Choosing a Word of the Year
I have to confess, I’m not sure from where the original idea came, but choosing a word of the year has become a bit of an annual event on social media, particularly on Instagram.
But what is a word of the year?
I don’t know what the original definition was, but for me, it’s a word which summarises our hopes, dreams and aspirations for the year the to come. It’s a word to hold close to you during that year, and one to return to, particularly when some of the beautiful peaks give way to inevitably troughs.
Words offer us an almost unrivalled sense of continuity. I’ve been choosing a word of the year since 2020. For 2023, my word was present, and it is this I’ve been holding close for the past 12 months. For 2022, it was voyage, 2021 it was emerge, and 2020 was mindful. These have all been words which I’ve felt have summed up where I’m at and where my hopes lie at the beginning of a new calendar year, with all the hopes, possibilities and fears that brings.
When I chose the word present for 2023, it was because I sensed the need that as well as looking back and looking ahead, I also needed to enjoy, relish and accept the present moment just as it is. In our fast-paced world, we are in such a hurry to get from one place to another, from one goal to the next, that it’s easy to lose sight of that which is before our very eyes.
If you haven’t chosen a word of the year before, then you might be wondering where you begin. With so many words to choose, it can feel overwhelming.
For me, choosing a word for the year begins with reflection. Looking back on the previous 12 months, and indeed, my chosen word for that year, enables to me to get a sense of where I’m at now. How has that word helped me in the past year, and with that in mind, where might it take me next?
When I chose my word for 2021, emerge, it was, quite literally because I was emerging from a fairly low period in my life. Emerge had a sense of slowness, of stillness, a gradual crawl forward, emerging from the darkness to the light. My word of the year for 2022, voyage, felt like a natural follow-on from that, a sense of setting sail to an unknown place.
What will my word of the year for 2024 be?
The honest answer is, I don’t know. There is still much pondering and reflection to come before I settle on my word of the year for 2024. It’s not a process to be hurried, and indeed, returning to my word of the year for 2020, it requires mindful reflection. Perhaps in reality, a word chooses us rather than the other way around?
If you’ve not chosen a word of the year before, I encourage you to do so. They have been a real help to me, an anchor to hold close throughout the year, and to return and reflect on as the days and months pass. Remember that any word you choose is entirely personal to you; it’s definitely not a competition.
I’ll be sharing my word of the year for 2024 on 1st January, and I look forward to reading more about some of yours too.
