What Is Your Word for 2020?

It’s time for the annual “pick your word” for the year post. The idea behind this being if you pick a word, and focus on it for the year, it will elicit positive change.

Last year, my word was “gratitude.” I did pretty darned good. Each day, I wrote down what I was grateful for, which made me (1) relive that positive experience and (2) appreciate what I have. I am going to continue with that daily task this year.

My word for this year is “genuine.” The reason I chose this word is that being true to myself is something with which I struggle. It’s a common thing for women to be “people pleasers” and that can be a good thing. I mean, it’s good to want to make people happy, right? The problem is we are not being genuine and authentic when we engage in activities simply to please or impress others. When we are not operating as our “true selves” or have an ulterior motive behind our actions, it will invariably lead to feelings of anxiety and inadequacy. When we are obsessed with people “liking” us, rather than just being ourselves, it is a slippery slope to “compare and despair.” We begin to compare ourselves with others and benchmark our own performance against how we perceive others’ performance, rather than using our own internal standards. This competitiveness can even lead us to sabotage others in order to feel better about our own perceived inadequacies. Eventually, this will erode our sense of well-being. We won’t feel good about our actions or ourselves. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time focusing on our own goals? I, for one, want to be the person who leaves a “mark” and not a “scar.” So, rather than looking outside of myself for validation, this year I will be looking in the mirror.

For a guide on picking your word, visit “My One Word”.