Word of the Year

Connection, health, and authenticity. These have been my “words of the year” for the past few years. The point of a “word of the year” is to help yourself stay steadfast in an intention that you want to have for the next 365 days (and hopefully beyond). It’s a word that feels especially relevant to where you are in your life right now and where you want to be going. You then commit to making decisions that will support that word in coming to fruition in your day to day.

Words of the year do not need to be words based in productivity. They do not need to be words that will have you accomplishing a goal, reaching a benchmark, or putting in some kind of hard work to “better” yourself. Words of the year instead invite you to connect with your most authentic self at this time in your life and to make more space for those values in your everyday life. If your word so happens to be based in productivity, and that is what feels good for you, that’s great! It’s also great if your word creates more gentleness instead.

I make the habit of choosing a word that touches on something that I have been the most stubborn on in the past year. Stubborn because it’s something that I know I want but hesitant or unmotivated to actually take action towards it. I use the word as a source of accountability to help myself embrace the value that my body and mind have been craving.

It was 2022 when I chose the word “health” for that year. We were coming off of the pandemic and things were just starting to open at more normal capacities again. I had felt my health greatly suffer during the pandemic (as many of us had) and had felt the most disconnected from my own body than I had in a long time.

I was tired of feeling tired but had little motivation to leave the slump that the past couple of years had put me in. Not to mention the exhaustion that finishing grad school, planning a wedding, and moving to a new city again had on my body and mind. Making the word “health” a priority had gently forced me to take seriously this value that I had been putting off.

In one year, I had received 3 helpful diagnoses/health updates, was back to eating whole and nutritious meals 5/7 days of the week, had found multiple ways to incorporate movement into my daily routine, was back on a dental and wellness checkup routine, and had received numerous answers to health questions that had been plaguing me for years.

I also gained many more important changes beyond just that data. The increase in the control I felt over my life, mind, and body was night and day. I had regained the confidence and sense of “me” that I felt that I had lost and healed a poor relationship with my body that my mind had been holding.

To this day, I have been steadfast in these missions and continue to care for my body in a way that allows it to care for me back. I am the happiest, healthiest, and most confident that I have ever been and I truly attribute it to the motivation and sense of accountability that engaging in the practice of the “word of the year” provided me.

Something that was important in this practice was that I did not have specific goals for my word. I did not say that being healthy meant losing x amount of weight, attending y amount of doctors visits, or limiting myself to z amount of “cheat days” a week. I instead listened to my body and mind and did what they were naturally telling me that I needed to do. This allowed the improvements to my health to be factors that fit easily (for the most part) into my daily life and because of that, they were sustainable.

Oftentimes the goals that we set for ourselves, especially with New Year’s resolutions, are strict and lofty. This is not to say that goals do not have their place – I am a big supporter of always trying to reach your dreams – but instead to say that not everything in our life is meant to be a competition, whether with ourselves or others. How tiring it is to always be “on”.

So with that said, I invite you to take time to reflect on what your mind and body are naturally telling you they are craving and to make that your word of the year. Do not set any expectations for that word except for the commitment that you will be consistent in making space for that word in your life over the next 365 days, however that may look. Taking the pressure off allows these practices to be much more sustainable which then allows them to fit more naturally into your life, often far beyond 365 days.

Here are some things to think about when deciding which word to choose:

Is there a space of your life that feels heavy? What does it feeling not heavy look like? Is there a word that supports the “not heavy” version?
- Ex: Work feels heavy. Work not feeling heavy looks like increased work-life balance. The word that supports increased work-life balance is “boundaries”.
What excites you?
What thought or topic do you find yourself coming back to year after year?
What has your body and mind quite literally been physically telling you they need? Rest? Therapy? More space for joy?
Which things were present in your life when you felt the happiest or most “you”?
What screams fun to you?

Whichever word these questions lead you to choose, the journey ahead in committing to that word will require you to do new things. New things can be uncomfortable and hard to get into the groove of sometimes. A friend and colleague in the field, Carol Grygleski CTRS works as a recreational therapist, helping people with illnesses and/or disabling conditions lead fulfilling lives through the use of recreation and activity-based interventions (read her bio below – she’s amazing!). She also co-hosts the thoughtful and intriguing podcast called Real Talk RecreationTherapy (scroll to the end to find out where to listen!). To learn more about recreational therapy, you can also visit: https://www.nctrc.org/about-ncrtc/about-recreational-therapy/

Helping in this way requires Carol to assist individuals in engaging in new skills, mindsets, and lifestyles that help them meet their mental health and physical needs. She shared her insight on how you too can be successful in implementing a new lifestyle through your “word of the year” practice.

When thinking about implementing a new skill into your lifestyle, our brains are typically the first barrier that we must navigate. We often tell ourselves things like, “I can’t do it”, “It’s so much work,” “It’s going to take forever,” etc. While the skill may take time and may require work, there is no doubt that you can do it.

Carol says that, “The most important mindset to have is an open one, especially being open to failure. We are so quick to count ourselves out when something seems difficult or when we aren’t good at something from the get-go. But such a huge part of skill building is to learn, and often to learn we must learn what not to do. Keeping an open mind and being okay when things aren’t familiar or comfortable on the first few goes are important. Growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone, so being willing to step outside of that is key, even if it’s only a small step,”.

Creating a positive space inside of your head will help set you up for success – don’t count yourself out before you have even begun. When you decide that you are not going to accomplish a goal, there is now simply no chance that you will accomplish that goal.

You have now found your motivation to start but how do you keep it going? How do you keep it going especially when you hit plateaus, it becomes boring, or life gets busy? Because let’s be honest – life is going to get busy. Carol suggests breaking the task that you are trying to achieve into smaller parts instead of trying to swallow it whole. A chunk is much easier to accomplish especially when you are creating spaces to also celebrate the accomplishments of these chunks along the way.

“It’s important to acknowledge our little wins, because these add up to big wins over time. If we continue to see that we are making progress, we can stay motivated and keep moving forward. With self-efficacy, building on skills that we enjoy, that align with our values, can help to motivate us. We can fall back on those values on the hard days,” shares Carol.

Carol shares further about her own experience with this. I appreciate Carol’s vulnerability in doing so as a big mission of EMHW is to continue to break down stereotypes and stigmas about mental health and its related experiences. No one is immune to life’s challenges, the experts included, and the more that we can normalize this and lift each other up in this, the more I wholeheartedly believe that we will be a happier and healthier society.

“One of my [Carol’s] values is building community. I have moved a lot due to my spouse’s military career, and have found myself needing to rebuild my community. It can be incredibly discouraging to keep putting yourself out there by going to social events, joining local clubs, or attending a new church or community space. But I keep going back to the importance and value of community in my life, so in those times when it’s hard to keep trying to make friends and connection, I continue putting myself out there, knowing what I am working towards. This concept applies to things like learning a new skill, becoming healthier, improving a relationship (among many others)– and your belief in yourself and what you are about is something that can keep you moving even when it feels slow going,”.

Anything worth having is likely going to come with some challenges and it is important to stay steadfast in the reasons that you are pursuing them [your goals] in the first place. What inspired you to choose your word of the year? Who/what/why are you doing it for? Write these reasons down somewhere so that you can come back to them on the days where moving forward feels hard.

It’s also completely ok if there are no major motivations jumping out at you right now. It’s also completely fine if the reason you chose your word is simply because it sounded fun or you wanted to. No matter your reason, you can and will still find success and joy in joining this process. Read what Carol and her expertise have to say about the different ways that you may experience these positive effects:

“When we build skills, especially those related to activities and things that bring us joy and meaning, we realize that we are capable and able to make changes in our lives.

I’m a firm believer that our ability to learn new skills can be transferred to other areas of our lives. For example, the self-confidence and good feelings we get from mastering something as simple as a new recipe or exercise technique can transfer to the confidence that we feel towards our ability to learn how to accomplish tasks at work or in school.

When we learn how to deal with our frustration when we first fail at something low-stakes (like learning how to cook), we can also learn to deal with our frustration when we fail at things that are higher-stakes.

When we learn how to give ourselves grace as we fumble through a new skill, we can practice giving ourselves that same grace when we are learning how to navigate our lives and our relationships. Recognizing that we are capable allows us to affirm ourselves in our ability to learn and grow,”.

This year I am ready to affirm myself in my ability to grow with the word, “brave”. I have been reflecting a lot lately on the things that made me feel like “me” before the world told me that I should hate them, before pop culture said they were silly, or before I entered the cliche but universal teenage/early 20s phase of being “too cool for school”.

I am the only one that has to live my life so I am going to continue to live it in the ways that make me the happiest and that best take care of myself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I am going to continue to try new things, experience new adventures, and allow myself to be vulnerable within the communities that I continue to build.

Carol is planning on spending her 2025 pursuing the word, “steady”. “My word for 2025 will be “steady”. I know that I can’t make giant leaps and bounds in a day, week, or even months. But that steady progress and continuing to move forward and work towards my goals will result in good things. Steady feels realistic. I will chip away at the things I need to do. But also make time for the things I love.

I will also try to bring as much consistency to my life as I can. I want to be a steady presence for my loved ones. Someone who is reliable, reachable, and who is not burning herself out trying to get a million things done all at once.

A huge part of self-care and not burning out is realizing that we are more than what we can accomplish. We can accomplish nothing and still be valuable and valid. I don’t want to glorify pressing on towards our goals at the expense of our health and our identity. I think that’s why I like steady. Sometimes that’s slow and steady. Allowing room for course correction (and time to do the things we love) as we navigate life,”.

Wherever January 1st 2025 meets you, Carol and I hope that you remember that the next 365 days and beyond are all blank pages. Those stories have not been written yet and you do have a say in how they turn out. What do you want the theme of your 2025 story to be?

While moving forward in this journey, remember that,”…engaging in activities that are meaningful to us, and making sure that those things are prioritized in our lives, helps us live a life that we find meaningful. Finding purpose and meaning can help us feel like we have more of a direction in life, rather than just being pushed around by the things that happen to us.

This can make us more resilient and give us a stronger sense of control… as we do have the power to control what we do in our free time (to a degree), and how we respond to the things that happen to us. These are the things that can help us keep moving forward,”.

XOXO,

Learn More About Carol

Bio:

Carol Grygleski, CTRS is a Recreational Therapist who is passionate about using recreation and leisure as a means of self-definition and to cope with the many stresses of life. She believes in living a strong leisure lifestyle, where the activities that bring her joy and give her life meaning are included with her other priorities. For her these include, spending quality time with friends and family, running, lifting weights, and trying new things that give her a sense of mastery (which lately have been cooking and learning how to sew). She has worked as a Recreational Therapist in mental health (both inpatient and community settings), with the military, and in memory care. She also co-hosts the Real Talk Recreation Therapy Podcast which explores many topics within the field of Therapeutic Recreation. She hopes you’ll make time to do something you love today!

Where to Listen to Real Talk Recreation Therapy Podcast

Website: www.realtalkrecreationtherapy.com

Email us: realtalkrectherapy@gmail.com

Podcast: Wherever Podcasts are Found:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fg3n1nzVjhFCuVJrBJyjk

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-talk-recreation-therapy/id1707266063