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My One Word: What’s your feelgood new year’s resolution?

my one word
What if you chose one word to guide you this year instead of a traditional new year’s resolution?

Happy new year! Are you getting ready to strap on your party shoes and vintage party dress tonight?

New year’s eve parties are fleeting, but for many of us tonight also means finally settling on our new year’s resolutions. I haven’t always been a fan of new year’s resolutions. To be honest, they always felt a bit flat to me. “Lose weight?” “Eat healthier?” “Work out more?” The standard resolution seems to center around this idea that we aren’t enough, and that bums me out.

A resolution can be overwhelming, and for so many of us, it leaves us feeling guilty by mid-March. Boo on that! One of my Facebook friends hipped me to a sort of new year’s resolution alternative that I am loving so much! Instead of picking some goal that makes you feel bad about yourself, you choose one word to be your guiding principle for the coming year. Isn’t that awesome?

I did a little bit of googling, and it turns out that this concept is called My One Word, and it was the brainchild of a fellow named Michael W. Ashcraft.

Choosing Your One Word

Unlike a traditional resolution, this doesn’t make us feel like we need to somehow fix ourselves. We weren’t broken in the first place! Instead, we’re just identifying a concept that we want to guide us through the next 12 months.

My word for 2013 is kindness, and I can’t wait to let kindness be my guide. For me, that means being kind to the planet, kind to animals and the people around me, and being kind to myself. I might even whip up some cute wine cork wall art to hang in my studio as a daily reminder.

Check out this video from My One Word explaining how Ashcraft came up with the concept and what it means to him:

The roots of this idea are Christian, but that doesn’t mean you have to be Christian to choose a word to guide you through the year! You don’t have to be religious to want to refocus your life around a concept that means a lot to you. It’s all about choosing the word that works for you.

Of course, there are tons of words you can choose, and I’ve seen a few that I really like! Here are some ideas to get you going:

  • curiosity
  • joy
  • strength
  • service
  • gratitude
  • giving
  • sharing
  • peace

I think the key to finding your word is just marinating on it for a while. If you don’t pick one tonight, that’s OK! Try some words on and see if they fit.

Are you going to do a one word resolution this year? Drop a comment here with your one word! It will be fun to come back later in the year and see how it’s all going!

Image Credit: Word Cloud via Shutterstock

Written by Becky Striepe

My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”), and I am a crafts and food writer from Atlanta, Georgia with a passion for making our planet a healthier, happier, and more compassionate place to live. My mission is to make vegan food and crafts accessible to everyone!. If you like my work, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, and .

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