This will be my 10th year of foregoing traditional resolutions and choosing one word that embodies the direction I want for the year. I am a massive fan of audacious long-term plans, weekly to-do-to-done lists, and my newest love, the annual Bingo Card! Complete with big gold stars, so it isn’t that I am not a planner or goal-setter. I have just found that having a single true north on the compass makes it easier to decide on goals, choose projects, and most importantly, say NO when the opportunity in front of me doesn’t serve what I ultimately desire.
Since 2016, I have chosen Action, Deeper, Light, Focus, Endgame, Right Now, Aligned, Audacious, and Impact. Each encompasses some intimate part of who I am and where I want to be after a year. The years never close exactly as I envision in January, but keeping the word top of mind helps me end the year with a sense of purpose and accomplishment—often in a better place, though different from what I imagined.
Regardless of how you do it, there are three significant benefits of setting intentions, defining end-game goals, and lining out what we desire and who we want to be.
Clarifying Your Direction: When you give your mind a clear focus, you align your energy with what matters most to you. It is far too easy to get swept up in life’s chaos. A specific intention acts as a filter to capture distractions and minimize wasted energy.
Empowering Your Mind: Your mind has an incredible ability to shape your reality. Science has a long name for it: Reticular Activating System — a network in your brain that filters information based on your focus. By choosing that focus instead of letting circumstances control you, you train your brain to seek out opportunities, people, and situations that align with your desires and direction. This practice shifts your mindset from reactive to proactive, empowering you to accept and own what you want to create.
Dethroning Perfection: Setting a clear, concise, all-encompassing intention before creating checklists and specifics removes the poison of perfection from the equation. (Well, at least it gives us a fighting chance. I am sure I am not alone in lining up shots of that poison from time to time!) Resolutions and check-box goals can feel all-or-nothing, linear, and unyielding. Life isn’t going to follow any rules, to say the least, and if effectively checking a list of boxes is the only bar for success, frustration is the best we can expect. Shame and failure are the more likely outcomes. A guiding word defines your values for the year and gives you the freedom to adapt, reevaluate, and move forward—without the guilt or shame of 'failure' if things don’t go as planned.
As 2025 is getting rolling and you are evaluating where you have been, where you sit right now, and where you’d like to be in December, I encourage you to widen your focus a bit. Spend some time envisioning WHO you want to BE and what that future version of yourself values. That’s the actual target.
Who do you want to be?
How do you want to contribute?
What do you want to leave behind?
What will it take this year to stay on the path to that future?
These are the things that truly matter and motivate us. For example, that debt free status that is on many of our lists is a lot more about freedom than it is about financial status.
Here’s what I’ve learned, even if it is only worth 2 cents wrapped in a few words. I am absolutely sure of one thing: You are a badass addition to the world around you, and you have a purpose that is only yours to master. Live with that truth in mind. 2025 is a blank page, and at the risk of being incredibly cliché, you control the pen writing the story you will tell at the end of this year.
Whether you use the Word of the Year idea or not, choose to be crazy intentional with your focus in 2025. After all... “Our intentions create our reality.” (Thanks Wayne Dyer!)
This year is yours to own, shape, and celebrate. So, let’s get moving. It’s time.
Keep shining!
This blog is a personal collection of my thoughts, wins, losses, memories, and crossroad moments. Almost all of which were hashed out around my kitchen counter and in my journals. If any of it resonates with you and you are ready to free up the hidden badass you ARE right now, I can help. It’s time… Click the link and Let’s chat.
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