I chose Happy.

A couple of years ago I saw a blog post (sorry I lost track of the source) promoting the idea of selecting a word for the upcoming year. Despite never embracing the practice of making New Year’s resolutions, this annual fresh start appealed to me. I liked the idea so much that I went back a few years to give them a word and then started. Basically you pick a word that represents what you want, need or hope for the year. It can be a wish, goal, dream, etc. whatever appeals to you.

I keep the list on a wall in my office where it can stare at me and catch my eye on occasion.

2011 – Write

2012 – Survive

2013 – Rebuild

2014 – Blissful

2015 – Prosperous

2016 – Balance

2017 – Happy

2018 – Energized

This year when I added the new word I took a closer look at my list. The first ones were accurate thanks to hindsight but the rest seemed off a little. As I focused on this it occurred to me that they seem to take shape more clearly, after the year is over and even well into the next.

Is it some kind of time-release power of a word?

Who knows…

What’s your word?