The first time I chose a word of the year I was just going through the motions of what social media told me to do. I don't remember the first few words I chose and I'm sure they didn't get me very far.... but I don't regret following this trend because eventually something clicked! I hope my experience with a Word of the Year inspires you to give it a try or deepens the way you use your word. Don’t have a word? You can borrow one of mine from this post! Don’t forget to download the free coloring sheets for each word listed here, plus bonus words submitted by friends, just like you!
The first word of the year I DO remember choosing was "GRIT." A definition of grit is, "perseverance and passion for long term goals." I truly loved the idea of living by this definition but it was just an empty goal and a random word from a sources outside of myself. Luckily, this was the year I started remembering ME. Once I realized the harsh truth of how superficial my approach to this whole trend was, my word of the year became several words that set me on a life changing trajectory. What was the goal I had so much perseverance and passion for, anyway?!
Originally, it was to make a lot of sales, rank up in the Network Marketing world and bring in a ton of money. That's literally not me at all, but I had no idea who I was anymore! It seemed like I should put my perseverance and passion towards figuring that out. If you’re feeling lost or unsure of yourself, maybe you can give my version of GRIT a try, for your word of the year.
G- Gratitude
R- Resilience
I - Intention
T- Truth
Every day I started journaling:
1 thing I was GRATEFUL for.
1 example of how I had recently demonstrated RESILIENCE OR one thing happening that I needed to practice resilience to overcome.
1 thing I would be INTENTIONAL about for the day (sometimes this was for the week or month even). Annnd....
1 hard TRUTH that I needed to face.
All of these words were super important in the grand scheme of things but TRUTH really started to run me over as if I was hit by a semi truck...and lived. I survived but definitely wasn't thriving.
The truth was, I had been living in survival mode with no idea I was in it. There was absolutely no reason for this anymore. My life has been seriously amazing for over 7 years- It was time to shift my mindset to match my current reality. Journaling helped me see so much of what I had blocked out from my conscious memory or just turned away from. At that point I added a second word for my own personal New Year- My Birthday!!! That word was HEAL.
(My birthday is in August so this is a reminder that you don’t have to wait until January 1st to try this out. And if it's way past January- No Problem!)
Finding my truth made me want to face it head on.
I was ready to heal the metaphoric wounds and to do so I was going to focus on 4 things:
H- Help
E- Eliminate Excuses
A- Appreciation
L- Listen
If you feel this word resonates with you, here are some example of how you can use it.
I didn’t turn HEAL into a daily journal prompt but it played a major role in the development of the Moonlit Living Moon Journal. Instead, I was very intentional about checking in with my word on a regular basis.
HELP- ask for it when you need it, give it when you can.
Rather than proving I could handle everything on my own, I actually started asking for help (gasp!) If you’ve been in survival mode, you know you can handle everything on your own, technically…. But you don’t have to, especially when you're current reality is full of people who actually want to help you! With other situations I would ask, Can I help and do I have the time and energy to put towards this? Is it mine to take on- if it was something I could help with, I did. If it was reciprocating help I had previously gotten from someone else, I did. However, I was also mindful of my time, energy and of people who have a history taking advantage.
Are you an"I got this," person? Try asking for help with something and
think of it as allowing another person the opportunity to feel good about helping you!
ELIMINATE EXCUSES
I got real with myself and was honest about excuses. By recognizing the excuses I had made for myself I was able to create ways to eliminate them! Excuses on why I couldn't do something. Excuses on why I was waiting to start a project. Excuses, excuses, excuses… We all make them. The first step to eliminate them is to recognize them for what they are.
Try starting a list for every time you make an excuse for yourself. You might see a pattern!
APPRECIATION
In every situation, “good” or “bad”- I did my best to appreciate the lesson I was given. Sometimes it’s hard to see the silver lining and sometimes we take the mundane and even the exciting, for granted. Try looking at situations as if nothing is good or bad, nothing is right or wrong. Instead look at each one as a life lesson to appreciate.
Then move forward remembering the lesson and practicing what you learned.
LISTEN
I did my best to make sure decisions were made by listening to myself first. I looked at my own situations and formed my own opinions on things. I understand that when people give advice or try to make you agree with their perspective, they usually mean well, and that might be the right thing for them- but I also understand that no one has the exact same life experience as me. Other people can’t know all of the things I need to take into consideration from my own life experiences. When it comes down to it, we can’t know ourselves either if we don’t silence the outer noise and listen to ourselves sometimes.
I also started listening to other people in more intentional way. While some people do mean well, I had to admit that some people really do not! I started to listen to what people said or didn’t say from an observer perspective, instead of taking things personal. Did people mean well or were they looking for a reaction from me?
Listening allowed me to respond instead of react in so many instances!
You know what’s best for you!
Trust yourself, it might be hard at first but it comes naturally with practice over time.
Once I began to heal, which is a never ending process-
I stepped out of survival mode and I wanted to really, live!
You guessed it, the next word of the year was LIVE!
If you’ve been in survival mode and you don’t need to be there anymore, this might be the word of the year for you!
L- Laugh
I- Inspire
V- Voice
E- Experience
There’s no time for laughing when you’re in survival mode! (unless it's a coping mechanism and its just another wound you’re covering up).
I was ready to lighten up, LAUGH at mistakes, have fun instead of exist in constant worry.
I noticed so many other people just surviving and I wanted to inspire them to LIVE too! How could I do that if I was avoiding drawing any attention to myself and afraid of being judged? I knew I needed to start using my VOICE to speak up for myself if I was ever going to do anything meaningful. I also needed to get out of my head and into the world to have experiences! EXPERIENCE, to me was a wide range of things like, going to new places, talking to people, literally just getting out of my house some days…. If someone asked me if I wanted to do something I would usually say no, I didn’t want to try new things, I didn’t want to step away from my safety net, I didn’t want to look silly… I reminded myself that it was important to have all kinds of experiences in life. That is how we evolve!
Now that I’ve been practicing how to live, I want to PLAY!
My word for 2022 is PLAY.
I want to play with possible outcomes.
I want to play with ideas.
I’m a mom, a homeschooling mom at that. I subscribe to the belief that kids learn best through play- and we all have an inner child, right? So let’s play this year!
I want to know what you would make the letters in play stand for if
it was your word of the year!
Tell me!
If you picked your own word of the year or are using one I have listed,
please share it with me!
Want to know what the letters in play represent for me and how I plan to use it?
Get on the mailing list so you can be notified when part 2 of WOTY is posted!
To have your word turned into a coloring sheet included in the part 2 post
Send an email to Nikki@2keo.com by Jan 24, 2022
(Coming for the Lunar New Year on Feb 1, 2022!)
I have turned all of my words into coloring sheets and they are available for instant download, totally free! You will find several BONUS words that were submitted by members of the Moonlit Magic: Secret Society of Self Care and by 2KEO VIP’s.
Thank you for submitting your words:
Allyse: Rise
Sierra: Adventure
Mona: Thrive
Kat: Prosperity
Loran: Fulfilled & Serenity
Cindy: Balance & Grateful
Renee: Imagine, Believe, Dream
Deanna: Strong
Bridget: Renewal
Teresa: Inspire
Vicky: Gratitude
Lauren: Breathe
