How to Choose Your One Word Resolution for the Year

Why choose one word?

Choosing a godly characteristic that God wants for you in your life truly has the ability to transform your life.

Seriously. Resolutions are hard to keep. Goals are hard to meet, no matter how many action steps you plan. I'm not telling you this to discourage you from making them. I'm simply saying, if you really want to meet all of your goals, choosing ONE WORD to be your focus will help you meet a lot more goals than simply making goals such as I will finish writing that book and I will lose weight. But if you choose a word such as Discipline for the year, it would help keep you focused to be disciplined to work out, eat healthy and write. You may not work out and write every day, but you would be much more likely to get back in the habit, because you are focused on your one word, and as an awesome bonus, you may see that word spill out into other areas of your life too. Score!

Can I choose a new word any time?

Yep! This doesn't have to be a New Years thing. I had the word Victory as my word for about two years. I set Intentional as my word for the year one year until June when God whispered the word Embrace to me, and I was set on a journey to embrace a lot of things in my life that I hadn't before--hence the name and theme of this blog. Another time I had set Confidence as my word of the year in January, but around May, God gave both my husband and I the word Flourish before we were to move to another part of the state, and it encouraged and inspired us during that major life transition. Our eyes were open to all the ways we did indeed flourish once we had claimed and focused on that word.

I recommend that you choose a word you are willing to be intentional about for as long as it takes.

How do I choose my word?

• Pray! God will guide you to the word He wants you to focus on.
• Think of what godly qualities you would most like to see more of in your life. Make a list of words that come to you (see below for inspiration), before narrowing it down.
• Choose one word. It may be hard to settle on one, but one will stand out as something that excites you when you think about having more of that in your life.
• Meaning. Look up the definition of the word and quotes or Bible verses that contain your word. Why is this word meaningful to you, where you are now in life, and where you want to be?
• Goals. Once you have chosen your word, create five to ten goals you would like to see accomplished in the next year that relates to this word with a few specific details to help you achieve it.

List of potential words to choose from

The sky is the limit, but hopefully God is putting one word in particular on your heart to focus on.

If you still need a little help choosing a word, this is a fun online quiz you can take.

Making your goals that align with your one word

Write down goals you have for yourself that are:

1. Outside your comfort zone, but still achievable

2. Cover a variety of areas in your life to keep you well-rounded and growing in multiple areas that matter to you

• Personal: spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical health
• Relational: Goals relating to your marriage, children, church and friends
• Business: Career, finances, hobbies etc.

3. Bring meaning, purpose, and excitement to your life

How can I keep focused on my word?

• Create a vision board with pictures and quotes that relate to your word and that inspires you and put it in a prominent space. Keep your list of goals on that board. Mine is a bulletin board with pictures of my kids, quotes that inspire me, and my list of goals and it is located above my desk where I spend my time with God, write and blog.
• Create a Pinterest board of pins related to your word.
• Buy the letters to spell out your one word resolution and put that word on your work desk, on your fireplace mantel or somewhere else where you will see it often.
• Look up Bible verses that relate to your word and choose one or two to add to your board or to place in a prominent spot. Memorize that verse.
• Find a notebook with your word on it, or decorate your own cover of a notebook with your word so you can journal your progress, to-do lists, or prayers in it.
• Buy or make a piece of jewelry that has your one word resolution on it. My Intent has bracelets that you can personalize with your one word. And Amazon has this bracelet and this necklace that can be personalized. 🙂

Here's to choosing one word that has the potential to change your life!

-Jenn

P.S. Please share with us in the comments below the word you've chosen to help transform your life and help you meet your goals. 🙂