What’s your personal word for 2022?

Each year a Word of the Year is chosen. The Word of the Year is a word or expression that has attracted a great deal of interest over the last 12 months. Every year, candidates for Word of the Year are debated. One is eventually chosen to reflect that particular year’s ethos, mood, or preoccupations and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance. The pandemic influenced Oxford’s 2021 choice, too, this time settling on a single word: “vax.”

So do you have a personal word of the year that you have chosen for 2022, one that reflects your ethos and mood for the year? Picking a word of the year can clarify who you want to become and what you want to accomplish in life.

Having a Word of the Year is an enjoyable way to set your intentions and theme for the New Year, or any other life event for that matter. Instead of rigid resolutions, a word of the year is a gentle and constant reminder to create positive change. While resolutions often seem to have a judgmental quality, a personal word of the year is often about a value. (Think honesty, openness, patience.)

For example, if your word of the year is “abundance”, you might have sub-goals of investing in an abundant number of friendships or spending more quality time with the people you love. If your word is “flow”, your sub-goals may be learning to accept things out of your control or perhaps being spontaneous.

When choosing your word, start by reflecting on areas of your life that could use refinement. What do you want to change, and where would you like to grow? Then make a list of word choices. Are these words actionable? You need to look for a word that you can and want to take daily action on. From your list, choose one word. When you have chosen your word, make sure to make it visible. Write it in your diary, stick it on your fridge or make it your cell phone home screen.

When you have chosen a word, start planning how you will live it out. It won’t happen with good intentions alone. Make your word part of your daily life.