Picking a “Word of the Year” has become a popular practice for setting intentions and guiding personal growth. It is an alternative to claiming New Year’s resolutions! As we step into 2024, the tradition of selecting a word to identify our aspirations and focus for the year ahead continues to gain momentum. This simple yet powerful concept involves choosing a single word that serves as a touchstone, a source of inspiration, and a reminder of our goals and values throughout the year.
Choosing the word “Ease” as my guiding word for 2024 was a deliberate and thoughtful decision. After reflecting on the past year and considering my values, intentions, and goals for the upcoming year, I realized that I wanted to approach 2024 with a greater sense of tranquility and simplicity. The word “Ease” embodies my desire to navigate through life with less stress and more flow, to find efficiency without sacrificing peace, and to prioritize well-being and balance in all aspects of my life. By selecting “Ease” as my word for 2024, I aim to infuse my days with a sense of calm and grace, allowing space for joy, growth, and meaningful connections. This word will serve as a gentle reminder to embrace simplicity, release unnecessary tension, and welcome the beauty of each moment throughout the year.
The process of selecting a Word of the Year is a deeply personal and reflective exercise. Several prompts and strategies can help you identify a word that resonates with your aspirations and intentions for the year. Reflecting on the values, goals, and experiences of the past year can provide valuable insights into the qualities and themes that one may want to prioritize in the coming year. Brainstorming, creating a vision board, and considering various word options can contribute to the selection of a word that feels meaningful and relevant. I have included a list of 100 words to consider if that helps!
Once a word has been chosen, it can be integrated into daily life in various ways. From incorporating the word into a vision board or journal to using it as a guiding principle for decision-making, the selected word can serve as a constant companion and a source of motivation throughout the year. The practice of choosing a Word of the Year offers a meaningful approach to setting intentions and fostering personal growth. As we embark on 2024, the selection of a guiding word can provide clarity, inspiration, and a sense of purpose, empowering you to embrace the year ahead with focus and intention.
100 Word of the Year Ideas:
- Abundance
- Adventure
- Align
- Authentic
- Available
- Aware
- Balance
- Become
- Better
- Bless
- Bold
- Breathe
- Bright
- Calm
- Celebrate
- Centered
- Challenge
- Change
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Confidence
- Connect
- Creativity
- Cultivate
- Daring
- Dedicated
- Delight
- Devotion
- Discipline ** (my word for 2018)
- Distance
- Dream
- Embrace
- Emerge
- Empower
- Expansion
- Express
- Faith
- Feast
- Fit
- Focus
- Forgiveness
- Foster
- Free
- Friendship
- Glow
- Giving
- Grace
- Gratitude
- Grounded
- Honesty
- Hope
- Humility
- Integrity
- Intentional
- Intuition
- Journey
- Joy
- Kind
- Learn
- Listen
- Love
- Magnify
- Meek
- Mindful
- Motion
- Nourish
- Nurture
- Organize
- Passion
- Peace
- Permission
- Persistence
- Play
- Polish
- Power
- Present
- Progress
- Radiant
- Recovery
- Relationships
- Release
- Reset
- Resolute
- Rise
- Risk
- Savvy
- Service
- Simplicity
- Slow
- Smile
- Space
- Sparkle
- Strong
- Teach
- Thrive
- Tranquil
- Whole
- Yes
- Zen
- Zest
This list was retrieved from a blog post written by Elisabeth McKnight, here is the link: https://elisabethmcknight.com/word-of-the-year-ideas/
I hope you have fun picking a “Word of the Year” for 2024 and share it with our community!
As Elisabeth recommends:
Remember, once you’ve picked a WORD OF THE YEAR you can
-set it as your phone background
-write it on your mirror (in dry erase marker)
-print it and it put it up all over the house
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 22nd year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Director for New Jersey to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Board. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 and 2020 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also writes a monthly column in My American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association. Robin’s work is included as a case study in The Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
I’m going for cultivate. Balance and Listen were also on the short list. How does cultivate apply? To grow? To make it better? To pursue? To try to acquire? To work really hard at? To foster? To prepare? Is it all just about ME? No, it’s broader and way bigger than me (which after all of this holiday food and cheer is no small feat…..)
I want to cultivate my responses/reactions, my relationships, my interactions in my world. Aim to be more thoughtful and deliberate. Permit and cultivate peace. Encourage balance. And for the love of Pete, LISTEN! Really listen carefully. In short, let me be the person my dog thinks I am.