Happy Wednesday! We're a few days into the new year, and I'm finally ready to share my word for the year. At the end of the year, I always reflect on the past year and think about what I want in the new year. One of the things that I reflect on is my word of the year and the word I want to focus on in the new year. This is one of my favorite New Year's traditions.
My word of the year is Nourish. This is a word that kept coming to my mind repeatedly for the past couple of weeks. What you may not have known is that Nourish was my word of the year in 2020. I completely forgot about that until just a few minutes ago while searching through my blog. You can find my 2020 One Little Word post here.
Nourish
1. To provide with the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition
2. Keep (a feeling or belief) in one's mind, typically for a long time
It's fitting that Nourish is my word of the year. Last year, my word of the year was Work. This word was perfect because I started a new position at my job (a promotion that I was excited about), and throughout the year, it had me really thinking about the next steps in my professional life. My word was also tied to my personal life. There were so many things that I worked on, but my professional life was definitely the most significant change that occurred for me.
By the year's end, I started thinking about what I wanted in 2024. Amazingly, my word for 2024 relates to my word from 2023. Last year was a year of milestones and changes for me and my entire family. Fall 2023 was a bit stressful despite it being my favorite season. Work was incredibly busy and, to be honest, at times stressful. However, I'm grateful for the challenges and encouraging words. I stayed focused, and now I feel more at ease.
In 2024, I want to have a better work/life balance. I feel like I somewhat neglected myself in 2023, especially towards the beginning of fall. I plan to avoid that this year. Just like in 2020, I want to nourish my mind, body, and soul.
To nourish my mind, I want to continue to learn more about potential career growth. I want to look into more possibilities for career advancement, whether that be training, going back for my master's degree, etc. I also want to read more books, especially genres I don't usually read. I want to watch more documentaries and series since I typically don't watch those.
To nourish my body, I want to ensure I eat more balanced meals. I did a decent job at not skipping lunch while at work, but there were days when I didn't get a chance to eat until I got home. I'm also working on eating more breakfast. For some reason, I never really liked eating breakfast and prefer to snack most of the morning. However, in the past few weeks, I have been eating breakfast and have noticed a change in my energy. I've also been going for many more walks even though it's been cold, but I've been feeling good. These walks were good not only for my body but also for my mind and soul.
To nourish my soul, I want to focus on having me time. Whether it's just ten minutes, thirty minutes, or even an hour, I'd like time to decompress in the afternoon and evening. I'd also like to work on easing into the mornings because I'm not a morning person. I plan to lower the amount of time I spend on social media, and instead, I want to focus on making more art and working on my writing. I want to be more active and have been thinking about starting yoga.
Overall, I'm excited for 2024 and looking forward to nourishing my mind, body, and soul. To quote Alex Elle, "My energy for 2024 is: If it's not nourishing to my mind, body, and spirit, it's a no."
What is your word for 2024? What do you hope to accomplish this year?
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time...
