Why You Should Consider Picking a Word of the Year
Why You Should Consider Picking a Word of the Year Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
who works from home and lives alone,” she says, “I felt like anytime I poked my head out was a celebration.” Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Simon’s pick for 2022 is “momentum,” chosen after reading a New York Times article by organizational psychologist Adam Grant about how a lot of us, as a result of the pandemic, are languishing. “I started a few things this year that I want to continue moving forward on” — such as finishing the first draft of a novel and turning up the dial on her work with a health coach — “and I want to move toward thriving and flourishing rather than languishing,” she says. Katy Kozee, 60, chose her first word of the year in 2017, after “a rocky year” filled with too much work and extra stress. She traded in her usual resolutions for the word “hygge,” which is Danish for cozy or comfortable. Kozee, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, used the word as a reminder not to add anything else to her plate. For 2022, her word is “flow.” After choosing the word, she made a vision board with “flow” in the middle surrounded by a picture of Oprah Winfrey, inspirational quotes and other motivational images. Because “2020 and 2021 were so off-the-chart bonkers, I was like, ‘Look, whatever 2022 throws at me, I’m just going to flow like a river,’ ” Kozee explains. “I’m just going to keep on keepin’ on and handle whatever comes my way.”
Have You Chosen Your Word for the Year Here s Why You Should
An alternative to resolutions a personal word can keep you motivated in the New Year
NikkiZalewski/Getty Images As a new year begins, people often pledge to break bad habits or get a fresh start. But these days, more people are swapping the obligatory New Year’s resolutions — which often come with a lot of stress and disappointment — for a personal word of the year. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Picking a word of the year can bring clarity and focus to who we want to become and what we want to accomplish in life. A carefully chosen word is a type of mental mentor — something to help us stay motivated as we move toward our goals in 2022. “ feel like rules after a certain point,” says Janice Simon, a leadership and career coach in Houston, Texas, who has been guided by a personal word of the year, like 2021’s “celebrate,” for several years now. “I like [using a] word [instead] because it’s not limiting. It sets an intention so that every action I take for an entire year has some meaning behind it.” If resolutions are rigid rules to accomplish a goal, choosing a word of the year can be a guide for decisions and a gentle reminder to stay the course. But that doesn’t necessarily mean progress with a word of the year is easier or simpler than sticking to a resolution. “So many things pull us in other directions, and most of the time our best is not the easiest path,” says Seth J. Gillihan, a clinical psychologist in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. “And without consistent focus, and reminders, and diligence, we tend to drift onto the path of least resistance. We don’t usually fall into being our best selves.” That said, a signature word may be more palatable to work with. Think of it this way: While resolutions often seem to have a judgmental quality to them, a personal word of the year often is about a value. (Think honesty, openness, patience.) “A value is something we can always be moving toward; there’s no end point for a value like there is with a goal,” notes Gillihan, author of The CBT Deck: 101 Practices to Improve Thoughts, Be in the Moment & Take Action in Your Life. His past words of the year include “steadfast” and “joy.” “It’s more of a direction than a destination,” he says.Moving away from New Year s resolutions
A few years ago, Simon , 53, swapped her usual resolutions — exercise more, eat out less — for a word of the year after hearing about it on social media.who works from home and lives alone,” she says, “I felt like anytime I poked my head out was a celebration.” Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Simon’s pick for 2022 is “momentum,” chosen after reading a New York Times article by organizational psychologist Adam Grant about how a lot of us, as a result of the pandemic, are languishing. “I started a few things this year that I want to continue moving forward on” — such as finishing the first draft of a novel and turning up the dial on her work with a health coach — “and I want to move toward thriving and flourishing rather than languishing,” she says. Katy Kozee, 60, chose her first word of the year in 2017, after “a rocky year” filled with too much work and extra stress. She traded in her usual resolutions for the word “hygge,” which is Danish for cozy or comfortable. Kozee, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, used the word as a reminder not to add anything else to her plate. For 2022, her word is “flow.” After choosing the word, she made a vision board with “flow” in the middle surrounded by a picture of Oprah Winfrey, inspirational quotes and other motivational images. Because “2020 and 2021 were so off-the-chart bonkers, I was like, ‘Look, whatever 2022 throws at me, I’m just going to flow like a river,’ ” Kozee explains. “I’m just going to keep on keepin’ on and handle whatever comes my way.”