Let Your “Word” Help Create Your World in 2022

“Words create worlds.”  – Attributed to many

I believe words matter.   Apparently, so do many others who make one of their New Year’s rituals to pick their “word for the year.”  This is a word or short phrase that represents a personal and/or professional aspiration and can help serve as a guide, anchor, or “theme” for the upcoming year.  Mine has been a “made-up” word that symbolizes values that I want to focus on and becomes a compass to help keep me aligned with my stated priorities – it helps me create my world for the year.  

Indeed, words are symbols for thoughts and ideas, and we personalize them according to the meaning we associate with them.  Consider some pandemic-related words that have taken on a whole new meaning in the past 2 years, such as zoom, distancing, hero, mask, lockdown, quarantine, incubation, vaccination, transmission, booster and even cloth!  Each of these words now have a newly acquired “emotional charge” attached to them, and depending on your perspective, symbolize different meanings, and those differences have indeed often created “different worlds.”   

In the past 3 years, my self-created words have been “zilience,” “reslove,” and in 2021, “cor,” and last week I wrote how living into my understanding of “cor” helped shape my year in powerful way.  For this year, my word is “bemusedament,” and I intend that it will help me tap into the creative spirit around my core values of connection, wonder, love, growth, and fun, and in particular, will inform and inspire my writing in 2022.  

How about you?  What might be your word or words to help you frame the year?  Consider picking one or more and sharing their meaning with those close to you.  Last year one of my PeerRxMed buddies also adopted “cor” as his word, and for him it symbolized a year for which he made self-care a priority.  Embracing a common meaning can help strengthen your community and provide an opportunity for accountability and encouragement. 

What kind of world do you want to create in 2022?  Well, it can all start with one word.  Choose wisely ….