Plus a reflection on last year’s word of the year
Choosing a word of the year can be an intensely transformative journey — even when you lose sight of your word, it doesn’t lose sight of you. I should know. This is, after all, my 11th year choosing a word of the year. And while there have been years when I have forgotten all about my word (I’m looking at you, 2020), that word has still, somehow, worked its magic in my life.
After all, words are spells. They have an inherent magic and power that can work in ways you may never have anticipated to bring you the exact medicine you need at any point of time. Which is why I don’t take my word of the year practice too lightly. I need to be clear on at least some aspects of what I’m drawing towards me with the word that I choose.
I also don’t take it too seriously — there is a spaciousness to this practice: a word can become two or three {I would recommend no more than 3 guiding words for the year}; it can be come a phrase, or an image. And if you find that a word is simply not working for you, you have permission to change your word!
Reflecting on my word for 2024
My word last year was WHOLE, and I also journeyed with an image {which you can see here}. I wanted to embody the beautiful energy of that image, which at its core is about enjoying sweet moments of leisure, but to truly do that, there was a whole lot of mental finagling involved, too.
Going into the year, I set some lofty intentions for myself: to trust myself in all my parts, to stop second-guessing myself and looking outside for answers and validation; to sink into my own inner wisdom and lived experience; and to acknowledge my successes and be at peace with my decisions.
These are big themes; I would argue that some of these intentions are the work of a lifetime. But I did make quite a bit of headway and progress with some of them, and identified areas where I still need to dismantle capitalist and patriarchal conditioning.
2024 was a big year for me: I will forever remember it as the year when I finally hung up my corporate boots and walked away from a toxic work environment. I spent two months traveling and visiting with family, something I couldn’t even dream of doing with my 9 to 5. And I’ve spent a couple of months confronting just how deeply capitalism has indoctrinated me into the cult of productivity, and how difficult it is to simply enjoy a couple of lazy days, reading, painting, and playing with the fur babies.
For this reason, I initially thought that my word for 2025 would be ease — but it turns out, that wasn’t my word at all.
Choosing my word of the year for 2025
When I sat down with my Visioning workbook and started dreaming into the new year, I realized that what I was looking for wasn’t necessarily more ease, but rather creating structures and foundations that would support me on this next chapter of my life.
As I dreamstormed and heartstormed my way on the page, the word became immediately clear…
BUILD
That is my word for 2025. To build structures, systems, habits, and rituals that can help me dismantle the oppressiveness of my ideas around productivity as is espoused by tech bros and the over culture, and build practices that enable a beautiful rhythm between working on my focus projects and enjoying a sweet, slow life.
There are other things associated with this word as well, but for now, I am holding them somewhat close.
Before you go, tell me this: do you have a word of the year?
Still to find a word of the year? Download the Visioning workbook – it’s designed to help you reflect on the year gone by, plan for the year to come, and choose a word for the year! Click on the Download now button below, and I’ll pop it right over to you!
I do not have a word of the year but I love yours – it embodies so much activity and creativity that’s so you. I do have a few intentions that I’m hoping will be my guiding lights for the coming year.
Thanks, Tulika. Intentions as guiding lights for the year sound wonderful!
My word for last year was ‘Consistent’ and I failed miserably at it. So, I’ll not be doing the Word anymore at the start of the year. I’ll probably summarize the year with a word at the end instead 😀
All the best to you and hope you have a fabulous year <3
That’s an interesting idea as well. I generally summarise each month with 4 words; it’s an interesting way to look back at the month — and in your case, the year!
That image! Love it.
Build is such a great choice, especially given your changed circumstances. Wishing you only the best, Shinjini. You are always an inspiration!
Thank you so much, Corinne! That means a lot, especially from you! <3
Your word is so you, Shinjini. I can see how perfectly ‘build’ aligns with you and your creativity. My word of the year is Show Up. 🙂
Wishing you a fantastic 2025.
Love your year! Wish you a fabulous 2025 too, Vini!
I loved your word! It kind of resonated with my theme of the year too! Wish you a great year ahead! 🙂
That’s so interesting! Wish you a wonderful 2025 too!
Build is such a lovely word Shinjini. My daughter loved your art work and while I sat down to read on the Friday evening, she wanted to go through the art work in your insta account. So we looked at it together. This word resonates with me, as my little one grows, my challenges keep changing, and I feel I constantly need to re-build things and be more flexible in the things I do. So, yes, I wish you good luck in building everything you need to and find comfort in it. Good luck with your job as well.
Oh, thank you, Jayanthy! I’m so happy to hear that your daughter loved looking through my art. Re-building and flexibility are very much a part of bringing up children, I would imagine! Hope you have a wonderful year ahead.
What an unusual and unique word, Shinjini! I’m so glad you opted out of the rat race and are now exploring ways to embody the power of creativity through your work! You are amazing and I love how you are walking on this journey guided by the word and with so much clarity. All the best for a fabulously creative and fulfilling year ahead in 2025, Shinjini.
Thank you, Esha. It was both an easy and tough decision, but I’m so glad I took the leap. Wish you a fabulous year, too!
Yes I agree that “ease” is hard as we are so used to being productive all the time. I am glad you are finding ways to make your time more meaningful. Great selection of word. Wish you a year of creative and colorful ideas.
Yes, that productivity monster is quite difficult to get rid of, lol! Wish you a wonderful year, too, Raj!