Tag: Word of the Year

My 2023 Word of Year & Why

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I know we are past two months into 2023, but something about this upcoming Spring resonated as the new year more than January did for me this year. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while (which I greatly appreciate) then you know that I always have a Word of the Year instead of “New Year’s Resolutions.” I’m not knocking New Year’s Resolutions but I’m someone who tends to fall into perfectionism and all-or-nothing type outlooks and failing at resolutions in the past led to my Word of the Year approach.

In order to still focus on self-improvement, I have generally kept up the practice of having a Word of the Year. However, I did not have one last year or make a vision board and honestly, that’s probably why it was such a hot fucking mess. You can read more about that in my last post. Anyways, this year I have decided to get back into my practice of having a Word of the Year. This year’s word of the year is Intentional.

I chose the word intentional because last year felt as if I was just taking things day by day and doing things randomly instead of intentionally. Upon reflecting on a lot of things that held me back last year, I came to the conclusion that if I had acted intentionally in all aspects of my life, I wouldn’t have felt the way I felt throughout the year. Living life going through the motions of going to work and going home and randomly making time for myself and my loved ones didn’t cause my depression but it definitely did not help.

This year, my focus is to do more things with intention and to create a life that feels good to me. I want to be intentional about whatever I consume, whether that be what I decide to watch on tv, what podcasts I decide to listen to, how I want to move my body that day, or what food I want to eat. I’m not saying every decision needs to have some profound reasoning, but I do want to be more mindful and intentional about the life I’m living. I chose the word intentional at the beginning of the year and have been keeping it in mind since.

Do you have a word of the year? If yes, comment with what your word of the year is for 2023 and tell me how it’s been going keeping this word in mind. If not, think about it for a bit and comment with what you come up with. I look forward to reading yours!

My New Word of The Year and 2021 Goals

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I know what you’re thinking (maybe). “Why is she telling us her word of the year and her goals for 2021? It’s already nearly the middle of February.” You’re not wrong with those observations buuuut I think it’s so important for me to share my word of the year and goals with my blog. My Instagram peeps had a chance to know this information and you all didn’t and I don’t think that’s fair. Also, sharing these on my blog gives me another way to hold myself accountable and document my year. I plan on doing quarterly check-ins on my blog like I used to, and if you all never know the orginal goals, how can I check-in on them on the blog? I can’t! So that’s why this post just had to be posted, okay? Besides, that my word of the year has changed…I haven’t told Instagram yet so this is a themusingsofmara.com exclusive!

My word of the year this year was Discipline like it was the year before. However, a month into 2021 this word just doesn’t fit what I need for this year. Don’t get me wrong…I DO need discipline this year and ALL years, but that word just isn’t speaking to me anymore. I realized I didn’t even put it on my vision board (accidentally but that says something). I’ve decided to change my word of the year to EXECUTE. This year, I need to stop putting all my energy into planning things that I never execute. The only way I can thrive as a creator and person in general is to just do the damn thing. I can plan as many blog posts as I want but if I don’t type anything on wordpress, what good does that do. I can meal plan all I want but if I don’t meal prep, track my food, and focus on nutrition what good does that do? I need to EXECUTE. That’s why I changed my word of the year and I’m so happy I did!

My 2021 Goals need me to execute. I’m going to share a few of the goals I have and so you all my vision board for this year.

  • Eat more nutritious food.
  • Do more things that make my happy.
  • Workout 6x a week, Lift Weights 4x a week.
  • Find my post-grad job.
  • Pass the BAR EXAM.
  • Get my driver’s license and a car.
  • Monetize my blog.
  • Do more yoga.
  • Be consistent on my blog, Instagram, and my podcast.
  • Get 10K Instagram followers.
  • Go to the Beach.

These are my main goals for this year. If I can even do ½ of these, I feel that I will have a great 2021! I will update you all in at the end of March and let you know how much progress I’ve made on these goals by then. I will also do that at the end of the other quarters of the year. I’m excited to see what all I’m able to accomplish this year. P.S. I may or may not have done one of these things already. You’ll find out soon!

What are some of your 2021 goals? Let me know in the comments! I miss chatting with you all.

How I Chose My Word of the Year for 2019

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We are almost a week into the NEW Year and it has been interesting already! While the practice of making New Year’s Resolutions is common, that doesn’t mean that it is the most effective method of achieving your New Year’s goals. I personally haven’t really been in the practice of making New Year’s Resolutions for the last two years. When I have made New Year’s resolutions in the past, it often discourages me from trying at all if I don’t move towards them quickly enough. In the last few years I have chose a word of the year that guides all of actions towards reaching the goals I hope to accomplish in the New Year.

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My word for last year was DISCIPLINE. I chose the word Discipline because that is what was lacking from my reaching some of my goals in 2017, especially in regards to weight loss. I hired a trainer, I meal prepped more, I went to the gym more often, even when I didn’t feel like going. I also was more disciplined in putting out content for my blog (before my Nana passed away, and I started law school). After a few a set-backs, I stopped really embracing the word discipline because I was really just trying to…get over the sadness from different things that happened earlier in the year. I realized that at times I was disciplined but at other times I wasn’t. That led to me choosing my word for 2019.

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My word for 2019 is CONSISTENCY. This is what was lacking from my life last year in many areas from health + fitness to blogging to even studying for school. Similar to the reason I chose the word discipline last year, I need to consistently do things (even when I’d rather not) in order to reach the goals I’ve set out for this year. The times I did manage to remained disciplined, I lost a decent amount of weight, I got into law school, and I posted some quality content. (Read my favorite posts from last year HERE). By being consistent this year, I know I will be better off when the countdown for 2020 happens.

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This doesn’t have to be the way you choose your word. What’s important is that YOUR WORD is chosen by YOU after reflecting on your principles, values, and goals for this year. Once you do this you can take out the sense of overwhelm with long lists and just ask yourself “does this action align with my guiding word for this year or bring me closer to my goals?” If it doesn’t, you know you might need to make a better decision. It won’t be easy at first, but it might be easier for you than keeping a laundry list of resolutions.

So get out there, reflect, and choose your guiding word for 2018!

Did you have a word or two in mind when you read this? Leave your word(s) in the comments and tell me why you chose it!