Firstly, Happy New Year!! I hope you have been having a lovely holiday break. We’ve got our Goal Setting and Planning Session coming up on January 16th, but as we are right at the beginning of 2026 now, I wanted to encourage you to think about what your word of the year might be.
Last year (2025) was all about my health. I’m type 2 diabetic and have been for 13 years. And it wasn’t very well controlled at the end of 2024. I decided that I was going to take my health seriously, joined Weight Watchers and made the decision to start each day with at least 5000 steps on my walking pad at least 5 days a week. With a few ups and downs, I managed to get my blood sugars into the pre-diabetic range in December 2025 (🎉), lost some weight (not as much as I would have liked but 🤷♀️) and started strength training at the end of the year and significantly improved my fitness.
My word for 2025 was CONSISTENCY – focused mainly on my health. It was about showing up for myself even when I didn’t want to.
2025 also had a lot of life stuff going on with my daughter studying for her A-levels and going away to university and with my 81 year old Mum’s health (she had pancreatic cancer and was going through chemo on her own in Canada). Last year I flew over to visit her 5 times and I’m really pleased to say she is currently beating the odds and her cancer seems to be under control at the moment and she was able to spend the holidays with us this year – truly a miracle as Pancreatic cancer is a tough one to beat.
Anyway, all that is to say, that during 2025 my own book creation took a back seat. I did create some books but not as many as I would have liked and I found it hard to stay focused with my own book goals that I had set at the beginning of the year.
So, this year, my word of the year is FOLLOW THROUGH. Yep, I know it’s two words 😂 and I have looked at word hippo for single words that feel right, but Follow Through is the right word for me this year.
Spoiler Alert for the training that is coming up, but one of the great challenges I have is staying on track. So this year, I am going to focus on following through on my ideas to completion, shipping my books, removing distractions, shiny object syndrome and following my own track and not getting derailed by social media or other people’s ideas. Follow Through is all about being accountable to myself and my ideas and using that word to change some of the behaviours that are getting in my way of achieving the things that I want to achieve.
Choosing YOUR word of the year.
Your Word of the Year should be a guide to what you want to focus on in 2026. Odds are, you probably have a bit of an idea already on what you want for the coming year.
There are a few different ways to go about choosing your word of the year. You can pick a word that represents something you want to achieve, or something you want to change about yourself. You can also choose a word that reflects your theme for the year ahead. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your word of the year…
1. Pick a word that has meaning for you. Your word of the year should be something that has personal significance for you. It could be a word that represents a goal you want to achieve, or something you want to change about yourself.
2. Make sure your word is positive. Your word of the year should be one that is positive that will help you move forward in your life. Avoid choosing a word that has negative connotations or that could hold you back.
3. Keep it simple. Your word of the year doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it’s often better to choose a word that is simple and easy to remember.
4. Write it down. Once you’ve chosen your word of the year, be sure to write it down somewhere where you’ll see it every day. This will help you stay focused on your goal.
5. Share your word with others. Tell your friends and family about your word of the year. This will help to keep you accountable and motivated to achieve your goal.
Is there a word that already feels right?
You might already have a good idea of that that word is! Start with that. Sit with it and write down what that word means to you. What comes up for you when you roll it around in your mind? Is it the right word? Does it have the right energy for you? Does it feel good to have this be your focus for the next 12 months?
Don’t have a word yet?
Here is a quick guide to help you. Grab a notebook or piece of paper and …
Start with the end in mind.
Find a quiet space, relax your body and your mind and sit down and imagine that it is December 2026. Look back on your year.
What do you want to feel by the end of the year?
What do you want to have achieved by the end of the year?
What has got in the way of achieving those feelings or goals?
What behaviours do you need to focus on to help you get to where you want to be?
Review what you have written down
Is there anything that comes up for you? When you look at what you have written, what feeling comes up as being what you want to feel? What behaviours do you want to focus on?
Review this list of words
Are there any words that particularly jump out at you as being meaningful? If none of these resonate for you, you can ask ChatGPT or go to WordHippo to build your own list of words.
You can take your time to come up with a word. Try one out and see how it feels. Sit with it for a day or two and check in and see if it is still a good word for you.
Once you have settled into your word of the year. Embed it in your mind. Write it in your journal. Decide that you are going to reflect on it each week.
Use it to guide your actions and as a regular check-in to keep you on track.
