Word for the Year (2023)
Thoughts on the annual process of choosing a word around which to anchor a year
(Originally published on Creativity Matters Podcast website)
A Word of/for the Year – a treasured part of moving into the new year – 2023
The Word of the Year (WOTY) concept is one that is very important to me. In the many years I have “kept” or “held” a word for the year, I have often found it to be a powerful and empowering process.
Thinking about my “Word for the Year” (it isn’t a typo) is something I do in these final days as the year winds down, along with creative year review, a creative year sketchnote, and creative planning and goal setting for the coming year.
A lot of people do these things farther in advance, but I am okay taking things in stride and letting them unfold at the very end of the year. I’m also okay if these processes trail into the first days of the new year. Especially with my WOTY, I want to feel sure, not rushed.
The Word of (or for) the Year concept is one I hold dear. It is an important and magical process at times, and the chosen word can be such an empowering and comforting touchstone during the year. This is true, when it’s the right word. Some years, words don’t stick in the way you hope they will. That’s okay, and that’s part of the process. You probably will always have a soft spot for the words you choose anyway. But sometimes, you really do find just the right word.
Be Willing to Embrace the Unexpected Word
I often stumble upon my word. I try to be systematic. I typically go over many possible words in my head and then, finally, in a list on paper so I can really look at the words and see if they speak to me. Even so, there have been many years when my word has just happened. More than once, I have had a really hard time accepting or reconciling myself to my word, and (surprisingly) those have been years in which my relationship with the word was most powerful, most intense, and most transformative. As a result, I have come to accept that even a word that I may resist may be important. Sometimes when a word “just happens” and seems persistent, I spend extra time trying to talk myself out of it or consider other words juxtaposed with it. Often, the word that for some reason has taken hold in my awareness really is the word that doesn’t let go. The universe does have its way when you are open to it.
Great Word, Wrong Year
There are also always words that I hope to “someday” have, words I want to hold, keep, explore, and live with as a guide for the year. But I do believe that the year has to be right. Words you love may or may not be the words that are right in a given year. Each year, you have to weigh them. Test them. Say them. Feel them. And then decide, truthfully, if the word is right for now, for the coming year, for the you in this moment and over the next 12 months. (Don’t worry, you’ll have another chance next year to consider again a word you love that isn’t right this time.)
My word for 2022 was a good word…. a word I was excited about and found really offered the right mindset in the early part of the year. I did lose sight of it as the year went on though, which makes me a bit sad.
Finding Your Word – It’s Personal
I often am tempted to hold the same word, to repeat a word back-to-back with the year before. That temptation is strong this time, too, especially since the pandemic year has, again, been unusual. I am not sure I am ready to let go of my word. But I know there is power in the process, and so I will do some thinking and looking and testing. Even when a new word catches my attention or grabs me and won’t let go, I like to test a bunch of others to make sure. I often throw a bunch of words on a page and look at them, hear them, consider them, see if they have enough flexibility and play and layering to be “the” word for me.
We each have our own personal ways to think about and choose a word. For some, it is a random process. For some, it is a methodical and deliberate process. And for some, the process falls somewhere in between.
Susannah Conway’s Find Your Word workbook is always a good way to think about your word, especially if you enjoy working through a process like that. You can also find word lists on Ali Edward’s site. (Ali started the whole Word of the Year thing.)
In 2016 (for 2017), I wrote:
“I have been toying with words, saying them in my head, jotting them in a messy list in my journal. I have looked at group member comments and choices and jotted down words that are interesting, have potential, somehow stand out for me this year. Choosing a word for the year is a very personal thing. Each of us will respond to a different type of word, and there are always words that I hope will someday be right for me for a year even as I know this is not the right year. I am always looking for a word that is malleable, that is active and descriptive at the same time, that allows me to meet it both coming and going. I am looking for a word with a certain tone, a certain quality, a certain feeling. Some of the words that fit my initial idea for this coming year, my general thoughts on how I might focus in this year, lack, maybe, the beauty and play that I long for in my word. So, I continue to ponder.”
You can read lists of words in many places, and Ali Edwards has lists (typed and spoken) from years past on her site. The more words you see and even briefly contemplate, the more certain you may feel once you firmly choose your word.
Here are a few, just a very few, words that I jotted down as I searched for my word for 2017:
Dream
Wish
Track
Journey
See
Gather
Hold
Document
Record
Remember
Wander
Joy
Nurture
Do
Focus
Listen
Branch
Rise
Center
Open
Shine
Stretch
Reach
Find
Seek
Dance
Arrow
Forge
Connect
Spiral
Hone
Expand
Stream
Capture
I have made different lists every year. (The one above is several years old – and not updated today or this year.)
As somehow who loves words, loves the sound of words, and feels a connection to the power of even single words, I really enjoy this process and even seeing these word lists.
(In 2016, I added a note to my post to say that the above list doesn’t include words I have had before as a WOTY. In the years since then, I did use one of the words on that list. It was one of my most important words to guide a year.)
Words I have previously used include light, grace, balance, flow, story, wander, and a few others. I am known to keep my words private during the year. My most recent words are not listed here. It is okay to keep your word to yourself, to keep it private, and to protect it.
Word for the Year on the CMP
There have been many “January” shows in which the idea of choosing a word for the year (and the process) has been discussed. Most of these shows are not currently available because hosting all of these many years worth of creative talk isn’t free. But 232 and 289 are available. I didn’t go back and listen to these, but they might be good WOTY background listening or inspiration as you gear up for 2021 and move into the first week.
Episode 34: A Memory Proven
Episode 83: Have Mug, Will Remember
Episode 122: Promise
Episode 144: Something New
A few other “new year” shows that stand out for me:
(All of those are close in timing. It seems like I was on a philosophical track at that point. The Panning for Gold show is one that has resonance for me. It’s okay if everything you start on January 1 doesn’t stick. I like the throw it all out there approach – and see which things rise to the top.)
Note: you do not have to already know your word on Day 1. You can choose your word at any time. I like settling on one early in January. But you do you.
Learn More
Word for the Year (2016 post)
What is your word? What words have you used in past years? What words did you contemplate this year? How do you choose and how do you commemorate, welcome, and honor your word?
I hope you enjoy the process of finding your word — and finding ways to keep it in mind and in “sight” throughout the coming year.