This season, especially during the next two weeks, is a special time not only for celebrating what is most important to each of us during this Christmas season, but also for spending time with family and friends. One gift that we each receive every year, if we choose to open it, is the opportunity to reflect on the previous year. We take stock of who we are and where we are at. We reflect on the success & failure and joy & sadness of the previous year.
The beauty of this gift is that while we reflect on the previous year, we are also drawn to starting afresh with a clean slate. We look to the New Year, a natural division in the calendar, to do something new, to change something we don’t like, or to do it differently.
Unfortunately, of the 41% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, only about 9% will actually feel they were successful in achieving their resolutions. 42% have already figured it out and don’t bother making them. If you are one of the 9%, I congratulate you on your incredible will power.
I, for one, got off this merry-go-round several years ago. I found something way better.
I Hated Failing Every Year
I was tired of feeling like a total failure when it came to New Year’s resolutions. I can’t think of one resolution since I was a child that I was actually able to keep. However, I wanted to take advantage of the fresh start that a new year naturally provided me. There was some sense of satisfaction that I gained by taking down my old calendar and replacing it with a brand new one—a clean, shiny one—that lay bare, full of possibility.
Several years ago, I heard someone on the radio talk about her “word for the year.” My ears perked up. Each year she selected a word (usually inspired) that would guide her and encourage her through the ups and downs of the New Year.
I thought I would try it. After all, there were no strings attached. No judgments. No failures. There was just a word—but it would be my word. That first year, my inspired word was “Wellness.” Every time I chose to do something, I asked myself if this action or thought promoted my wellness. If it did, I did it. If it didn’t, I did my best to pass on it. I was not always successful, but I think overall by the end of the year, I was more successful than not. It wasn’t perfect. But I also wasn’t beating myself up over it. I would just keep going.
Over the next several years, I had been inspired to have the words “Peace,” “Brave,” and “Fully Persuaded.” Each of these words came to me with a Scripture verse and/or sometimes a poignant song.
Inspired Words Make A Difference
Here’s what I found. When I had my word for the year, I found myself thinking differently, choosing differently, and acting differently—for the better. Yes, there is absolutely the room and need for SMART goals, but I have found that, in the context of my word for the year, I achieve my goals so much better and without being driven by guilt or fear, but by compassion and grace.
In this season of celebrating Christ’s birth, I would encourage you to ask for an inspired word for the year and let it guide your thoughts, actions, and motivations.
Here’s why.
An inspired word is . . .
1 – Personal. It is specific to you. It does not mean others don’t have the same word, it means this is the word for you personally, now.
2 – Relevant. An inspired word is a word that comes to you because of where you are at in this particular time and season in your life. I have found my word to be an area of growth for me as well. But it will mean more to you than a list of things you think you “should” be doing.
3 – Transformational. Over the course of the new year, using your inspired word to help you make decisions, helps you become the person you want to be. Your inspired word should help you change from the inside out. For example, the year my word was “Brave,” I did several hard things in my life that had always been afraid to do. But my inspired word reminded me that this was an area of my life in which I needed to grow. And grow I did in this area. It doesn’t mean that I feel brave all the time, but when I’m scared, I remember the brave things I did and it inspires me to continue to be brave, especially when I’m most afraid.
Instead of making a list of New Year’s resolutions sometime in the next two weeks, I would encourage you to take the gift of time and reflection and no matter what faith you are, ask your Creator to inspire you with a word for the year that is both personal and relevant to you, and at the same time will be transformational in your life.
By the way, I don’t have my word for 2018 yet. I’m still waiting patiently . . . But it always shows up just in time. And by the way, “just in time” sometimes happens after January 1st.
But that’s okay, because this is not a New Year’s resolution that starts on January 1st. It is an inspired word that I will have for the entire year to explore, befriend, and live out.
What might your word for the year be? Leave a comment.