Word of the Year 2023 – Prepare
Choosing a word of the year versus setting resolutions has been a practice for me since 2016. This practice has given me focus and intentionality as the year passes and, typically, gives me a way to reframe the way I see the happenings in my daily life. I don’t always get it right ALL YEAR but I do tend to come back to my word when I’m struggling and try to refocus and this has been a positive practice for me.
Most years, the word comes to me in the month leading up to the end of the prior year. Some years, like 2020, the word for the next year came to me as early as August! Chooosing the word grow in 2022 led me to some realizations about myself and showed me the areas I was using as a crutch to prevent me from moving forward. I developed some habits that served to comfort me in 2020 and 2021 that were no longer allowing me to grow. These habits had allowed me to retreat and heal some pieces inside myself and to grieve pieces of my life that were ending. As I focused on growing in 2022, I took a deep dive into healing my body from the inside out and learned alot about what it takes for this midlife body to function well. I read alot of non-fiction books that were inspiring and grew my mind but I was still not taking any action. My faith also grew but I wondered what it would look lke to truly prepare my heart to serve God the way He intended.
I realized that in an effort to be free in 2020, treasure all things in 2021 and grow in 2022, I put aside any preparation I might need to carry me in years to come. Things like schedules and promptness and to do lists were thrown to the wind. It made me see that, while I needed to toss these things for a season of my life, living without them was creating unnecessary chaos and low productivity. It was time to put some order back in place while still being mindful of the lessons I learned in years passed. I needed to bring back some order and systems to support me by preparing my body, my mind, my heart and my days with intention.
I always like to start with a little definition for my word because, well, sometimes it makes me think outside the box just a little.
Verb
Transitiive
- 1 a: to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity
- b: to put in a proper state of mind
- 2 : to work out the details of : plan in advance
- 3 a: to put together
- b: to put into written form
And as a intransitive verb, to get ready.
In 2023 I want to prepare in these areas of my life and be open to what that means.
Prepare my faith. My relationship with God has been such a source of strength to me in the last few years as I have actively prayed and watched as He answered prayers. Now, sometimes those prayers were not directly answered the way I would have orchestrated things, but I saw His hand in the messy places and grew my willingness to accept the answered prayer as He intended. Proverbs 24:27 reads “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house”. How often do I want to rush right to the building of the house without first preparing all that comes before?
Prepare my body. The last few years I have learned to love the body I have; the one that continues to show up for me every day and do so many great things. Our bodies go through so many changes as we age and, while we cannot stop the aging process, I know that preparing my body to support these changes will go along way. It is no secret we lose muscle as we age and so trying to do what I can to hold onto mine is important. I’ve found a new workout that holds me accountable and I’ve committed to showing up to at least 20 classes per month. Making sure to plan a workout or 10K steps a day into my calendar just like any other important appointment is one way I can prepare to accomplish my goal. Preparing meals that fuel me and make me feel good is also high on the list.
Prepare for the future. There are so many ways we can ease the burden on our loved ones should something unexpected happen. Even though I know this and have experienced the struggles with a mom who did not prepare, I still have not made sure my business is in order. Preparing (or updating) our will, power of attorney and medical power of attorney is on my list this year among other things.
Prepare our finances. There was a time when I was a young, single mom when I could not even envision where we currently are financially because I had accrued so much debt. In just one year we will launch our last child out into the world and preparing our finances for some big changes like retirement and our forever home is definitely on my mind. Even though we aren’t in debt, we are stiil really wasteful in so many ways and part of that comes from not being prepared. Recognizing the waste, especially in the fridge, from not preparing for our week is something that needs to change. One of the hardest things for me to do is take any risk with the savings we have built out of fear of ever being in debt again. I want to feel so prepared I can overcome the fear.
Prepare for each day. For years I have had a late start to my work day due to drop off times for school, but I realized it had been a year since I had carpooled anyone and I was stiil dragging into work at 8:30 or so. I rarely looked at my calendar ahead of time which often left me feeling rushed and out of sorts. It is time for a change! Adjusting my habits, my work schedule and literally adding some alarms to my phone to remind me to do a few things every night before bed has already made such a difference. Who knew I actually missed having an hour away from my desk at lunch? I feel like the positivity I’ve seen from this in just the few weeks of 2023 has shown me this is the area I want to really develop the most this year.
These are some of the ways I hope to prepare in 2023 but I’m sure as the year progresses and I apply the word prepare to my daily life, I will think of so many more ways this word impacts me. I started the book Atomic Habits in 2022 and was just not ready for it but I started it over now finished in 2023. The quote by James Clear “We cannot control our luck – good or bad – but we can control our effort and preparation”. There are so many unknowns that can disrupt our days whether it’s a flat tire or a serious illness. Having some systems and habits in place that have me prepared for each day will free my mind to be more flexible and able to adjust and shift to where I’m needed.
Do you have a word for 2023? I’d love to know what you chose. Below are the words I’ve chosen in prior years.
2020 – Free (and yes this still cracks me up)
