Last year, I wrote about choosing my word of the year, which was ‘impact’. I wanted to focus on things that had a desired impact on my life, rather than feeling like I was juggling and flailing.
When I think about goals, there are always many: work, home life, and relationships. Amazingly, when I have just one word to think about, it really helps ground my thoughts and the chaos my mind creates around these goals and wishes. Each time I found myself needing to make decisions, I could make them with intention by thinking about what would have the impact I wanted.
Did I honour my 2025 Word of the Year?
One of the ways I honoured the word ‘impact’ was by clarifying exactly what I wanted in terms of work. I am multi-passionate and my career had various directions that it could take, so I spent a lot of time thinking about what I should focus on first and what would have the best impact on my goals. One goal was to make sure I could work from home and for myself. I wanted this because I knew that having a family was important to me, and this would facilitate it to work the way I hoped for.
Another was in the home. Sometimes, home can feel like a constant hamster wheel of tasks. You wash the dishes, put them away, use the dishes, wash the dishes and so on! One thing that made a big impact is thinking about what we actually use. We love to cook and use every pan in the house, but we definitely have favourites. Same with clothes, toiletries, and so on. By getting rid of just one pan that we use the least, a few pairs of socks that always get left in the drawer, and doing this in other areas, the home feels much more manageable. We already declutter often, but these small changes had an impact on our home life.
There are so many more times I referenced my word of the year, and it encouraged me to start thinking about it earlier this time around. Throughout December, I was thinking about how I want to go into 2026, what word would suit my lifestyle, and also allow me to check in to ensure that I’m honouring my wish.
My Word of the Year 2026
One of the words I considered was Ease. I wanted to choose things that allow me more ease, make decisions that felt good to me, and give myself an easier time. However, I feel like I’ve been doing that throughout the past year in some way, and being pregnant has allowed me to try to prioritise myself and rest more. I’m also aware that in the midst of newborn parenting, I might not be able to honour that ease, so it doesn’t feel quite right. Sometimes, I actually believe inconvenience is what makes things better for me – e.g. cooking a nice meal over opting for a takeaway. So ease doesn’t quite suit where I’m at, but I’ll definitely be continuing to make life easier either way.
I’ve landed, instead, on the word Joy. I am generally happy and have wonderful things happening in my life. However, even while feeling joyful, the past year has shown me that I can get stuck on the things that are not bringing it to me. Things such as trying to resolve conflicts or other people’s problems. I’ve been people-pleasing less (finally!), but I can please myself even more. Instead, I want to surround myself with people, situations, and events that bring me joy. And I want to share more joy with others! Bring them laughs and excitement. I don’t want to spend any time on things that don’t feel good. And of course, realistically, I know life won’t always be sunshine and rainbows, but I want to make sure I focus on finding joy, not just appreciating it when it happens. We have a new baby joining the family this year, and I know that will bring us the most joy we’ve ever felt, and I want to soak it all up without anything clouding that.
Joy to me means a deliberate focus on happiness, finding good amidst challenges, and ensuring peace in my life. And I am so excited for that energy in 2026!
How to use your Word of the Year
You don’t have to get stuck on your word. You can change it or adapt throughout the year. You can keep yourself aligned with it in a few ways. For example, with the word Joy, I can make sure I do something that brings me that each day – making a fancy hot chocolate, going for a nice walk, meeting a friend, etc. I could also say no to things that I don’t believe will bring me Joy.
If you’re struggling to think of a word for yourself, you can find a list of ideas and inspiration in my post from last year.
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