Every year, I encourage the members of my various writing groups to pick a word or a phrase that will be a signpost for their actions (and decisions) for the coming year. The idea is that we often know that there is an aspect of our lives that we want to change (improve) in some way. But instead of making a New Year’s resolution that we forget and ignore, we’re providing our subconscious brains with a mantra that we can repeat over and over, helping to guide our actions.
I started doing this myself back in… I think it was 2016. At first, it was just recognizing an aspect of my personality that seemed to be ingrained into my psyche. The word eventually grew to a short phrase.
10 years later, and I still set a word or a phrase for the coming year. And this year, in a way, I’ve set both.
2026 Phrase: Commit to Self
2026 Word: Self
This year’s word and phrase are not about being selfish. It’s quite the opposite. But they are about realizing that if I don’t take the time to recharge and shut away from the world occasionally, I’m going to burn out. And in certain interactions with others, if I don’t put myself first in the equation, others will continue to walk all over me, taking advantage of my goodwill.
It’s time to take the time to discuss what my 2026 word and phrase mean to me.
