Why I Choose A Word of the Year and Month

Choosing a word of the year is a pretty common practice but if you don’t do it just yet, it can be a really great way to give you a focus for the year ahead (and subsequently, the months ahead as well!).

This process is really fun for me because I do it along side setting my goals because I want my word to really reflect the goals I’ve chosen. It helps keep everything really aligned for me (ironic since my word for 2021 is Alignment).

Picking a word also helps get me really excited about what’s possible in the year ahead because I’m aligning it with my goals and when it comes to manifesting and getting what you want, being excited sure does help!

How do I choose a word of the year?

I like to think of your word of the year as your guide. It’s how you want to approach the year from a holistic point-of-view.

For example, in 2020 I chose Vision. This actually helped me get really clear on the vision I have for my future. What I want in the future, yes, but more importantly, how I want my day-to-day to look and how I want to feel on a regular basis. Getting crystal clear on this vision actually helped me realized I hadn’t structured my life to fit this vision and I needed to make some serious changes (so much so that I walked away from a multiple 6-figure business I had built over the last 5 years… but more on that later!)

I wasn’t living in alignment with the vision I have now which, you guessed it, is why my word for 2021 is now Alignment!

So now I’ll be really conscious and focused on rebuilding my life to be in constant alignment with this higher vision I have and I have made sure to structure some of my yearly goals around this as well.

For example, I’m only planning on working 6 hours days and 4 day work weeks. I’m also going to activity run my errands and do chores during typical work hours so I can relax more on the weekends. And because it’s genius, I stole the goal of committing to one self care activity per week during business hours from my good friend and business partner. All because the vision I have for my life is not just to have successful companies but to be able to enjoy my life outside of those companies so I need to structure my time to be flexible the way I’ve always wanted it to be as a business owner.

So as you head into the new year, really think about the central theme you’d like to focus on. What do you need this year to live your dream life and how can you start embodying that? This should help you get really clear on your word but if not, try working on a brain dump/mind map! I recently did this in my No Limits Planner and it was really helpful in organizing my thoughts and solidifying that Alignment is the right word for me to focus on this year.

How do I pick my word of the month?

The process is pretty much the same when I choose a word of the month but I also make sure that word ties back to my word of the year. This helps me continue to focus on the overall theme of the year and work towards my goals and vision on a monthly basis as well.

As I mentioned, I left one of my previous businesses at the end of 2020 that really structured most of my workweek. Now I don’t have that structure and I have the freedom to re-create a new schedule just the way I want. However this is really new to me and I know I’m going to have a lot of mental blocks and patterns to overcome since I’m breaking away from what I’m actually used to. Because of that my word for January is Adjustment. This allows me to ease into things, adjusting as I go to make sure I find something that feels really good and aligned with me.

So you can see I really truly use my word(s) of the year/month as a guide for my bigger vision. It’s been such a game-changer for me since I started doing this several years back and I’ll continue to do it until it no longer feels right.

Have you picked a word or phrase for the year yet? Share it in the comments!