New Year often brings a lot of pressure to change.
Lose weight. Get fitter. Save money. Get promoted. Drink less. Be more organised.
We start January full of enthusiasm and set ourselves some pretty ambitious goals.
The problem isn't necessarily having goals. It's that we often turn them into rigid, all-or-nothing rules – and then feel as though we've failed when real life gets in the way.
I've never been a huge fan of New Year's resolutions for exactly that reason.
So several years ago I started doing something different.
I choose a Word of the Year instead.
What is a word of the year?
A word of the year (WOTY) is about having an umbrella term that summarises everything you want to do (and feels). It should inspire you rather than punish you. It's about setting an intention for how you want to live, rather than creating another list of things you have to achieve.
How does it work?
One of the real benefits of choosing a WOTY is that there is no right or wrong. It's there to guide your decisions rather than give you another target to beat yourself up about when life inevitably gets in the way.
Let's use weight loss as an example.
A typical New Year's resolution might be:
"I'm going to lose a stone, stop eating chocolate and go to the gym three times a week."
You might manage it brilliantly for the first couple of weeks. But then you miss a gym session, eat some chocolate or have a busy weekend and suddenly it feels as though you've failed.
Now imagine your word for the year was "consistency".
Instead of following a rigid set of rules, you might use that word to guide your choices. Eating regular balanced meals. Getting enough protein and fibre. Moving your body regularly. Enjoying some chocolate without deciding you've ruined everything.
Some days will be better than others, but you're repeatedly coming back to the habits that support what you're trying to achieve.
If weight loss is an appropriate goal for you, those consistent habits are likely to be far more useful than a few weeks of trying to eat perfectly.
And importantly, consistency can still be a success even when the scales don't behave exactly as you'd hoped.
How to pick your word?
You may instinctively know which word you want to choose and that is great. If you don’t then it may feel a bit daunting but it can be an easy process.
One great way is to
- Make a list of all the things you would like to achieve over the next year as a bit of a wish list e.g. save money, improve energy, lose weight, gain a promotion etc.
- Review your list and look at what is needed to achieve these things. Consider your feelings about them too and come up with some words that might work to inspire and summarise. Examples are compassion, focus, dedication, acceptance, honesty, balance, planning, creativity, love, nurture, connect, adventure, resilience, growth etc
- Review which word feels like the one that encompasses most of what you wish to achieve and that is your word of the year.
Do not get too caught up with the process – it is okay to have a word that feels 80% right. Better that than not try at all because you cannot come up with the perfect word!
How to use your chosen word?
How you incorporate your WOTY is up to you. You can print it out and stick it all over your home, you can exchange words with friends and review each month or you can even just know your word in your own mind. Do what works for you. I like to reflect regularly with mine in a journal and then watch at it evolves each year.
My experience with a WOTY
I've been choosing a Word of the Year for several years now, and what I love most is that the word can evolve with you.
I've had focus, balance, consistency, acceptance and routine at different stages of my life.
Some years the word has been mostly about work. Other years family circumstances have completely changed what it meant to me.
And that's rather the point.
Unlike a resolution that you either achieve or don't, your word can adapt to whatever life throws at you.
For 2026, my Word of the Year is “Momentum”.
I chose it because I don't feel like I need a dramatic fresh start. I want to build on the things I've already put in place and keep moving forward – in my business, my health and life generally.
For me, momentum isn't about doing more and more or getting everything right. It's about keeping going, building on small wins and not letting the occasional wobble turn into stopping altogether.
I particularly like that there's room for real life within it. Some weeks I'll make bigger strides than others, but I don't need to start again every time things don't go to plan.
I just need to keep the momentum going.
I don't have to "complete" my word. I simply come back to it when I need it and ask whether the choices I'm making are taking me in the direction I want to go.
Your Word of the Year doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't even have to make sense to anybody else.
It simply needs to mean something to you.
And perhaps that's the biggest difference between a Word of the Year and a traditional New Year's resolution.
It's not another rule to follow. It's something to come back to.
I'd love to know what yours would be.
Janet x
What a brilliant piece of advice! My word is care and it’s really helping me already. No new year’s resolutions to struggle with just a watchword for the year to be guided by. Thank you 😊
You’re very welcome – care sounds like a brilliant word to choose! x