Creating a Word of the Year
January is a month that creates space to pause, reflect, and create. In doing so, our team loves to choose a “word of the year”.
Maybe you’ve heard of people doing this before and have wanted to create one yourself, or maybe this is an annual tradition for you too! Either way, we’d love to help you determine a word for your 2021.
Wanna hear a fun fact? Did you know this tradition of creating your own word of the year has been going on for quite some time? We checked into it and it turns out it’s been a German tradition since 1971. We’ve seen many different interpretations of creating a word of the year…some do it as reflection of the year, some choose a word as a theme, and others use it as a platform to write their goals.
For us, we use a ‘word of a year’ that represents a theme or vibe for the year. It’s something we want to live into more fully in the new year.
Before we take a look forward, here’s a peek at our team’s 2020 words of the year.
Amanda:
Real- being honest and unapologetically herself
Robin:
Strength- physically & mentally strong (including something as simple as opening a jar of pickles)
Nicole:
Health- being healthy and whole in mind, body and spirit
Morgan:
Beloved- knowing her identity as being fully known and loved
There are so many different ways to select a word of the year, but for us, we like to choose something resonating with us right now that we want more of in the next year. This often means it’s something we are hearing in a podcast, in books, or just something we are just naturally gravitating towards.
Here are some practical ways to create your word of the year!
Look for themes…write down 20 things that make you COME ALIVE. Things that make you feel most like yourself. Do any of those words create a spark?
Get inspired….where do you do your best dreaming & creating? Spend some time there- nature, listening to music, watching an encouraging message, etc. Sometimes there’s a word that just keeps coming up & resonating.
Pray about it….sometimes we just need to lift it up! God has a way of revealing a word, if we are willing to listen & it will always be encouraging.
These are just a few thought starters, as always words ebb and flow. Just like our purpose- we aren’t stagnant, so give yourself grace to pick a word and then adapt, recreate, get more specific or even change the word all together! Creativity is not meant to be rigid, so let’s have some fun.
Much love & happy creating!
