Why I choose a word of the year

Why I choose a word of the year

I didn’t set a new year’s resolution this year. Or last year, either. I haven’t for a while now.

I do believe in starting the new year with new resolve, but instead of adopting a resolution, I choose a word of the year—a word that encapsulates my aspirations for the twelve months ahead.

In 2016, my word of the year was gentle, which, for me, functioned as a reminder to go easy on myself, to fight the pull of perfectionism, and to encourage others around me to do the same. The next year, my word was spacious, which encouraged me to make room for the things that matter. Last year, my word was grace.

Grace is one of those words that means different things to different people. One of my favorite writers, Mark Nepo, describes each of us as having a spot of grace within us that is an “unencumbered spot, free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry.” That “umbilical spot of grace,” he writes, "is the place “where we were each first touched by God.”

My own definition is less overtly religious. I think of grace as something that comes from the universe—a transcendent moment when something beautiful breaks through, evidence that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

It’s a word that has served me well. I've called on it during difficult conversations, long days at the office, busy trips with our foundation—and especially during a jam-packed December as we worked to close out the year at home and at work. It even helped me find a beam of peace through the sadness of a friend’s funeral. When I was upset or distressed, I whispered it to myself: “Grace.”

I’ve spent the last few days casting around for this year’s word—but I plan to carry grace with me into the new year, too. What I love about grace, at least the way I define it, is that by pulling us up out of ourselves and onto a higher plane, it makes us more open to the world, to new experiences, to each other. It creates connections and encourages empathy.

When I travel for our foundation, especially on those trips that take me to places where poverty and inequality are still a part of daily life—where children are still dying of preventable diseases, where women have no voice in their families or their futures—I sometimes feel the urge to put up my walls and protect myself from the pain and injustice of what I’m seeing. I have to remind myself that sealing myself off is the absolute worst thing I could do. Instead, I need to be willing to let my heart break.

Now, I have a new corollary to that rule. Letting my heart break is important—but keeping my heart open to grace is, too. A broken heart gives me urgency. A moment of grace gives me hope. And both are essential to being the person I want to be and doing the work I believe in.

A broken heart gives me urgency. A moment of grace gives me hope.

That’s the power of a well-chosen word of the year. It makes the year better—and it helps me be better, too. 

Ericka Farrell

Environmental Protection Specialist at US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

2y

Thank you for this article. After losing my oldest son my word of the year is Grace! I need it to find peace with losing a child.

Tommy Dupré-Estimé

Director of Contract Compliance @ MADOC

2y

Just came upon your article in Inc Magazine, I like the energy and direction of what words could do for the mind. Especially when it comes to what you're trying to become, I'll use this new tool going forward in my journey. Thank you, Melinda, for the gem!

Thank You for all the wonderful work that you do..

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Alejandro Galindo

RADIOLASPOSITAS.NET LASPOSITASTV.NET DIRECTOR

4y

Bill, your heart is so in the right place, and Melinda's too. Please help us resolve all of the problems in one single genius strike.

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