My 2025 Word-of-the-Year
If I’m keeping track right, this will be my 14th year choosing a word-of-the-year. You can see my history of words right here. For 2024 year my word-of-the-year was “Ease” and I felt like more than anything it showed me where ease was lacking in my life. Nothing at all felt easy. Some words feel like that. There have been years when my word showed up in really awesome in-your-face kinda ways and there have also been times when its felt like a dangling carrot. Not quite reachable. At the beginning of this month I started thinking about my 2025 word-of-the-year and the main thing I head was ‘meditate, meditate, meditate’. And I was like – cool, message received because I am a very lazy meditator. It’s been years upon years since I’ve had a consistent practice but I always feel better when I do. But then I started digging into why my brain was clinging onto that and I realized that it wasn’t just because of how calm and happy it feels when I’m meditating. I miss how my life felt back then.
And that’s when my 2025 Word-of-the-Year came to me: Reclaim.
It almost feels like a mid-life crisis kinda word since I’ll be turning 40 this year. In a lot of ways, I want to recapture that feeling of youth. But then again, my youth was weird. When I think about ‘youth’ I remember that feeling of writing something amazing for fun. Books that made me stay up all night because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Morning walks to the park with coffee and a journal to watch squirrels play. Meditation and yoga. There was a period of time in my late 20s where I focused solely on me and it was beautiful in ways that are thankfully documented in the early days of this blog. And I miss all of that so much.
This is what my 2025 Word-of-the-Year means to me.
Reclaiming the love of my work.
When I think about one of the crappiest aspects of 2024, it was the publishing of my book. To make a long story short – being a published author has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager, maybe even before that. My experience with my publishing company was absolutely terrible in every way that it could be. I hate that my dream was tarnished. I hate that they took something precious to me and made it stressful and I hate that when I think about publishing the Self-Love Workbook, I want to forget that I did. With that said, I am still so happy that being traditionally published made my work so much more accessible to people and that so many people loved it. But it did make me question myself, my work, and my worth in a lot of deep ways. I have to work through that.
Reclaiming my time.
I’m proud to say that I’ve gotten pretty much better at making time to relax. Still working on the guilt aspect of taking “time off” but excellent progress has been made and I want to keep it up.
I’d really like to be able to build on that. I’ve found that what works best for me is taking time off on the mornings and then starting work in the afternoon. If I save fun for last it usually ends up not happening at all.
Reclaiming my sense of safety.
This one is tough as a self-employed person. No matter how successful I am, I am always so afraid that the rug is going to be pulled out from under me or that I am going to fail in someway. It’s hard taking care of a family vs. just taking care of me. Thanks to a healthy dose of childhood financial trauma – I always have this intense fear of poverty.
I’m still not 100% sure how to lean into financial security and how to trust that I’m going to make it. (or make it long-term, I think that’s where the worry comes in.) While I’ve been doing this work for over a decade, it’s only been four years since I’ve been doing only this and it still scares me to not have a traditional job to fall back on.
Reclaiming my joy.
You all, I was the cutest, dorkiest, teenager. I used to feel so much shame over not being normal but now I miss how much I loved my hobbies and how much interest I took in them. I loved reading all the time, and while I have gotten back into it this year (I think I read about 10 books which is more than I’ve been able to read in the last few years consistently) I still miss it. I wrote so many stories- some of them original, some of them fanfiction and I miss that too!
So I want to write again in that way. Just for fun and just because it makes me happy.
Reclaiming my peace.
And we come back to meditation and yoga (and by yoga, I mean the cozy, gentle, kind, not the kind where you’re doing all of the complicated poses!). I just really want to recapture that peace. I know it will probably look and feel different then it did back then but I know it will help me feel calmer, steady, and a bit more grounded. (If you couldn’t tell – I need it!)
So, that’s my 2025 Word-of-the-Year.
Have you chosen one for yourself? If you have, I’d love to hear about it!
My word is JOY. It’s definitely a reclamation for me, too — because as I’m already noticing, there are a lot of things in my life that actively squash my joy. Wishing you a beautiful year ❤️
Wishing you an absolutely joyful 2025!
My word of the year is ‘unhurried’. My mental health has been poor since childhood and I have managed by keeping busy and repressing my emotions for a very long time. I take on too many responsibilities and jobs to leave no time for me (likely because I feel I don’t deserve it). This year, I want to make a conscious effort to slow down, reflect rather than react and allow myself to feel.
Thank you for your wonderful beautiful content! I have the self love workbook and the self care planner. I’m a mental health peer support worker and you are an inspiration to me!
It’s such a beautiful choice, especially when you’ve been running on overdrive for so long. Slowing down, reflecting instead of reacting, and giving yourself space to feel is such a powerful way to honor yourself and your journey. I hope this year is absolutely amazing for you.
My word of the year is authenticity. I am embracing being my authentic self this year, being who I am, loving myself, and loving others. No more being tied to who I feel others need me to be and no more putting myself last. I want this year to be one in which I shift from “one day”, I want to do this thing, do this self-care, reach this goal, have this quality in my relationships, make time for this, have my life look like this. No more one day. I’m making it happen, and I’m going to be true to who I am and what’s important to me, so I can live in authenticity of who I am and what I want my life to be now today every day, instead of waiting for one day. You can’t add more days to your life, but you can add more life to your days. So, I’m embracing authenticity.
I’m so excited for you to live this year with that sense of purpose and true authenticity. Happy 2025!
Thank you for this prompt (and for sharing the Canva file!). I have a hard time with journaling, but it made sense to put things into pictures.
My word of the year is Nourish. I have been struggling with health issues, which has led to anxiety…so this year I want to Nourish my mind, body, spirit, and relationships.
You’re welcome! And I hope 2025 is an amazing year for you!
My word for the year is Thrive. Here is my blog I wrote for my work sisters:
The word “thrive” captures our intentions for 2025. It’s not just about surviving or getting by; it’s about flourishing, growing, and truly living life to its fullest. Thriving is about embracing both challenges and successes, cultivating personal well-being, and flourishing in all aspects of life. This word will guide our approach to both our careers and our personal life, helping us focus on growth, self-care, and purposeful action.
It is all about embracing growth, setting ambitious goals, and taking actionable steps to make 2025 a year of flourishing.
Striving for personal growth, “Thrive in 25” encourages you to take charge of your goals and build a year filled with purpose and success.
So for me and for 2025, For 2025, my word for the year is THRIVE.
Why “thrive” and why it is special to me?
Thriving is not about having it all together or chasing perfection.
It is about showing up as my authentic self—leaning into my strengths, finding joy in life’s little moments, and giving myself grace when things get messy.
It is also about being consistent—consistently honoring my priorities, my growth, my health, and the things that truly matter.
If I am honest, I did not thrive as much as I’d hoped in 2024.
Neglecting my health affected me in ways I could not ignore—it impacted everything else in my life.
When I was not at my best, I found it harder to show up for my family, my job, and myself.
Thankfully, I have taken steps to get back on track, and this experience has been a powerful reminder that thriving starts with taking care of myself.
Creating the H2O, Go, and Grow Community helped me in all aspects of physical and mental health and so many unaccountable ways!
Thriving is also deeply tied to my purpose in life. My personal and I hope our H2O, Go, and Grow Work Sisters Community Group vision statement is: “A world where all women thrive.”
Because I see the incredible weight so many women carry—juggling family, careers, and their own well-being, often feeling like they are stretched too thin or falling short.
I have been there. I have felt the weight of those moments. And that is why it matters so much to me.
Helping my work sisters thrive means helping them create a mentally and healthier life that support their holistic life, not let the weight of the world that take over their lives. It means building clarity, and confidence so they can grow—without losing themselves in the process.
It means being there for you, my work sisters, so you are never alone.
Thriving is about making the choice every day to honor your priorities, embrace your growth, and stay consistent in pursuing what matters most.
This year, I am committing to thriving— and helping YOU do the same.
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My word of the year is feral, it means to return to the wild after domestication. Fitting since my only daughter is turning 20 this year and is getting ready to join the world of being an adult, and being a mom at 20 myself I have fully dedicated my life to her so now she is grown I can go wild and find myself again! Also I want to be outdoors more, and feral 40’s sounds fun
The Feral Forties DOES sound fun! I hope it’s an amazing year for you!
My word is align, because I feel like I need to realign myself with the things that make me feel connected to people and that which is larger than me.
I hope you have a wonderful year full of alignment!
My 2025 word of the year is “enough.” It has a couple different meanings. The first and most important is that I am enough. I am enough as I am, without any changes. The second meaning is that I’ve had enough. Enough bullshit, enough of people who do not show up authentically, etc. I can’t wait to apply this idea to my life.
I love both aspects of your word-of-the-year. I hope it’s amazing for you and that you’re doing well!
My word for 2025 is Love. I want to spend more time with people I love. I want to love more. I also want to love myself more.
Your Canva template is awesome. Thank you for sharing it. I love how you did the circle graphic for breaking down your word of the year. I would love to do that with my word, too.
Thank you for all that you do with your blog and social media. You are a bright spot in the world.
Aww, Love is such a beautiful word for 2025! 💖 I’m so happy to hear you’re focusing on loving yourself and those around you more.
I’m so glad you liked the Canva template! The circle graphic really helps break it all down, doesn’t it? I hope it works perfectly for your word too!
Thank you so much for your kind words! You’re a bright spot as well! And if you’re on Facebook, I shared a blank template of the wheel last year! https://www.facebook.com/SelfLoveRainbow/posts/pfbid0awZgqoJXRpyZnZ6bap6AmcMcFpn9Xn25Z9B8NCxrg6ds5c55uUiuhDEktzoSW3Bbl?comment_id=1078621836480867
I love you, Dominee! You’ve inspired me for a several years, and this world, and my life, are so much brighter because of you!
My word of the year is Balance. I love the wheel you created to explore all the ways our WOTY is meaningful. It allowed me to see just how many ways Balance is going to affect my daily life. From my time spent driving family around, to time allocated to cleaning, to time spent with my children, to personal time all to myself, to balance in my bank account! It really can touch every aspect of my life.
Thank you for sharing your amazing ideas! Mwah!
I love that you chose Balance as your word for the year! It really does touch so many areas of life, doesn’t it? I hope your word manifests itself in all the ways you need it to this year!
My word is”Ease”.
It means to free from obstruction or difficulty.
Last year was full of major trials and struggles and eventually triumphs, but it was one of the scariest times in my life.
This year I want ease in my life.
I want to be free of difficulty and stress. To face things with and attitude of ease. To be at ease with my self.
Thank you for all your amazing emails. Your art and your kindness are infectious. Every time I get an email from you I save your positivity art and share it . Thank you for all you have done for myself and my friends.
My word from last year – I hope it serves you well! Thank you so much for your kind words! It means the world to me that my emails and art have been a bright spot for you. You’ve made my day!
My word this year is Grace. I need to give as much grace as possible to others (don’t we all?) and I need to give myself some grace when I mess up, too.
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Persevere is my choice. I regularly keep going to finish my work (as in my job – my paid work). I am not always so good at completing my personal goals. This year I want to persevere in my personal goals. It’s time to move “forward” (my 2nd favorite WOTY) in 2025.