My Word of the Year is “Now”
I like to think of myself as a goal-oriented person, so every January 1st I dutifully sit myself down and come up with a list of New Year’s Resolutions. That I write down.
Because everybody knows that goals need to be written down in order to count, right?
The problem is, as everybody also knows, is that most New Year’s Resolutions go bye-bye by February 1st. Including mine.
So, this year I’ve decided to embrace the Word of the Year trend. It involves choosing one word for the year to be your motto, your theme, your guiding light. That makes it simple, easy to remember, and fun.
It also focuses your attention on your priorities, which means picking the right word for you is important, and the whole idea is that it be positive. It can be a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, whatever works for you.
Some people chose love, peace, cherish, kindness, gratitude, adventure. All great words.
But after much consideration, for the year 2023, I am choosing the word NOW.
As in Now…Wow! As in focusing on the present moment. As in cherishing the present moment. As in finding what is good in the present moment. As in giving thanks for the present moment.
Which is hard, because human beings spend much of their time thinking about the past or imagining the future, often through the lens of regret or worry. But the only time you can truly live, truly do anything, is right now.
When I think: “Now,” that will remind me to give my attention to where I am and what I am doing at that moment. The only things we have control over in life are what I call the three A’s: our Attention, our Actions, and our Attitude. And the only time we can pay attention to something or do something or have an attitude toward something is right now.
I’m still planning to write New Year’s Resolutions: goals for my writing, exercise and healthy eating habits, relationships with friends and family, and hobbies and travel. And since I’m an optimist, I plan to make them stick.
But I’m also excited about my word for the year. And I encourage you to come up with your own. You can even steal mine if you’re so inspired.
Now? Wow!
