Every January brings a familiar pause. People look back before they look ahead. They think about what worked, what didn’t, and what they want to carry forward into the year to come.
More and more people are choosing a word of the year instead of traditional resolutions. Rather than creating long lists that feel overwhelming by February, choosing a single word helps simplify decision making and clarify focus. A word of the year becomes a filter. A way to ask, “Is this aligned with how I want to live this year?”
It’s not about discipline or perfection. It’s about intention.
There’s no official study showing exactly how many adults choose a word of the year, but the practice has become common enough that it shows up across personal growth, leadership, coaching, and wellness spaces. That alone says something. People are looking for ways to grow that feel realistic, grounded, and sustainable.
This year, my word of the year is action.
What I appreciate most about choosing a word of the year is that it meets you where real life happens. Not in ideal circumstances. Not when everything is calm and clear. But in the middle of busy days, competing priorities, and moments where it would be easier to put things off.
A word doesn’t demand a complete life overhaul. It simply asks you to notice your patterns. Where do you hesitate, where do you default to old habits, where do you talk yourself out of what you already know you want?
For me, that’s where action comes in.
I’ve learned that many of the things we call procrastination are actually hesitation dressed up as responsibility. We wait for more time, more clarity, more confidence. We tell ourselves we’ll start when things slow down, when the timing feels better, when we’re more ready. But readiness is rarely something that arrives on its own.
A word of the year gives you something steady to come back to when excuses sound reasonable and delay feels justified. It gently interrupts the loop. It reminds you that small steps count. That movement matters. That waiting is also a choice.
That’s what action does for me. It doesn’t pressure me, it grounds me. It brings me back to the question that matters most: what is the next honest step I can take right now?
Why Choosing a Word of the Year Works
Choosing a personal word of the year works because it gives you direction without pressure. Instead of tracking multiple goals, one word helps you stay anchored when life gets busy or decisions feel heavy.
A word of the year is flexible. It evolves as the year unfolds. What your word means in January may look very different by September. Sometimes it pushes you forward. Other times it invites clarity or a necessary pause. Either way, it keeps you engaged in your life instead of reacting to it.
For me, choosing a word of the year has become less about planning and more about awareness.
Why I Chose Action as My Word of the Year
I chose action because this season of my life feels full, and when everything matters, it’s easy to get stuck thinking instead of doing.
This is a year of meaningful transitions. One of the biggest is the launch of my new book. Writing a book is a slow, private process. Launching a book is not. It asks you to speak up, to share your work, and to trust that what you created is ready to meet the world.
That takes action.
Not the loud, frantic kind. The steady kind. Showing up consistently. Saying yes to opportunities. Following through even when doubt creeps in. Action is what moves an idea from a document on your computer into the hands of someone who might need it.
Action in a Year of Change
This year also holds a milestone I’m still wrapping my head around. I’m becoming a grandmother. That sentence feels both grounding and surreal. It marks the passage of time in a way nothing else quite does.
Becoming a grandmother isn’t something you prepare for with a checklist. It invites presence, perspective, and a different kind of awareness. And here too, action matters. Presence is a form of action. Being available. Paying attention. Choosing to slow down enough to notice what matters in the small moments.
At the same time, I’m standing on the edge of another transition. I’m not an empty nester yet, but I’m moving closer, I can feel the shift coming. The rhythm of our home is changing, and the questions are changing too.
What do I want this next chapter to look like?
How do I want to spend my time and energy as roles evolve?
Transitions like this can quietly invite waiting. Waiting for clarity. Waiting for life to settle into a new normal.
Action reminds me not to wait passively for the next chapter to arrive. The in-between space is still part of the story.
What Action Really Means to Me
For me, action is not about doing more or staying busy. It’s about doing what matters.
It’s about noticing where I hesitate out of habit rather than necessity. Where I explain instead of engage. Where I delay because something feels uncomfortable rather than wrong.
Over the years, I’ve learned that clarity rarely shows up before movement, it comes through movement. Confidence isn’t something you wait for. It’s built through experience. Through showing up. Through learning what works and adjusting along the way.
Action is how trust in yourself is built.
Living Your Word of the Year One Choice at a Time
Choosing a word of the year gives you something simple to return to when decisions show up, both big and small.
Do I lean in or pull back, do I start now or wait until it feels easier? Do I say yes to what matters or default to what’s familiar?
Choosing a word of the year doesn’t guarantee perfect choices. It keeps you engaged, it keeps you intentional, it keeps you present.
And that’s the real power of it.
Choosing Your Own Word of the Year
If you’ve grown tired of resolutions that feel narrow or demanding, choosing a word of the year might be worth trying. Your word might be rest, courage, patience, focus, trust, or joy.
There’s no right answer. The best word of the year is the one that reflects where you are and what you need most right now.
For me, this year is asking for action.
Action in my work;
Action in my relationships;
Action as I stand at the edge of a new chapter, choosing engagement over hesitation.
Not rushed. Not reactive. Just intentional movement forward.
When I find myself overthinking or waiting for perfect clarity, I come back to my word.
Action.
A Small Action You Can Take Today
One of the ways I’m choosing action this year is by putting my new book into the world.
REAL Confidence: A Simple Guide to Go from Unsure to Unshakeable comes out February 17, 2026, and it’s written for women who are ready to stop second guessing themselves and start trusting who they are becoming.
You can learn more and pre order a copy here:
👉 https://realconfidencebook.com
