Boy, do I love a good tradition…
And there’s one I’d love to share with you here today:
Picking a theme word for the year.
Originally, I got this practice from Stratejoy’s Holiday Council in 2013. I did HoCo for a while, and ever since, this practice of choosing a theme for the year has stuck with me.
Since then, some of my Words of the Year have been:
Action, Trust, Reveal, Coddiwomple, Gumption, Surrender, Sovereign
And it’s always been so fascinating to see how the year turns out and see how the patterns of that theme arise…
Action was the year I took the leap and moved to New York.
Trust was the year I had my spiritual & intuitive awakening while working as a live-in nanny on the Upper West Side.
Reveal was the year I discovered what I was desiring in my life, shared a singing video each day for 100 days, and met the man I would end up falling utterly in love with.
Coddiwomple was definitely a year of “playing around” and finding out, from a part-time job at a fitness studio, and lots of travel.
Gumption was the year I went all-in on freelancing life as a writer/editor, claimed my emotions, and started standing up for myself more.
Surrender was the year of leaning into my human design as a projector, letting myself be surprised, and sinking into the good times by being more present.
Sovereign was the year I homed in on the business I truly desired to build and wrote the bulk of my mermaid novel.
This last year, when the word was Anchor, found me grounding into routines that felt nourishing, supportive, and energizing so I can act in my life and business with more flow, ease, and excitement in every day…
Because, ultimately, I want to build a life I don’t have to escape or take a vacation from. I’m intent on having it all work together in a harmonious flow that allows priorities to shift as they need, depending on the season I’m in.
Each year I hope to grow and follow the flow of where my energy craves to go. I don’t expect each year to be the same, and I genuinely look forward to all that’s to come. It’s all a process, and I aim to make it a joyful one as often as possible.
Choosing a word that feels like the kind of energy I want to embody for the year feels like a great way to challenge myself, and give myself a direction, if not a focus, to harness my energy for the coming months.
And I think I’ve zeroed in on my word for 2024…
SHINE
I don’t know how this word hasn’t come up before now. “Shine on” is my sign-off on my emails—but it’s kept popping up the last couple of months. The themes that keep showing up for me astrologically speaking would also be supported by such energy.
Right now, I see Shine as a guiding light toward allowing my insights to be shared more often (since I’ve been in a “hermit” period of processing), putting myself out there more in my business, and perhaps even in other ways (music again maybe?).
We are all meant to shine, as stars do.
And I think this year feels like a good year for just that.
(And now I can’t stop hearing “Girl You Shine” by Aaron Carter… Anyone remember that song?)
***
Have you ever picked a word or theme for the year? How has your experience been?
If not, and you’d like to, here are some questions that might help guide you in the process of creating a word bank to select a word from:
- What was your biggest accomplishment this year? What would the next step or accomplishment from there feel like or look like?
- What did you feel like you craved in 2023 but didn’t quite attain or experience?
- What kind of energy do you most want to embody and experience in 2024?
- What are you most looking forward to this year? What kind of energy or emotional state would support you in that experience?
- Is there a word or phrase that has followed you around lately (songs, movies, random conversations)? And is it an energy you would like to carry with you this new year?
Remember to also check the thesaurus for synonyms of the words that come up to see if any others spark your attention!
If you’ve already picked a word/theme for this year, I’d love it if you dropped me an email or comment to share!
No timeline on this, you can pick your word of the year at any time.