Hello friends and Happy New Year!
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely LOVE the refreshing feeling that comes at the start of a New Year. I’m not talking setting and breaking New Years Resolutions that don’t last… But this feeling of getting a fresh start at something. Reflecting back on the year before, what worked and what didn’t work, and setting intentions for the year ahead.
My husband and I always take some intentional time in early January to chat through things, and set goals for the upcoming year. We’ve found it SUPER helpful to set a “word for the year,” as a one-worded way to encompass what we hope to accomplish and strive for that year as a couple.
So today I thought I’d share my personal word of the year along with what word Daniel and I chose as our word of the year.
My Word for the year? Cultivate.
As I thought through the goals I had for this year and what I wanted to accomplish, this word was one I couldn’t get out of my head. I just kept coming back to it… So I knew it was the one.
PLUS, whenever I’m feeling unsure about a word, I like to look at the synonyms. Sometimes the synonyms show me a word I like more, OR in this case, show me that this is the perfect word.
So here’s a few synonyms for Cultivate: pursue, foster, courage, nurture, grow, tend, plant, sow, improve, refine, elevate, train, develop, enrich
This year I hope to grow and tend to several areas of my life, in hopes that they’ll be ample for harvesting later on. I have a good feeling that God has great plans for me this year… I just need to be okay with a time of refining, improving, and pursuing things that are sometimes hard, but worth it.
And as for our word as a couple, we chose the word ACHIEVE.
So why chose two different words? This is a personal choice.
A couple years ago we started doing this, and I love it! Because a lot of times my personal word is a word for me AND for my work, and that doesn’t always coincide with our goals as a couple (for example, two years ago my word of the year was “Prosper” and our couple word was “Committed”).
This year, our words are closer to synonyms than not… But mentally I still like separating it in my brain as my “work” word and our “family” word.
Do you have a word of the year?
Share below in the comments, because I always love hearing what people chose (and bonus points if you share why).
If you still haven’t chosen a word yet, here’s a list of some great words that might help give you some inspiration!
