Find Your Word of the Year: 4 Creative Ways to Inspire Your 2025
For the past two years, I’ve found the process of setting and living with a guiding word for the year to be illuminating, challenging, and helpful to my growth. I truly feel like I’ve been “given” the words I’ve chosen – they come from me, partially, but mostly they’ve felt inspired by God’s spirit. That sense of “inspired origin” is what’s helped me to trust them, to lean in to what they might want to teach me or offer me, and to rely on the wisdom and goodness they want to offer me.
I’m hoping for much of the same in 2025.
How to Choose Your Word
If you’re interested in choosing a guiding word for the year, but aren’t sure how to select your word, fear not! I’ve got you covered!
First, there’s no “right way” or “wrong way” to choose your word! And just because you did it a certain way in a previous year doesn’t mean that you need to (or even should) use the same strategy this year. Don’t be afraid to mix it up!
Let the Universe Decide
If you’re looking for the ultimate “trust the universe” (or the Holy Spirit!) strategy, you can try a random word generator. I have a client who loves this method, although she always uses it twice and gets two words for herself. (I think it’s her “back up plan” in case the first word doesn’t quite pan out. 😂) Her favorite generator to use is the one from Jen Fulwiler, an atheist-to-Catholic convert and former programmer who is now a standup comic with six kids. There are plenty of generators out there; you can always let the Google gods help you find one.
Let AI Decide
Since AI tools are taking over the world, why not let AI help you choose?
Yes, there are AI-powered word of the year tools out there, and they’re just a bit different from the random word generators. The one from Task Slayerz asks you a series of intuitive questions, and then the generator assesses your aspirations, challenges, and desires to suggest words that resonate with your 2024 vision. If you don’t like the initial suggestions, you can provide some feedback and get other options until you find the one that really works for you.
Choose from a List
If you want to do things a bit more manually using only human intelligence, you might try the “pick from a list” option. There are plenty of blogs and websites with lists of possible guiding words for the year. You might try looking through one of those lists, narrowing your options by noting any that appeal to you, and then choosing the word that feels right.
Discernment
As you might guess by my new word of the year, I’m a fan of a deeper process of discernment when it comes to choosing my word of the year. I don’t look down on the more random options, I just know they’re not for me.
And it’s not just because I like to have a little more control over things (although that is true of me, too).
I use a discernment process because I want to be sure that my guiding word truly resonates with where I am in life and what I most need. I want it to be a way that I partner with God, a method of co-creating my life with God. As I’ve learned over the past two years, what I most deeply need isn’t always what I think I need. My discernment process needs ample time to allow my chatter to settle down so that the Spirit’s voice can be heard more clearly.
My word of the year process has been a little different each time (which makes it hard to outline step-by-step here), but some of the common elements have been:
Taking time – at least days, sometimes weeks. This year’s process began by early December. I know that because of the journal entry from December 3 that includes a list of some possible words that were bubbling within me.
Reflecting on where I’ve been. While my goal is a word that guides me into an unknown future, I make sure that I take time to review the past year and notice how I’ve grown and changed. Articulating this growth usually helps me see what might be next.
Listening – to myself, to others, to outside sources. Throughout December, I tried to notice and pay attention to words that I heard (whether from myself, from others, or from things I was reading or listening to) that seemed to “spark” something in me.
Asking for guidance. I know I’m not in this alone, and even when – especially when – I feel alone, I intentionally ask the Spirit to guide me and show me what I need to notice.
Writing things down. When I try to discern solely in my head, I only go round-and-round, and nothing gets clearer. When I put some thoughts to paper - and I’ll admit, sometimes I have to force myself to start writing, my needs, hopes, and desires begin to emerge with greater honesty and clarity.
Testing for fit. I’ve had words I thought were “the one.” But as I gave them a “test run” and “tried them on,” I realized that they didn’t fit well. Just like a garment that is itchy or too tight or too baggy, I’ve considered options that felt too demanding, too passive, or too restrictive.
These elements aren’t exactly step-by-step instructions; they are more like the key ingredients that need to be mixed together to create something delicious. How much of each? That’s a matter of taste.
A Helpful Journaling Activity to Try
This year, I tried a new method of journaling to help me discern my word of the year. In case you want to give it a try for yourself, here are the steps:
Divide your page into four sections and label the sections: Have, Do, Be, Feel
Jot down anything and everything that comes to mind when you ask yourself, “What do I want to ___(heading for that section, e.g. Have)___ by the end of 2025?”
Review what you’ve written. Notice any themes that emerge. Take any words you’ve been considering and compare them to those lists. Ask yourself, “What word will inspire and guide me to these desired outcomes?”
Where I’m Heading
My guiding word for 2025 is Deepen.
I feel like I’m being invited to deepen personally, professionally, and spiritually. It’s important for me that my word resonates in all three of those areas of my life, and “deepen” surely does that.
When I reviewed all of my four categories (Have, Do, Be, and Feel), the theme of deepening emerged. To name a few examples: deepening in trust, deepening in relationships, deepening in generosity, deepening with clients, deepening in skills and knowledge, deepening in feelings of support, centeredness, confidence, and contentment. The word “deepen” didn’t show up on the lists themselves; I had to connect the dots.
The word drew me back to one of my favorite authors and the books I enjoyed as a “young reader.” Madeleine L’Engle’s “time trilogy” imprinted on my heart at a young age, and taught me about life, love, faith, and bravery. In Book 2, A Wind in the Door, the climax of the plot rests on the need to Deepen, and the resistance we can experience to it.
It's a word that challenges me, but as with the past two years, in an invitational way that doesn’t feel like guilt-induced pressure or ego-driven striving.
Where are You Heading?
Regardless of the method you choose for your guiding word – or whether you choose a guiding word at all! – where are you heading for 2025?
It’s true that we never really know what each year will hold, and ultimately, we’re not really in control of our lives, but setting an intention or a guiding word for the year truly can bring a deeper sense of purpose or direction to our lives. I hope you’ll give it a chance this year!
And if you do, please reach out to share your word with me. Bonus points if you also tell me how you came to it (or how it came to you)! I’d love to hear about your intention for 2025.
It would be a great way for me to deepen my understanding of you and what makes you come alive! 🤩
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