Happy new year! It is time to reveal my word for 2025 and reflect on the intentions set for the coming year.
Word of the year 2025
It has been a tradition to choose a theme word of the year. I started doing this in 2016 and choosing a word was a fun way to turn the page each new year. While, like resolutions, words are often forgotten a few months later, I consider this annual event to be a great marker of time. Consider it a mood marker on the first of every year. When you look at the list below, you can see how the environment has evolved!
Past words
Before we get to this year, we have to take a look at the words from previous years.
2016 – PRESENT
2017 – INTENTIONAL
2018 – VULNERABLE
2019 – PURPOSE
2020 – VISION
2021 – FOUNDATION
2022 – FRESH
2023 – CREATIVE
2024 – EXPAND
And this year’s word is…
RELAX.
It may not be a surprise that this word comes to mind during a massage. But the irony is that while I was deeply relaxed with my shoulders slumped, I was actually going through my to-do list. I knew writing this post was coming and I started thinking of a word.
This is very on-brand for me, an overthinker who has a hard time turning off my brain. I constantly multitask and work ahead “so I can relax,” but when it’s time to relax, I think ahead about what’s next!
So, my goal this year is to really work on strengthening the relaxed muscle.
A failed relaxation intention
About a year ago, I had the idea to reserve the 30 minutes before I had to wait for the school bus so I would have time to reset my brain before the afternoon of overstimulating the kids. It might be time to have a cup of tea or read a few pages of my book.
But can you guess how many days I’ve done this intentionally? Almost none. Almost every day I am doing something productive until the alarm on my Pirates of the Caribbean bus goes off, whether for work or domestic reasons. Relaxing is not something I’m good at due to subconscious guilt over lack of productivity. These are deep-rooted beliefs that I am working to undo.
Change time
This year, I’d like to prioritize not wasting time so I have more time to intentionally relax. I do a lot of work that makes me feel productive but isn’t (like checking my YNAB budget to see if anything has happened since the morning 🙂 Doom scrolling on Instagram is another waste of time that needs improvement. But I also have some great systems set up to keep my email and digital life running on autopilot (more on that). here!).
Where a more relaxed mentality has been assimilated
My mom will tell you that having children has relaxed me a little. Before having kids, I was more type A, I had more control. Because it could be! I had the time and mental energy to do things like plan every meal, blog 3 times a day (!), or follow a list/schedule to the letter.
But after having children, you lose a lot of that control. Caring for another person who is unpredictable requires extreme flexibility. Being a parent is so mentally draining that when it comes time to do things like plan the annual family beach trip meals, I respond, “Everything’s fine with me!”
My house is messier than ever with two kids who love their Lego villages and slime kits, and I’ve learned to live with it instead of constantly fighting the clutter. (Not that I don’t have them organized, but the standards have been lowered, hahaha). But that doesn’t mean he’s calm about it either.
Priorities for 2025
This year I would like to prioritize:
- slow walks
- reading fiction
- Go out and sit in nature.
- Sauna in the gym / sauna blanket at home
- Meditation in small bites
- Listen to relaxing music
- Puzzle
- Spa days when possible!
- Less time wasted / more time intentionally relaxing
I realize that this word of the year comes from a privileged place. You can’t relax if you’re worried about putting food on the table or a health scare. I am extremely grateful for where we are in our lives and I do not take it lightly.
But also, this whole country is very nervous right now, and I think everyone could use a little intentional levity. There are many free ways to help your mind relax. Getting outside as much as possible, even on these cold winter days, to get some fresh air, is the best way to relax that I can think of and that we, as a species, can do together.
