My Word for 2022
A word of the year is a certain kind of goal planning. It’s a hope, a mantra, a commitment, a torch that you try to carry through the year. For me, a word of the year is a seed that I plant in December or January, a seed that I nurture by turning up, giving it attention and reflecting on what it means to me. As the seed sprouts and grows, I have no idea what it’s going to turn into or what type of fruit it’ll bear. Will I be a good plant parent? I hope so but, much like resolutions, having a word of the year is an act of optimism.
Recently, I reflected on my word from 2021. Something I didn’t mention in that post was the fact that, with each word of the year (this will be my third), I seem to be rolling further and further back into some idea of my foundations. In 2019, my word for the year was ‘Build.’ In 2021, it was ‘Plant.’ My word for 2022? Grounded. I’m going right back to the start, friends. I really appreciate my previous two words and the things that they got me to focus on, like building my portfolio and creating an environment where I could make art with relative ease. However, deep down there was still that kernel of doubt and low self-confidence. After so much change in the last year or so, I realised that at the age of 32, I didn’t know who I was anymore, what I cared about, or what I wanted my life to look like. What really matters to me when you dig deep? That’s what I’m hoping to find out.
So, based on this word ‘Grounded,’ I’m going to be focusing on a few areas to get to know myself a little bit better. Hopefully, this will help me with my self-confidence, self-love and routines.
1. Know my own mind
For a while now, I’ve felt pretty untethered and overly influenced by things that I see on social media, particularly in the last six months. It’s bizarre, but I’ve realised that sometimes I don’t know whether I really like something because I genuinely think it’s cool or because it’s trending on TikTok (hello Granola Girl fashion). I want to get to know myself again, as well as:
Develop more of a growth mindset
Be more accepting and compassionate towards myself
Understand what I value, what I’m willing to prioritise, when I’m hurting myself, and being ok if I can’t affect change
Let go of what I think I should be like, how I should act and what I should care about
2. Lean into healthy habits
Life is built on your routines and habits. I’d definitely like to have healthier ones, not only when it comes to moving my body more, but also by accepting my changing body and being appreciative of what it does for me. The goal isn’t aesthetics but confidence. In particular, in 2022 I want to feel:
Strong and capable
Clear-headed and living sustainably for me
3. Prioritise relationships
I have a couple of bad habits. I either swing between extreme friendliness and a desire to show up meaningfully for all of my friends or I’m completely antisocial and want to be a permanent hermit. In an effort to find some kind of balance, I want to work on:
Spending time with real people, not social media
Understanding that I can’t be everything to everybody, and to prioritise where I give my energy
4. Be present
I’ve read a lot of articles and books about the difficulty that many of us have with being present in the moment. Phones are obviously big distractions. Personally, I also have the tendency to primarily remember the bad things, which sullies a potentially good or neutral memory. So, I’m going to try and:
Read and reflect more
Get off my phone
Note the ‘Yay’ things
Final thoughts
To a certain extent, I think I try to focus on these four areas every year, but at the end of 2021, I became very aware that I needed to prioritise them. It’s all well and good to try to remember to be present and to reach out to friends, but it’s another to actively practice it. I hope this post maybe sparks something off for you and your desires for the next twelve months. Let me know if you’re doing a Word for the year or if you’re following the TikTok trend of entering your ‘villain era’.
