Beyond Resolutions: Why I Choose a Word of the Year (And Why You Should to)
Forget the laundry list of resolutions that fade by February. I've found something more powerful.
Instead of New Year's resolutions, I do a Word of the Year exercise. I choose a single word to act as a guiding theme and intention for the year ahead. It's a practice that has transformed not just how I approach my goals, but how I navigate the inevitable uncertainty and complexity that comes with leadership and life.
How the Word of the Year Exercise Works
The process is deceptively simple. I start by reflecting on a few key questions:
What do I want more of in my life?
What quality do I wish to cultivate?
What's been missing that I want to invite in?
How do I want to feel?
What areas need attention or expansion?
I sit with these questions, not for five minutes, but over several days or even weeks. I journal about them, let them percolate during walks, notice what keeps coming up in conversations or moments of frustration. Once I've sat with these questions, I notice what themes or words keep surfacing, that becomes my word for the year.
The real work begins once I've chosen my word. Throughout the year as I'm journaling, I check in periodically and ask myself: Am I honouring my word? This becomes a compass for decision-making, a touchstone in moments of doubt, and a reminder of what I'm working toward.
Why This Works for Leaders
In my years as a HR Director and leadership coach, I've seen how scattered goals can dilute focus.
A single word provides clarity that resonates through every decision, conversation, and challenge you face. It's not that you abandon strategic planning or ignore your KPIs, it's that you have a North Star that helps you navigate when the path isn't clear, when you're overwhelmed, or when you need to make a difficult choice.
Your word becomes a filter: Does this opportunity align with my word? Does this behaviour honour what I'm cultivating? Am I making this decision from a place that reflects my intention?
My 2025 Word: Trust
Last year, my word was "trust", and I needed it desperately.
I had to trust myself to leave a career of over 20 years and set up my own business. I had to trust my own decision-making, trust that I would figure it out, and trust the timing of my growth.
In moments when I questioned myself or spiralled into worry about the future Did I make the right call? What if this doesn't work out? What if I can't sustain this? I was able to bring myself back by reminding myself to lean into trust.
Each time I made that choice, I was creating new neural pathways, literally rewiring old patterns of worry into new patterns of confidence. Trust became my anchor when everything felt uncertain. It helped centre and ground me, reminding me how I wanted to feel and what I wanted to breathe more life into.
Looking back, I can see how trust showed up in countless small moments: sending that proposal without over-editing it seventeen times, doing things before I felt "ready,".
My 2026 Word: Release
As I reflected on the year ahead, trust still resonates strongly with me. But I realised it needs to deepen. So my word for 2026 is "release”, though I'm holding it alongside trust, because for me, release represents a deepening of trust, an evolution of last year's theme.
I want to release myself from attachment to specific outcomes and instead trust the process. I want to release worry about the future. I want to actively let go of excessive worry and the need to control every variable, every timeline, every result.
Because what I've learned is that you can't truly trust while white-knuckling control.
Release means letting my business grow organically rather than forcing it into a predetermined shape. It means releasing the need to have all the answers before I take action. It means trusting that the right clients will find me without me having to chase or convince. It means releasing perfectionism and embracing iteration.
How Leaders Can Use This with Their Teams
While the Word of the Year exercise is deeply personal, it can be incredibly powerful when used with teams. Here's how leaders can apply this:
Team Alignment Exercise
At the beginning of a new year or quarter, bring your team together for a facilitated session where everyone chooses their individual word. Then, explore as a group:
What themes are emerging across the team?
Where do our words complement each other?
How can we support each other in honouring our words?
Creating a Team Word
Some teams choose to create a shared word or phrase that represents their collective intention. This works particularly well for teams navigating significant change, a restructure, a new strategic direction, or a cultural shift.
Regular Check-ins
Build word check-ins into your existing team rhythms:
Open team meetings with a quick round: "How did your word show up this week?"
Reference it in moments of decision: "Does this align with what we said mattered this year?"
The key is making it conversational, not performative. This isn't about creating another corporate initiative, it's about creating shared language for the human work of growth and change.
Modelling Vulnerability
As a leader, sharing your own word and how you're working with it (including where you're struggling) gives your team permission to be authentic about their own journey. When I share with clients that I'm working on "release," and that I caught myself trying to control an outcome multiple times this week, it normalises the work of change and makes it real.
Tips for Choosing Your Word
Give yourself time. Don't rush this. I usually start reflecting in mid-December and don't land on my word until early January. Some years it comes quickly; other years I need to sit with a few options before one clicks.
Trust what keeps showing up. If the same word or theme keeps appearing in your journaling, conversations, or thoughts, pay attention. That repetition is data.
Choose a word that stretches you, not one that's already comfortable. Your word should invite growth. If it feels too easy or like something you've already mastered, keep digging.
Consider the opposite of what you're struggling with. If you're feeling scattered, maybe your word is "focus." If you're feeling rigid, maybe it's "flow" or "flexibility." Sometimes our word is the medicine for what ails us.
Watch out for "should" words. Make sure your word reflects what YOU actually want to cultivate, not what you think you should want or what would impress others. This is for you.
It doesn't have to be a single word. While I call it "Word of the Year," if a short phrase resonates more deeply, honour that. The point is clarity and resonance, not arbitrary rules.
Common Words People Choose (For Inspiration)
Past clients and participants in this exercise have chosen words like:
Courage - for those stepping into bigger roles or having harder conversations
Presence - for leaders who realize they're always mentally three steps ahead
Simplify - for those drowning in complexity
Boundary - for chronic people-pleasers learning to protect their energy
Play - for over-serious achievers who've forgotten joy
Voice - for those finding their authentic expression
Enough - for perfectionists learning self-acceptance
Build - for those ready to create something new
Rest - for those finally acknowledging their burnout
Bold - for those ready to stop playing small
Your word might be none of these, and that's perfect. This is about what resonates for YOU.
Making It Stick: How to Work with Your Word Throughout the Year
Choosing your word is just the beginning. Here's how to keep it alive:
1. Make it visible. Write it somewhere you'll see it regularly, perhaps in your journal, a post-it on your mirror or your phone wallpaper.
2. Journal with it. I check in with my word at least weekly: "How did [word] show up this week? Where did I honour it? Where did I abandon it? What would it look like to lean into it more?"
3. Use it in decision-making. When facing a choice, ask: "Which option honours my word? Which choice would be most aligned with [word]?"
4. Share it with trusted people. Tell your partner, a close friend, your coach, or a colleague. Give them permission to gently call you back to it when they notice you drifting.
5. Be curious, not judgmental. This isn't about perfection. You'll forget your word. You'll act in ways that contradict it. That's part of the process. The practice is in noticing and returning, not in flawless execution.
6. Revisit and reflect. Quarterly check-ins are helpful: "Is this word still serving me? Is it revealing new layers? Do I need to adjust how I'm working with it?"
Making It Personal (And Family-Friendly)
I've done this exercise for the last few years with my teenage kids too, and they love it. Watching them choose their words and check in throughout the year has been one of my favourite parenting wins.
This year, one of my kids chose "slow". She is a very fast mover, always onto the next thing, and struggles to stay in the present moment! This year she wants to actively slow down, stop rushing and shift her energy. I’m looking forward to seeing how this supports her growth this year. Having a shared language around their intention makes our conversations richer and gives them a framework for their own growth.
It's also become a ritual we look forward to, usually over dinner in early January, where we each share our word and what it means to us. We check in periodically: "How's your word going?" It's a beautiful way to stay connected to each other's inner lives.
Your Turn
What word would serve you, your family or your leadership in 2026? What quality are you ready to cultivate? What's been missing that you want to invite in?
I invite you to try this practice. Sit with the questions. Notice what emerges. Choose your word. Work with it throughout the year.
And if you'd like support in this process, I'd love to help. As a HR consultant and leadership coach, I work with individuals and teams to clarify what matters, break old patterns, and create meaningful change.
