A few years ago, I started this practice of having a word be my guide and companion for the year. I chose my first word “breakthrough” because I needed to break through all the walls that I had built around myself, (to protect myself) I now started to feel like I was locked up in a place where I hid myself to be safe from a cruel world. I needed to break out from all the beliefs that weren’t really my own, beliefs that I acquired since childhood from others, that I took and made them my own and was guarding them with my life. I became those beliefs until my life started to change big time, and I started to question them, they no longer fit my awakened consciousness. Those beliefs didn’t align with who I was becoming, but I couldn’t pry myself loose from them, they were at the core of who I was for over fifty years. Up to that point I never questioned them, I just believed them and lived by them. I needed to free myself in order to grow, to expand, to find out who – I am.
The following year I also chose my word, after that every year words just appeared and chose me. They’re always the perfect words for that year, and they always show up around October. These yearly words are my mantra, my guiding principle throughout the year. The word that showed up for me this year is “Empowered” and WOW! I’m already feeling the effects of the power this word holds within it. Things have already started to shift inside of me and I am already empowered with a new higher vibrational energy. My mind has opened to greater visions. People, courses and books that can support me on this new path have already shown up. I feel that I have opened a new door and am on a new higher more empowered way.
Why have a word and how to get one:
The idea for having a word to guide you is to have a central focus that you can lean on.
“Your Word of the Year sets an intention, a theme per se, for how you want your year to flow.” ~ Elizabeth Rider
Reflect on what you need most that will most support you throughout the year. Do you need to feel peace, joy? Do you want to feel more empowered or brave or silence, or community? Maybe you want the word “goal” to help you in reaching your goals. Or a word that will help you open more to your creativity, or tune more into your intuition. Do you want to expand, bloom, grow? Do you want more self-confidence, self-love? What values can you identify that will move you forward to where you want to be. What word represents that? What word has jumped out at you here while you’re reading?
There is no limit to words and there is no right or wrong here. You can have more than one word, mostly I get my main word and then two or three more words show up later. If you feel that the word you’ve chosen is not right for you, change it, you don’t have to keep it for an entire year. Instead of New Year resolutions a word can be your constant reminder for what you want to manifest. A reminder to stay on course towards creating a more positive, sweeter life.
How to recognize your word:
Once you set your intention for a word, whether you decide on a word or a word chooses you, you will know. It will grab a hold of you, and it will not go away. It’ll suddenly be everywhere, it’ll be in your thoughts, you’ll hear it in songs, you’ll see it on a billboard, the covers of magazines, you’ll hear it spoken; it’ll pop up in a book you’re reading. You will know it.
What to do with your word:
Once you get your word write it down, commit to it. Honor its presence and believe in its power.
You could draw a symbol that represents it. Make it your screen saver. Write it on sticky notes and place them in different places around your home, on your bathroom mirror so you see it first thing in the morning, on your fridge. You can also create a vision board with your word, decorate it. Write out why you chose that word. The possibilities are endless. You can do all of these or none, but the one thing that I strongly suggest you do is write it down and place it where you will see it every day, and say thank you to your word.
Celebrate your life, celebrate your word, celebrate your year ahead!!!
I’d love to know, do you have a word for the year?
Blessings
