A few years ago I heard about this idea of picking a word for the year to lean into and explore. I’ve picked a word the last several years and I’ve loved what each one has taught me. This year, I’m really excited to do the same and I love the word I’ve chosen.
Now, there are several different companies that do this including Ali Edwards- One Little Word and MyIntent, though I’ve never purchased items from either of these places. It is something that is discussed in the prep work of the PowerSheets planner as well. The exercises within that prep work are helpful for finding a word, but not needed to do so. In order to pick a word for the year, I did some simple writing exercises reflecting on what the previous year was like and what I wanted to focus on in the new year. I wrote about what I struggled with and what I found success in, what I was able to accomplish and what I would be carrying into the new year, and what goals I knew I was going to pursue. Through the writing a word began to jump out at me, a word that represented what the theme of what I wanted to do within the new year would be. For 2021, I chose the word CULMINATE because my goals this year revolve around the work I’ve started and worked toward over the past few years. My goals are about finishing manuscripts that are waiting for me, creating regular habits out of things I know I love but don’t do regularly, and generally moving to the next level in the things that I love to do. Once I picked my word, I focused on making a vision board. This year and last year I decided to make a larger vision board to hang at the top of my plot board. I loved being able to see it last year when I was in my office space and wanted to have the same thing this year.
With my word chosen and my vision board hung, my plot board and dry erase boards all set, I was ready to enjoy bringing in the new year with my family last week. The four of us played games and watched shows (having Phish on in the background live-streaming their chess game against their audience in between sets inspired my oldest to dust off the chessboard and challenge my husband) and we were all awake to see 2020 go and 2021 begin. It was bittersweet, as I knew it would be, but reflecting on what we were able to have in 2020 helped combat the sadness of what we didn’t. It fortified my desire to carry that balance with me into 2021, to celebrate and be grateful for what we will be able to enjoy and still hold space for the sadness of what we will lose. It’s important to have both. And now that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these last two weeks ‘off’ from working on my writing (mostly), I’m excited to dive back into it this week. This week I’ll be launching into one of the projects I am most excited about for 2021, which is to FINALLY finish MS:T. I’m also really excited to start querying MS:SB again. Now that it is fully revised, it is ready to go out again.
I hope you had a great end of 2020 and are ready to face whatever 2021 has in store. In case you haven’t been told today, you are more than enough.
Happy Writing!
Nikole Breault 