I wonder if we’d be so gung-ho about New Year’s resolutions if January didn’t come so quickly after December.
The holiday season, with all its fun and festivities and fa-la-las, also gives us obligations, stress, and bullet lists (or credit card bills) a mile long. And after pushing ourselves to exhaustion or gorging ourselves on red and green candies (No, YOU ate an entire bag of peanut M&Ms in one day!), the idea of a new day, month, year is more than a breath of fresh air. It’s a gulp of oxygen as we feel ourselves drowning in year-end excess and (often unmet) expectations.
But before we start a list of all the many, many ways we’re going to be better, do more, work harder or smarter — or both! — this year, let’s take a time out. Let’s breathe in deep our clean calendars and pretty paper journals, and let’s boil all our best intentions and goals and ambitions down a little.
I don’t know about you, but I know that this time of year, as we put 2021 behind us and look forward to whatever may come in 2022, I’m tempted to forget everything I’ve learned in the past twelve months (and every year before). My knees feel weak at the thought of a few more bullet points, and I get a little breathless as I organize all my hopes and dreams and plans into the most perfect outline or spreadsheet you’ve ever seen.
Yeah, it’s true. I totally get a crush on New Year’s resolutions, the bad boy of all goal-setting strategies, the one I swear off every year because he’ll just end up hurting me. That one. Yes, I fall for his charm (The possibilities! The potential!) every time.
And that’s why I come back to DaySpring’s Word of the Year.
DaySpring’s Word of the Year encourages us to forget resolutions and instead, focus on just ONE word. The idea is that we focus on this one word every day, all year long — one word that sums up who we want to be or how we want to live. DaySpring’s Word of the Year is what snaps me out of my dreamy resolution fog and grounds me — not just in January but every month of the year.
Whether I’m brainstorming writing topics and business ideas, pinning recipes to try and crafts to make, or identifying all the ways I need to do more, work harder, and be better, I easily lose my mind first in the more!-more!-more! approach to making my lists and then moving towards the overwhelmed, I-can’t-possibly-do-any-of-this, I’m-going-to-hide-under-the-covers reaction to my lists in the face of reality.
Focusing on just one word for the year keeps me centered, and it leaves me a whole lot more successful and satisfied with life. Especially because when I force myself to funnel my hopes and goals for an entire year into a single word or phrase, I also force myself to focus on what truly matters and what will make an eternal difference in my life and the lives of those I care about.
See? Way more satisfying than pretending like this is the year I’m going to start flossing every day.
This article was written by Mary Carver, (in)courage writer.
We’re excited to share with you a fun, EASY way to kick off your new year — the Word of The Year quiz from DaySpring! The seven simple questions will lead you to one word that will remind you of God’s truth all year long and inspire you to live your faith every day.
Click here to take the short 7-question quiz and find your word — nothing overwhelming about that! Once you have your word, download the graphic that goes with your word and share it on social media. Be sure to tag @incourage so we can cheer you on!
Then come back here and share your word in the comments, along with what it means to you. As an added bonus, we’re giving one lucky commenter* a $100 shopping spree to DaySpring.com!
Whether you’re reluctant to begin or you’re chomping at the bit to enter the new year, we’re here to cheer you on in the good things God has for you in 2022.
Let’s lean into truth together. What’s your word?