word of the year
This year was a beautiful paradox. 2020 was the alarm waking us up after a deep sleep. One of those blaring horrible sirens that make you wake up in a tizzy with your hair standing up straight. Within each of us, it arose layers of anguish, hurt, love and beauty that wasn’t visible before. We woke up disheveled, panicked and exposed. We’re awake now, but feeling a little lost, a little groggy, and definitely ready for our lives to return to normal. Where do we go from here?
Take a sec to commend yourself for who you are. Your body supported you through a global pandemic. The fact you even opened this article means you are a person who is curious and eager for transformation — in your life, or the lives of others. I’m guessing you already have a list somewhere of the things you want to accomplish in 2021; or in previous years, you’ve plunged into the New Year with a list of resolutions, a.k.a things-you-think-will-create-a-“better”-version-of-you. Here’s the thing. 2020 exposed many revelations, and brought life shifts for each of us. I’m exposing one more concept you probably already know: New Year’s Resolutions… Never. Yield. Results. They just don’t.
Why resolutions alone never worked for me:
A sampling of my resolutions for 2018 were as follows: stop working so much, exercise more, pay off my credit card debt, and make more friends. Sounds great, I guess? But here’s what I missed:
I didn’t explore the reason why I wanted these things.
The list wasn’t motivating, so I wasn’t motivated. It felt like a checklist.
The goals weren’t SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound).
The list made me feel like I needed to accomplish all these things in order to be “enough”.
I “ditched” my resolutions three years ago and started living by one word instead. Back then I was a 24 year-old girl who felt unhealthy all-around; I was in an unhealthy work environment, relationship, and body. I sit here writing this as fulfilled woman; an HR Director at a large company, a small business owner, and a human living with purpose & love. I’m here to share my story and inspire you to transform your life in the way that makes you feel exhilarated each day you wake up.
If you’re looking for radical self transformation, after a radical year, I challenge you to try something radically different to achieve your goals in 2021; evolve your resolutions into just one word, and live by that one word for the entire year.
The “Word of the Year” concept was innovated years ago by Christine Kane. The idea is that by choosing one word to live by, you create behavioral change, therefore creating long-term results. You’ll live by this word, breathe this word, act on this word, feel this word.
This being said, I don’t want you to get rid of your resolutions — yet. From here on out, they’re called “goals”.
Here’s my story:
I spent the last few months of 2018 reflecting on the year prior. I knew I didn’t feel happy, healthy, or present. I was too skinny, shut-off from the outside world, depressed, anxious, and totally not myself. By December 2018, I had a lot goin’ on (or actually not much, really). My then-boyfriend and I broke up, and I was moving out of our apartment. I had plans to move to a new city and start a new job in the new year. Basically, I was heading into complete unknown. I was furiously reading self-help books, underlining quotes that would unlock that one truth that would renew myself and my life. I decided to live by the word “energy” for the coming year.
January 2019, I moved to L.A., a city where I knew not-a-soul, started a new job, newly single, with loads of credit card debt, clothes that were too big, and chronic anxiety at its all time high. I woke up everyday vowing to live with energy, to put energy into everything I did, into every relationship I encountered, and into my own physical and mental well-being. I wanted to leave 2019 healthy physically (put on some weight in a healthy way) & mentally (learn how to deal with my anxiety + depression), pay off thousands of dollars in credit card debt, excel in my career, and more love for myself & others.
It was not a walk-in-the-park, as they say. You’ll know it’s true growth when you have a few growing pains along the way. Mid-year I began experiencing debilitating panic attacks that I hadn’t had in years. During therapy, I sobbed endlessly and realized I had un-processed emotions from years prior that were bursting at the seams inside me. The undiagnosed hypochondriac in me was convinced there was something physically wrong with me that was contributing to my severe weight loss, vertigo, and panic. Countless doctor’s appointments proved me wrong. I had very little material things; I had left a majority of my furniture in my past moves, and buying more than a bed would push me further into credit card debt. I faltered a few times and projected myself further into debt with some missteps from the past that came back to haunt me. But, I saved, saved, saved and reconfigured my income wherever I could, and somehow paid it all off with zero loans. Ya get the gist; it was hard work. I put energy into my grieving process and hired a therapist to get to the root of my anxiety. I paid attention to what food and exercise gave me energy. I let go of the relationships in my life that brought me negative energy. I think you get the memo.
Here’s the good news; by the end of 2019, I had blossomed. I received a promotion within 9 months and increased my income by 30%. I met people who are now family. I paid off all my credit card debt. I became spiritually connected again. I learned how to embrace my anxiety so it didn’t take over my life. I felt pure happiness and joy that I hadn’t felt in years. The person in the mirror looked different, too. I saw someone I hadn’t recognized before. I looked prettier, healthier, and happier. My acne cleared up and my hair was stronger and more playful. I was still skinny, but more fit. On the last day of 2019, I felt joyful, radiant, and energetic.
The key I had been missing was to really tune into myself, my environment, and what life was placing in front of me. Instead of focusing on all my end goals, I focused on living each day as an energetic person.
All you have to do is choose one word to live by for the entire year. Here’s how it works:
The process is fun and simple. Take some quiet time to yourself over the next couple weeks to reflect. There is no one method to choosing your word, so here are a few. Have some fun with this.
List your goals, and make them specific. You can list as many goals as you want. They should look something like this:
Finish writing 5 chapters for the book I want to publish by June.
Find 10 recipes and learn to cook them for my new vegetarian diet.
Here is a sampling of questions to get your mindfulness sesh started:
How do I want to feel?
Who do I want to be?
How do I want to serve others?
What are some of the things I want to accomplish? Why?
Journal. Gab endlessly on the page. Pay attention to the words or phrases that start to come into you.
If you know what you’re working to achieve, and have a word at the tip of your tongue, check out a list of adjectives to spark some ideas.
Invite some friends to also choose a word of the year. They can help you brainstorm.
To help get your brain’s wheels a-turnin, here’s a list of words that my friends and family have picked for 2021…
Align, embodiment, power, courage, fuck-it, yes, intentional, go for it, rich, can you catch me, ballsy, balanced. Remember: This is your word.
Your end result should be one word, or a short phrase. When you hear/see/think this word, it should make your heart race and your face smile. You’ll feel a sense of peace and serenity come over you when you’ve got it. Choose a word that will uplift you so much everyday that you can’t help but spread your light to others.
Think about your word everyday this coming year in the way that resonates with you. If you’re visual, draw a picture of your word in big bubble letters and hang it on your bedroom wall. If you’re bold, get the word tattooed on your pinky finger. Or write it on your wrist every once in a while. If you’re reflective, write journal entries about all the ways your word has enhanced your life. If you’re forgetful, add a note to your alarm so it’s the first word you see in the morning. The point is to tune into your mind in a way that resonates most with you and remember to live by that word.
Let me share a few examples to help you incorporate your word into your day-to-day by going back to my first ever word, “energy”.
When you’re at the grocery store, ask yourself “What foods will give me the most energy this week?”
After a long day, ask yourself “What drained my energy today and is leaving me feeling exhausted & uninspired?”
When you’re in a stupid argument with someone you love, I ask yourself “Is this worth my energy? Where can I channel my energy instead?”
Take mental inventory of your energy levels after work-outs, activities, interacting with people
Energetically tell yourself “fuck it” when you need to binge watch netflix and eat a large pizza
Instead of focusing in the specifics, you’ll learn to live at the vibration of what you want to manifest. And through that, you’ll hit your goals and transform your life.
And now the real journey begins…
The most important thing is to just… live. I promise you will reach those goals you set by living through that one word. You’ll also increase your overall mindfulness, happiness, connection with others, and you’ll leave 2021 feeling like a beautiful version of who you already are.
Here we go!!!
