Happy Sunday Everyone-
Something I’ve done most years in the past, although did manage to skip last year, is having a word for the year. Thankfully, I was on a call a few weeks ago with my friends Jimmy and JJ and JJ was talking about his word, which is “simple”. Outsiders could say that’s a strange word to choose, but if you saw JJ last year, he was on a plane every other week, he wrote a book (that is doing well), involved in 4 different coaching platforms, including his own, all while being a solid spouse/parent and running a highly successful business. His resume looks dialed in, but he’d tell you his life could use some simplification in 2026. What’s more important, a life or a resume? Jimmy chose “student”, realizing he’s a better person, husband, father, leader, when he’s coming from a student mindset i.e. when he listens more, when he talks less, when he’s open to ideas vs. always giving the idea.
My word is “essential”. I get scattered with having a few different roles. I can easily get taken off of what is important to what is urgent (sometimes they’re both, most times they’re not). As important is my personal life. At 51 I’m increasingly aware of what is essential to my personal wellbeing and what is not. Running my decisions through the filter of “is this essential to my life goals” gives me the clarity I need on yes/no decisions. Those close to me can remind me “is this essential” when making decisions/choices.
Our divisional leadership team on our year end call went around the horn with each person’s word of the year. My family went around the horn on Christmas Eve with their word of the year. What I’ve noticed in both scenarios is it starts off awkward, maybe cheesy, and then as people start thinking through possible words, or others ask questions, the word starts to take shape and is completely relevant to where that person is in their life right now. Pretty cool to watch.
Jack is graduating college and moving to N. Carolina in June, he chose “adaptability” because his world is changing mightily. Thomas chose “efficient” as he believes he needs to be more efficient around being a student athlete with his studies/workouts. Kim chose “treasure”, with the concept of your heart follows your treasure, keeping her focused on her priorities. Other words on our divisional call include, grateful, acceptance, scalability, create, joy, simplify, grounded, focus, consistency, and purpose. Every word chosen for a different reason based on where that person is.
We have a few days left in 2025. Having a word of the year is a simple and proactive way to review 2025 and be intentional about what you want and need going into 2026. Having a word of the year creates intentionality on what you want your future to look like. Seems like a no brainer!