5 Guiding Questions to Choose Your Word of the Year

I love January- it has such a sparkly sense of newness to me as the calendar year turns. I’ve always felt inspired to reflect on the past year and plan to make changes in the new year, but I haven’t always been so successful at setting realistic goals. I love Live Your Legend’s Goal Setting & Action Workbook, and I’ve used it for years. It’s wonderfully extensive and really guides you in evaluating your growth in the previous year as well as exploring your hopes for the coming year- I highly recommend it! I have found, however, that trying to hold up to 16 goals in mind for the coming year is simply unrealistic for me. I have spent many December 31sts feeling disappointed and embarrassed at how short I fell to meeting my ambitions.

That all shifted when I started choosing a word of the year to anchor the changes I seek to make, similar to setting an intention for the year. I have found that it’s so much easier for me to stay grounded in the changes I’m pursuing with an overarching theme to keep coming back to throughout the year, regardless of what unexpected events occur.

This year, I’ve chosen an unusual word: permission. My intention this year is to focus on areas in my life where I want to give myself permission to show up differently and to create the changes my heart dreams of. Now that I’ve shared my word, I want to share 5 guiding questions to ask yourself when choosing your word of the year. Find a quiet space to settle in, perhaps with your journal or several sheets of paper, and reflect on these questions:

One: What was missing from your life from last year?

First, spend some time reflecting on the previous year, taking stock of everything that filled your bucket and what took some scoops out of it. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three, writing all the things that you were fulfilled by in one column, and all the things that were draining in the middle column. Then pause to make space to celebrate the positives and your growth from last year. After celebrating, look carefully at both columns and write down what was missing from your year in the third column. Were there some unfulfilled goals from the previous year? Is there something you came to realize was important throughout the year that you’d like to make space for in the coming year?

“Light tomorrow with today.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Two: What are you needing more of/less of in this coming year?

This can complement thinking about what was missing, especially in terms of thinking about what you’re needing more of. When I contemplated this in the past, I used to immediately get direct answers from my ego, like more money or a new thing, but now that I can sit with myself longer and my ego can give permission to step aside, I hear things like more time to be present, more time to rest intentionally, more connection and community, and more space to feel my feelings. See if you can challenge yourself to hear what your heart wants more of instead of what the collective tells you you need more of through advertisements.

Along with that, listen for what you need less of. A few years ago when I hurt my back, I was working three jobs that required a lot of presence and energy. It wasn’t healthy and I wasn’t able to be present because I was stretched way too thin. My ego still said I needed more money then and I couldn’t hear past it that I needed a reduced work schedule and less scheduled time… until I spent a week in bed because I couldn’t move. I’ve learned to listen better to the more subtle needs of my body, mind, and heart so that I can respond without any of the three going to drastic measures again to get my attention.

Maybe your inner resources will ask for less time spent watching tv or with friends who don’t fill your bucket, or less junk food. Sometimes, it can be easier to know what we don’t want or what we need less of, than to know what we actually need in place of it. Use that as a starting point.

Three: What inspired you this past year?

My word for 2022 was strongly influenced by what inspired me this past year. I’m really big on tracking little sparks of inspiration, both those that come from others, and my own. In fact, I have a blog series where I share what inspired me in the past week. Tracking what inspires you can help to keep you motivated and engaged in your goals and intentions, as well as keep you engaged as a lifelong learner. In fact, it’s part of the Live Your Legend Weekly Planning Workbook to help you implement and track your progress for your goals.

And just to close the loop on what inspired my word, Brene Brown talks about the idea of giving herself permission to show up the way she wants in Braving the Wilderness. If you have any interest in living authentically, I highly recommend the book.

So, pause and take stock of what inspired you this past year. Go back through your pins on Pinterest, photos of random things on your phone, and what you saved on Instagram and see what makes your heart sing.

Four: How do you want to show up in the world?

There are a lot of things that we don’t get to choose in life, try as we might. One thing we can learn to choose is how we show up in life. If you’re new here, I know this might be difficult to imagine, but one of the most important meaningful bits of life is intentionality. Living more intentionally happens over time by focusing on just one small thing to shift at a time. Sometimes life forces change upon us in a rush, but many times, we have the opportunity to make change day in and day out through small consistent choices.

This question can be helpful to break down the changes you’d like to make into manageable chunks. For example, if you want to show up as calm, start a list of things that help you to feel calm and make time to do them everyday. Maybe you hope to show up in the world unapologetically. Make a list of all the ways and places you already feel confident, genuine, and authentic, and choose to engage in these on a daily basis.

Five: What do you want to cultivate in your life?

If none of the other questions have sparked some ideas for you yet, settle in for a moment. Orient yourself to your space with a body scan, progressive muscle relaxation, or with 54321. Then, take some deep breaths in through your nose, and out through your mouth and close your eyes or look down at your lap. Imagine your next year of life. Pay attention to how it looks and feels.

Let your imagination guide you to your word of the year by envisioning your future and choosing to embody it.

What next?

If several words come up for you from these questions, you’ve got your options to choose from. Getting clear about your goals and intentions for the next year can help narrow down the options to pick your one word.

Once you’ve chosen your word, put it somewhere in you line of sight on a regular basis. I used to like putting my word on the bathroom mirror, so I’d see it first thing in the morning. One year I chose a color for my word, and I put little post-its of that color everywhere I could think of. This year, I’m writing in my journal regularly about what I give myself permission for. Figure out what suits you and put your word of the year in action!