📘🖊️ Choose One Word to Guide You In 2026. 📘🖊️
Hello!
The first week of 2026 is already behind us, and I hope the New Year has been treating you kindly so far. Have you had a chance to reflect on 2025 and think about how you’d like this year to unfold?
If not, I encourage you to give yourself that time. Tools like Mel Robbins’ workbook, the Best Year Workbook can be invaluable — I’m still working my way through mine.
And if structured reflection isn’t your thing, there’s another simple, yet powerful, option:
The One-Word Technique
Instead of creating a long list of resolutions, you choose one guiding word that captures how you want to feel and how you want to show up this year. Think of it as a compass. Your word supports your decisions, priorities, and direction — especially when life gets busy.
How to Choose Your Word
Sometimes the word has come easily to me, and other years, it’s helped to move through a little process:
Look back.
What drained you last year? What energized you? What patterns do you notice?
Look ahead.
If you had to pick one priority for 2026, what would it be? Health, support, courage, rest, abundance, structure, or joy?
Brainstorm.
If you need some inspiration, check out the word list below. Write down 10 words that resonate. Set the list aside. Come back to it and gently narrow the list to five… then three… then two… until one word feels right. Perhaps do this process with a friend, and you can check in with one another throughout the year.
Test it.
Ask yourself:
”Does this word align with my priorities for 2026?
Notice how your body feels when you say the word out loud. Does it feel grounding? True? Unrealistic or mundane?
Stay Connected To Your Word
A word only becomes powerful when you stay connected to it.
Put it somewhere you’ll see it-journal, mirror, phone or computer screen.
Check in regularly, “How are you living your word right now?”
Let it guide tiny actions.
My Words Over the Years
This practice has had an enormous impact on me, and I regret that I let it slip for a few years.
2018 — FREEDOM
2019 — FREEDOM
2023 — WELLNESS
2024 — EASE
2025 — CONSISTENCY
When we lived in Toronto, I worked at a legal aid clinic that I loved — but I was deeply burned out near the end of my time there. My word for 2018 and 2019 was FREEDOM, and it’s no surprise that it helped us choose to move to Prince Edward County earlier than we’d planned.
For 2025, my word was CONSISTENCY — especially around my self-care. But the nature of my part-time job created a very unpredictable schedule, making it impossible for me to participate in regular self-care practices. Last August, I realized that no matter how grateful I was for my part-time job, it simply didn’t support the life and rhythm I needed. I gave notice and finished in December.
It was the right decision — and also a scary one. The income from that job helped cover Peggy’s vet care and day-to-day expenses. But I realized something important: I need to put the same effort into believing in myself and my passions as I had been giving to that job — and all the ones before it.
This led me to my word for 2026:
COURAGE
Courage will be my anchor this year — especially when insecurity or self-doubt show up. It will remind me to trust that I can figure things out, stay focused, and keep moving toward what matters.
A Simple Check-In Question
Whenever you have moments when you feel unsure, confused or struggling with a decision, ask yourself:
“Does this move me toward or away from my word?”
Once I choose my word, I keep it close — weaving it into my meditation practice, posting it on the bathroom mirror, and even setting it as the background on my phone and computer. These gentle reminders matter. Over time, I’ve learned that a single, meaningful word really can shape a year.
If you’ve chosen a word for 2026, I invite you to share it in the comments below.
Let your word become a quiet beacon — offering daily guidance, and a steady anchor whenever you feel a little untethered.
Be well.
Anita 🙏🌟❄️
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