Ditch the New Year’s Resolutions for One Word

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Several years ago, I stopped making resolutions in favor of a single word for the entire year. I select a word and use it as a jumping-off point to make changes in my life. For the year 2021, my word was Remember. This article will give you tips on how to pick your One Word for 2022.

These yearly words help me to keep a focus. Moreover, a personal word of the year can help you make changes slowly instead of trying to start the year off with a bang and finding out that by the end of January you have failed to make any real change and you end up throwing in the towel. Too often a resolution just makes you feel like a failure. However, the right word is a great way to try new things, make strides to personal growth, and keep you on the right track the entire year.

Where Does the One Word Concept Originate?

Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olson wrote My One Word in 2012. Their goal was to help you lose the resolution and instead pick a powerful word that represents what you hope God will do in your life.

In 2013, Jon Gordon wrote a book entitled One Word that Will Change Your Life. This book gave the concept an additional framework for selecting a word by preparing your heart to receive your word by looking inward (What do I need? What’s in my way? and What needs to go?), and looking up and trusting God to help you find your word. This is all about simplifying your life and business by focusing on “One Word for the entire year.”

In 2016, Evan Carmichael wrote Your One Word and really propelled the movement forward. Carmichael’s book helps you “nail down your personal mottos – the word that captures your purpose and passion.”

How to Pick Your One Word for 2022: Selecting My One Word

At the end of each year, I pray and ask for a word for the upcoming year. Each year, I write down 5-7 words that I think might work for the upcoming year, but rarely has my word come from that list of words. Most of the time, my word comes to me quietly. For 2018, my word was focus. At that time I believed God was wanting me to get more focused on what I was doing, but He really was working on my focusing on what He was doing in my life. He was having me focus on the important things in life and letting go of the little things that really don’t matter.

While my focus was on my blog, what I was writing, my children and grandchildren, and my marriage, I really began to see that God had me focusing on my relationship with Him. In the process, my relationship with those around me changed for the better.

Where Can I get Word of the Year Ideas?

Besides reading My One Word and the books by Gordon and Carmichael, you can also gather ideas from online word generators. While I have found these word generators to be fun to click through, they haven’t been very helpful in actually selecting words.

I personally pray and seek God’s answer for my one word. I also make a list of words that are in the “running” for the best one-word for the year.

How Can I Stay Focused on My One Word for the Year?

After selecting your word, select a Bible verse (or some other quote) that will help you to keep your focus. Or consider having multiple Bible Verses to learn even more scripture.

Post your word and your Bible Verse on the bathroom mirror for a daily reminder.

Create a Vision Board with your one word.

Don’t set out to make huge life changes. Instead, make several small steps each week (or month) towards change.

Don’t think of your word as a One-word resolution. Instead, look at the word as a powerful tool to help you make better choices. Treat the word as a focus word or guiding word to keep you on track for the year.

Write reminders in your phone to go off on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly – whatever works for you) so you can track progress or amazing happenings in regards to your one word.

Keep a journal. Write your new word down and what you hope to accomplish through the one little word. After the whole year is over read back through some of your journal entries to see your One Word in a new way. You will be amazed at how God has worked and orchestrated in small ways to make an impact.

More Tips to Pick Your One Word

My Past Year Words:

2021 – Remember

2020 – Limitless

2019 – Courageous

2018 – Focus

2017 – Change

2016 – Strength

Before that time, I selected words but didn’t write blog posts about them. Sadly, I have forgotten what words I selected.

More Ways to Track Your One Word:

There are so many different ways to track your one word. There are also great graphic generators and even Canva has One Word graphics that you can use to share on social media.

Sharing your One Word on social media helps to expand the conversation among friends! This can be a fun way to stay on track. If you have a business Facebook Page consider posting on a monthly basis and ask your followers if they have any ways that their one word has impacted their life the last month.

Additional Thoughts on How to Pick Your One Word for 2022:

When I selected Remember for my word for 2021, I wrote in my journal, “We remember moments that were the hardest and the best.” I thought that God wanted me to remember what he had done in the past. I actually thought it was about remembering what God has done for “His people.” I spent time reading the Bible and seeing how God led his people through the years. I contemplated having my readers tell their stories of what God had done in their lives.

However, it was through a pastor that I really began to see that God wanted me to remember how He has led me through many desert situations. Through that remembering, my faith began to grow for our present situation. God has taken us through the wilderness for the year 2021 and brought us out stronger – our faith is stronger, our marriage is stronger, and our family is stronger. Ironically, my husband and I were asked to share a favorite Christmas memory, and we both selected 2002. This was a year that we had no tree, no money, and I was pregnant with our fourth child.

It was in remembering that season in 2002 that we were able to see how God led us through a difficult time and how He provided then. This entire process led us to the present moment when we are encountering a similar situation. Remembering how much God cared for us then opened our eyes to show us how much He is caring for us now.

Remember

The word remember seemed so odd at the beginning of the year, but I can see how God used that word to mold me into the person I am now 12 months later. This simple word has proved to be a life-giving, sustaining word that enabled both my husband and myself to grow exponentially. Psalm 78:11 They forgot what He had done, the wonders he had shown them.

My One Word for 2022

I finally did pick my one word for 2022. My word is declutter. While I know that God told me to declutter my house a couple of years ago, I started and then stopped when I got distracted. However, my one word for 2022 is about more than just clearing out the clutter in my house. It is also about clearing out the thoughts and actions that derail me from what God is calling me to do. And if we are all honest with ourselves, we can admit that we all fall short in that area.

Far too often we allow the distractions of the world – scrolling social media, playing video games, mindlessly strolling the shopping center to distract us from being a servant for God’s kingdom. When I get on social media, I want to have a purpose. When I purchase something, I want to know that it is a good use of God’s resources. And when I spend time with people, I want to know that conversations are useful for encouraging others.

My One Word Bible Verse and Quotes to Encourage

Luke 12:15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

“Clutter robs us of life. It robs us socially, when we’re too embarrassed to have people over. It robs us spiritually, because we can’t be at peace in a cluttered home. And it robs us psychologically, by stealing our ability to feel motivated in our space.” –Peter Walsh

“Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.”
–Marie Kondo

“Clutter is not just physical stuff, it’s old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits.” –Eleanor Brown

“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
–William Morris

“You can’t reach for anything new if our hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” Louise Smith

Let me know what you have selected for your One Word and why?