Word for 2015

I used to make New Year Resolutions. I’d resolve to give up smoking, lose weight, save money, learn to drive… And I’d quickly fall at the first hurdle with most of them. And then I’d feel sad and grumpy and like a big fat failure. Resolutions seem to be made for giving up, even though you’d think they were made for keeping. I’m sure there are people out there who love New Year Resolutions and stick to them – I’m just not one of them.

In 2013, I stopped making resolutions and starting choosing a word for the year. This is where you don’t make any promises to do more of anything or to give anything up. All you do is pick a word to be your focus through the year. It’s kind of weird, really, and a little bit like the visualisations that I have generally eschewed (while actually doing something very similar, it turns out). You kind of take this word and place it in your mind – you could write on a big piece of paper and stick it to the wall, you could have it as your desktop wallpaper, you could write it on lots of sticky notes and scatter them around the house (though the people you live with may not necessarily appreciate that). Or you can just pop it in your mind and remember it’s there. I find writing it down a few times – and, of course, doing so in funky hand-drawn type or using bright colours – the most helpful, though as it’s just one word it’s a lot harder to lose sight of than the traditional resolutions. The word becomes the back-bone to what you do through the year. When you’re making a decision, it’s there in the background and it affects your choice. You might consciously say ‘Which decision will hold true to my Word this year?’ Or you might just subconsciously pick the choice that enforces your word. Or you might make a decision and then see how it fits afterwards.

2013 was Happiness.

2014 was Serenity.

And 2015? 2015’s word is going to be Success. I think my main focus for success is my design career and selling/licensing lots of work, getting new commissions and so on (so if you’re an art director or agent reading this, do feel free to get in touch!), but it’s not just about that – it can be about lots of things, really. Success in any new thing I put my mind to. Success in getting my health back on track (whether that be finding a cure for my mysterious illness, or just learning to live with it). Success in tackling the laundry pile. Success in blogging more. Success in being a happy and helpful parent… The word for the year can be brought into any field and area of your life, really – that’s what I did before, and I feel it worked well.

I also find the words from previous years stay with you, because they are so much of a focus and part of who you are that year. Not sure how long that could go on, of course, but I don’t feel I lost sight of happiness last year, even though serenity was my focus; I don’t think I’ll lose sight of serenity this coming year, either.

Do you have a word for 2015? If not, why not consider it?

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