My girlfriend texted the other day and asked, “What’s your word for the year, E?” and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have an answer.
For almost 20 years, I made a vision board every year.
I used to lead a coaching program called January Jumpstart to help my clients pick a theme for the year.
I was fully on the “New Year, New You!” bandwagon.
But then something shifted. I haven’t been inspired to do those rituals for a while now.
Partly, it’s because I finally figured out that being all gung-ho in January doesn’t feel natural. We’re in the depths of winter, rest and hibernation. Read this for more thoughts on when the New Year actually starts. Hint: it’s debatable!
It wasn’t until my friends texted the other day that I figured it out.
January has just not been my month for the past five years:
2021: Hysterectomy. Deep grief, deep healing.
2022: Living alone in a treehouse apartment after separating from my husband of 17 years. Even deeper grief. So many tears.
2023: House flood. $23K+ in damage. All three floors. Overwhelm city.
2024: Tentative re-entry into life and work after a long recovery from my near-fatal car wreck the year before. Confusion. Baby steps.
2025: Yet another house flood → total upstairs renovation, courtesy of Hurricane Helene. (Yes, another flood. After the Big Flood. After a previous flood. I mean…WTF.)
So yeah, January has kind of lost its luster for me in recent years.
I’ve still maintained my practice of writing in my journal and reviewing the previous year and setting intentions for the New Year. ICYMI, try these 12 questions yourself.
So, this year, no vision board for me. And no word of the year either.
But then my friend Amy Climer (I recommended her book Deliberate Creative Teams to you last year) posted on Facebook what I’m calling her “More or Less” list and I was immediately intrigued.
The concept originates from New York Times columnist and illustrator Julia Rothman and it’s really simple.
Make a list (or draw it, is Rothman’s recommendation) of things you want more of in your life and things you want less of in your life for the upcoming year.
That’s it.
Such a simple tool but has the potential for remarkable impact.
In the past, it would have taken me weeks to settle on the right word or theme of the year.
Creating a vision board has always taken at least 3-4 hours for me to “do it right.”
This More and Less list took me 15 minutes.
Now that’s a ritual I can get excited about!
As you know, I’m a huge advocate for rituals and taking our time to be fully present.
(If you haven’t bought the 3x award-winning Sacred Celebrations [ooooh, that is fun to say! Thank you for indulging me. Tee-hee!] You can buy a signed copy here or order from Bookshop or Amazon.)
But not all rituals have to take a lot of time.
Intention is the most powerful ingredient.
It’s always about quality vs. quantity.
So, check out Julia’s IG page, look at some examples and go for it!
Mine is pretty boring and ugly compared to her more artistic ones. But that’s OK.
I’ll do me and you do you, boo!
Comment and let me know how this went for you!