Have you decided on your word for 2016?
Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom has chosen her word for 2016 and it is ‘REST’. One Word 365 is a Christian website that guides you through choosing your ‘one word’ for the year ahead.
What’s the deal about the a word for a year?
Many people have realized that New Year Resolutions just don’t seem to work. When we do make them, most times, we end the year with guilt and regrets. Picking a word at the start of the year, helps you focus on real change as you begin to view all your choices through the prism of that one word or one phrase.
If we look at this keeping the ‘Be – Do – Have’ principle in mind, we know know why choosing a word/phrase makes more sense than resolutions. Zig Ziglar said, “You’ve got to be before you can do, and do before you can have.” So when you choose your word, you choose what you want to BE and the Doing and the Having follow as a consequence.
My phrase in 2015 was ‘Daring Greatly‘. While it sounds like a ‘doing’ phrase, it called for me to change my way of being and thinking about a lot of emotional issues. I am happy to say that at the end of the year, I can look back and feel that I have dared greatly. Numerous small, yet daring, decisions have resulted in me feeling more at peace with myself at the end of the year.
I’m still in the process of choosing my word for 2016 and will be sharing the process and my decision with you soon.
Is this a process you have undertaken before? If you’ve chosen a word/ phrase already, do share.
If you would like to do this now here are some useful links to help you choose your word for 2016
Daring to Live Fully : 36 Prompts to Help You Plan an Awesome New Year
Christine Kane offers a worksheet to help you choose your word of the year.
The Write Tribe website might be down for a short while as I make some changes to it, hence our #MondayMusings post will be hosted here for a few weeks.
All you have to do is:
Write a post sharing your thoughts with us – happy, sad, philosophical, ‘silly’ even. Make it as personal as possible.
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Today’s linky can be found here below and my co-hosts are Parul Thakur and Esha Dutta. Please visit and comment on their posts too.
A very relevant post for this time of the year, Corinne! I agree with the Be-Have-Do principle that creates the groundwork before any new behavioural change is initiated! I find that resolutions only work when we sustain them through small do-able acts through the year. Glad to say 2015 helped me see through a few important ones too
Hi Corinne,
I was inspired to choose my word for the year by one such article and now I have been choosing my word every year. I have felt that the word too meets the same fate as resolutions, which I stopped making long time ago.
My favorite words are care, compassion, give and love. They keep coming up again and again, pestering me to follow them religiously. I have been trying. I think this year I would like to try giving again.
Thanks for the early inspiration!
I had never heard of this. Big thank you for sharing and this is exciting. Something that I can think of. I don’t believe in resolutions but I pick up themes and go by that through out the year. It works for me – staying positive, being grateful, focusing on health to name the top three 🙂
As always, your post was insightful. Thanks for sharing!
Parul recently posted..How would you react to being called beautiful?
That’s a wonderful phrase, Corinne
I don’t know if I have a word or phrase in mind for 2016..You have got me thinking actually…
maybe, ‘discovering life’ should be my phrase
Wow… a word for the year… seems like a tall order to me 🙂 I suppose I am too fickle to commit to a word for the whole year… do let us know once you have picked out yours 🙂
What a neat idea. I always have considered New Years’ resolutions as a bunch of hooey. This seems a compelling way to instill a goal in the psyche. Words are powerful, indeed. Thank you for sharing this.

Darla M Sands recently posted..Ten Blatant Workout Myths Debunked, by Yuri Elkhaim
I’ve pretty much decided that my word for 2016 will be harmony. In my heart and my home, I could always use more.
This is such a lovely idea. May be I will try to have a word for the year to come too! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Presently, my word for my new year would be “create”. I’ve come to your blog through Parul’s post on #MondayMusings. I hope to be a regular participant every Monday.
I’ve chosen a word for 2016, and will be writing about it in a blog post at the end of December. Stay tuned!
Thank you for sharing! I am not fond of making resolutions. My favourite word is hope, and I hope to write and read a bit more next year.
I’d like my word to be “yes.” I tend to say no too much. When I’ve made myself say yes more it always leads to better things.

Laurie Stone recently posted..Seriously…What Do You Get the Man Who Has Everything?
I love the idea of a word for the year rather than a resolution Corinne. A word doesn’t seem quite so intimidating and packed with potential failure as a resolution does. Daring greatly is a wonderful phrase and you have really made me start thinking now.Thanks for sharing this inspiring idea. 🙂
What a great idea Corinne!
I’ll be starting 2016 with a month long planning project. I just have way too much that I WANT to do while I also know there is much that I NEED to do — a conundrum for many writers. I get the sense that many are just overwhelmed, including myself!!
But what a great way to start: with a single word. And I love the idea of going from being –> doing –> having. I’ll remember that as I start to think of how I want to set my priorities.
Much food for thought. Thank you!