to you. Beyond January.
Anna supports families living an international life and is fiercely passionate about raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities for children growing up abroad. She challenges parents to stop leaving the important stuff to chance and start learning how to support their kids - because they deserve it but also because it's fun for everyone. She also supports and uplifts mothers - as people and as parents. Because a child only needs one caring adult in their life to start blossoming into their potential but we cannot be that one person if we're not whole and complete ourselves.
A Third Culture Kid herself she's raising three of her own kids in a cross-cultural marriage. Born in USA she has lived on four continents over the last 40+ years and is currently back in Germany, where she spent much of her childhood.
Find Anna on www.globalmobilitytrainer.com and as @global_mobility_trainer on Instagram.
If you want support with your WotY, find it here: https://globalmobilitytrainer.com/wordoftheyear2022/