what's your
WORD?
I
BY SCOTT ANDERSON
t’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s time to gather with family and friends, and maybe a little eggnog, and reflect on all we’ve been through this year. And man, have we been through some stuff.
But the excitement of the season doesn’t stop there. This not only is a time for love and laughter, but as we look ahead to 2022, it is a time for hope and wonder as well.
This is the time of year when people resolve to reinvent themselves in the new year by losing weight, reading books or saving money. Be honest… you’ve already shopped around for a gym membership and subscribed to three YouTube channels that promise to teach you to be a better cook come Jan. 1. Before you break out the legal pad and make that list of life-changing resolutions that you will just set aside and lose by Valentine’s Day anyway, let’s propose a simpler solution. One word. Yep. What if you synthesized all your thoughts and dreams for the coming year into a single word? Not a motto, or a slogan. More like the foundation you will build upon for the year.
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Let’s face it, resolutions almost always wind up being a long list of self-imposed sanctions and limitations. But a precisely chosen word, in its minimalism, opens the mind, and life, to possibilities. Look at it this way: which would you rather tell yourself on New Year’s Day, “Don’t eat cake,” or “Explore.” Psychology Today identified four reasons many New Year’s resolutions fail. In a nutshell, the study found people lack clarity in setting resolutions, they get overwhelmed by the resolutions, they get discouraged and sometimes, they just aren’t ready for all that change. Resolutions become walls that we erect around ourselves, establishing limits. Build enough of them, and you begin to feel confined by them. No wonder many people get discouraged and quit. But a single word is a launching pad. It gives you something to stand on but allows for freedom and flexibility on the journey. Elizabeth Dhokia is a writer and the host of the podcast “The Good Life Unravelled.” She says that a word for the year is a kinder, gentler way to grow than resolutions. It provides guidance and focus and takes the focus off succeeding or failing.
