A word of intention
When I gave birth to my second child, I began to confront significant challenges with prioritization and time.
With 2 babies under the age of 2, my go-to strategies for managing my workload as a nonprofit executive were no longer cutting it.
My parental leave came to a close right at the start of a new calendar year, and I remember the thought of setting a New Year’s resolution felt totally unrealistic as I was drowning in tears, laundry, and overwhelm.
And so, that year, I embarked on a new practice of setting a 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.
Setting a Word of Intention felt like a gentler way to hold myself accountable to being the person I wanted to be without the pressure of doing more than I could handle.
I assured myself that I would hold my intention with love and compassion, treating it like a theme or a practice, celebrating small wins and forgiving myself for the times it wasn’t wholly present.
This is my 9th year to set a Word of Intention, and it’s always fun to look back on how the words connect into a broader life story. Here’s a recap:
✴️ 2018 - Essentialism (Inspired by one of my all-time favorite books, which invited me into a practice of doing less but better. Super helpful as a new-again mom to understand what mattered most in my life.)
✴️ 2019 - Clear (I loved how this word was both a state of being as well as an active verb. It supported me in letting go of what no longer served me.)
✴️ 2020 - Discomfort (I really had no idea how accurate this word would be for all things 2020, but needless to say, I had tons of opportunities to practice it in quarantine.)
✴️ 2021 - Create (I chose this intention to help me act upon the ideas I was holding within so I could bring them into reality.)
✴️ 2022 - Story (Majorly supportive of me as I navigated a huge career transition and began to author a new chapter of my life.)
✴️ 2023 - Courage (The etymological root of courage is “coeur,” which is the French word for heart. I chose this word because I wanted to take bold actions while trusting in, and aligning with, my heart.)
✴️ 2024 - Confidence (Having committed fully to my decision to become an entrepreneur, I wanted to shed self-doubt in the face of so many unknowns. I learned that possibility lives in uncertainty.)
✴️ 2025 - Voice (This one spoke loudly to me as an invitation into deeper, spiritual listening and deeper sharing of what I know and have learned. So much more to say on this as I know it’ll bring exploration of topics like vulnerability, visibility, and rest.)
Do you set an intention for your year?
In my experience, the Word of Intention typically finds me. I don’t force myself to hunt for the “right” word. Instead, I tune into how my body feels when it considers the options that naturally arise. When a word hangs around for a long time 𝙖𝙣𝙙 it brings positive body sensations, I typically know it's my intention ready to be declared.
What intention is calling to you this year?
