When the ball drops on a new year, are you for making new year’s resolutions or very much against starting your calendar year with a to-do list? I have been both. I used to set very ambitious new year’s resolutions and then abandon them by February. I guess I’ll lose 10 lbs next year! With nothing to show for these resolutions, I left them behind, going many years not listing anything I wanted to accomplish in the new year.
A few years ago though, I learned some people chose a “word of the year” to inspire them in the new year, and I loved that idea! I quickly came up with my own word for the upcoming year and tailored a list of things I wanted to accomplish around that theme. This time though the list did not include “lose 10 lbs” or even anything super strict, it was meant to be a way to bring excitement into the future (ok, so I have added “floss more” to a few past years’ lists, which is not at all exciting except to maybe my dental hygienist who told me last visit I was the poster child for flossing. ::beams with pride::).
I try to not be hard on myself with any list of things I want to accomplish in a new year. Some years I get a lot done; others not so much. I like to refer back to my list throughout the year to see how things are going, so I create a journal each year to go with the word of the year. It’s a fun way to be creative at the beginning of a year and throughout it. It also makes it easy to do an end of year review!
I never tell anyone what my word of the year is until the end of December, usually with a social media post. I like that it is a secret for only me to know until the end. This past year my word was “shine.” The end of 2024 was brutal. Actually the entire year was a series of non-stop hits that left me at the end battered, bruised, and in a really dark place. For 2025 I wanted something a bit hopeful, but I also realized things were probably still not going to be great. I liked the idea of finding a light to shine in the darkness. The song that immediately came to my mind was Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and so I found my anthem for the year- “shine bright like a diamond.” (You can read about my love of music in September 2025’s Musing “Music of my Heart”).
When choosing a word of the year, I always like to relate it to what is going on in my life. My 2023 word was “discover” because I wanted to venture out and about the city of Detroit. I made a goal to visit one new spot every month and I did! I bought my house at the end of 2021, whose word of the year was “move” and dedicated 2022 to “create” with all the home improvement I needed to do.
The word of the year though that still makes me chuckle is the word for 2020. The year the COVID pandemic started and we were under lockdown. What was my word for that year? The word I selected in December 2019? Yeah, it was “home.” When I selected it, I had no idea I would be stuck at home for over a year! This is why I try to be even more intentional with my word selection.
On New Year’s Day, I started my 2026 journal with my word of the year. I created a list of things I’d like to accomplish this year- some fun, others not so much. I don’t know what the year has in store for me. But I hope it’s better than I imagine it will be.
Tell me, do you make new year’s resolutions? Or have a word of the year? Let me know below!