I am a firm believer that you can set new goals for yourself at ANY time and you certainly don’t need a countdown and ball drop to make a change in your life, but the start of a new year always feels like a natural and extra motivating time to set new goals. For the last two years, along with goal setting I have picked a “word of the year”. It all started after a siblings book exchange which landed the book “One Word That Will Change Your Life” into my hands (thanks, Dana!). Here’s a little recap…
My word of the year kept me grounded.
2020 word of the year: Joy
In 2020 my word of the year was “joy”. Joy is still one of my favorite words, it’s just one of those words, you know?
That year, when the pandemic hit everything seemed unreal for the first few weeks. And the months and months that followed the initial shutdown were threaded with fear and uncertainty. It seemed like joy was the opposite of what everyone was feeling and it was also what everyone needed. My word of the year kept me grounded. And when we welcomed our daughter Nellie on June 29, 2020 and became a family of four, we embraced the JOY, even though it was a chaotic world around us. Joy not only helped me see the good in my life, it helped me celebrate it, even when the world was dimmer than normal.
2021 word of the year: Keep going
My word of the year in 2021 was “keep going”. Yes. I realize is a two-word phrase and not one word (actually something they advise against in the book), but it just felt right!
On more days that I can remember, my word of the year was the gentle nudge I needed to put my big girl pants on and KEEP GOING, even when I was trudging through the mud. But there are two reasons “keep going” felt particularly fitting for 2021.
First, it’s pretty undeniable that the majority of 2021 felt like an unwanted continuation of the tension, stress, and division of 2020. I think all of us had dreamt that when the clock struck midnight and we said goodbye to 2020, that the slate would wipe clean, the sun would rise, and “normal” would be back. I know I did. Now, I think it’s obvious normal is forever changed — in some ways for the better, and in many heartbreaking ways, for the worse. “Keep going” helped me see that there is a new normal and the only way to get through it is to go through it.
“Keep going” helped me see that there is a new normal and the only way to get through it is to go through it.
Second, I never thought my long battle with pregnancy sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum) and mono that started on August 15, 2021 would last for months and months. And I never would have predicted that it would overlap with a dozen covid tests, double pneumonia, colds, head lice, hand foot mouth, daycare shutdowns, another cold bug, coughs that last three months, and more for our family. It feels like I could write a book about motherhood titled “Keep Going” just from the last four months of the year because I had so many “you can’t make that shit up” moments one after another. It was a laugh so you don’t cry season of life. KEEP GOING.
I reminded myself to “keep going” a lot this Fall. And there were many days, especially during the hyperemesis gravidarum + mono combo, that I felt broken. And there were many days where I literally broke down into tears — the big ugly ones. But I thought about “keep going” often and it was such a gift to have my word of the year to anchor in when life was tough.
Keep going reminded me to have perspective. We knew the pregnancy sickness and all of the bugs that cycled through our home were temporary. When I went in to get IV fluids to keep me hydrated for the first two months of my pregnancy, I was surrounded by people fighting lifelong illness and life threatening illness. Who am I to complain? KEEP GOING.
During this time, keep going took a village. There is no way I could have kept going without the village that surrounded me. Jeff, our girls, our family, our friends, my supportive work family. The people in my life are truly amazing. The community that loved on us when we needed help, were there in a heartbeat and showing up in ways to support us that I never would have thought of. I am blessed.
What word is next for 2023?
For two years in a row now I have been amazed at how perfectly my word of the year has served me. Part of the process of picking my word of the year has been prayer, but also what “feels right”, “my gut”, my intuition. Simply bringing awareness to what word feels right and not overthinking it has served me well.
I’m really looking forward to going through the process again for 2022, in fact, I’ve already started to make a list of things that are coming to mind and there is one my eyes and heart just keep going back to.
Are you going to jump on the word of the year thing?! I know it’s kind of become “a thing” and I hope at the very least you don’t avoid it because of that, it’s more than a trend, promise!