2022 makes just the second year I have done Words of the Year. I never really fell through or cared for New Years resolutions, so I pick two or three words that I want to focus on throughout the year.
After much thought, I landed on release & challenge for my 2022 Words of the Year are. Then a little while ago I added curiosity to the lineup. This year I let the words kind of come to me; I had a couple in mind but I could tell they just weren’t aligning.
RELEASE
verb (used with object) – to free from confinement, bondage, obligation, pain, etc.; let go:to release a prisoner; to release someone from a debt.to free from anything that restrains, fastens, etc.:to release a catapult.
noun – a freeing or releasing from confinement, obligation, pain, emotional strain, etc.
liberation from anything that restrains or fastens.
I must have been half asleep when release came to me. I do a lot of my best thinking in that hour before I really wake up, where I am half asleep but thinking so clearly. Last year I really focused on being more present and so building on that by releasing things, people, situations, stuff that no longer serve me made perfect sense. Mostly releasing things I cannot control. This is a big one for me, hence why it’s my top 2022 word of the year. So far it’s been serving me well, using it pretty much daily.
CHALLENGE
verb (used with object) – to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.
to take exception to; call in question:to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.
We are constantly consuming information, wether we want to or not. It’s a solid bet that most of that info is opinion driven. It’s bias and online it’s easy to be construed as facts. We ultimately create our own little bubble that is our personal reality and of course we want to be comfortable. When was the last time you truly challenged information? For all of 2020 and most of 2021 and I got really caught up in following, what I thought at the time, was correct/just/fair/factual without really questioning anything. This year I want to challenge the information that is in and outside of my bubble. Questions things I do and don’t agree with. Get picky with what I make my reality, not to make me comfortable but to keep me open.
CURIOSITY
noun – the desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness
a curious, rare, or novel thing
a strange, curious, or interesting quality.
My last word of the year, curiosity, pretty much fell from the sky & hit me the head. Figuratively, but mind of well have. A word that I haven’t given much thought too for decades, was all the sudden all over. Up there with challenge to keep my mind open, staying curious as an adult is so important. If I am curious I will seek out information. If I am curious I keep that inner child alive. Two weeks ago I wrote and IG Post about how as an adult it’s easy to get set in our ways, follow paths already laid out and forget to think for ourselves & question anything/everything around us. Then, last week I pulled a card asking what my intention for the week should be. Pulling the Six of Cups, focusing on memories, childhood & joy. See, right on the head!
Having a few words of the year in the back of my mind is an easier, more realistic way to set me up for success of growing in the coming year. I wrote them done, think of them daily and whenever life invites me to use them I do my best to say yes. Release has been easier than I thought, but after feeling the positive effects it’s had on my mental health it’s quickly become a habit. Challenge is literally going to be my biggest challenge. It’s not easy, nor comfortable to question things. However, it’s very necessary. Curiosity is a good mix of the two; releasing control/power over things while keeping an inquisitive nature. It’s a difference balance for me, I am exited about it!
What’s your 2022 word of the year? Can be just one and there is no right or wrong one.
