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What is your word?

I have never been good at New Year's Resolutions. Instead, each year I choose a word that reflects my most important aspirations. Then, I find ways to integrate that word into my daily life with things like:

  • post-it notes on my desk and bathroom mirror

  • jewelry

  • passwords

  • calendars and journals

This helps me consistently reflect and readjust so I am more intentional about how I use my time and energy to become the person I aspire to be and live the life I dream of.


Some of my previous words have been:

  • compassion

  • curiosity

  • equity

  • integrity

  • lead

  • learn

  • listen

  • patience

In December 2019, I had gained enough clarity on some personal struggles to confidently take a leap of faith and retire from K-12 education. Here is a blog post all about it - If you died tomorrow, I would quit my job.


I still had no idea what my next steps might look like so I chose the word clarity for 2020 - before I knew about Covid or the world began learning and working from home. That was a year of clarity for many people. For me, it definitely brought additional clarity to my personal priorities, but I still had no idea who I wanted to be when I grew up :)

I had never kept the same word for a second year, but It was an easy decision to continue with the word clarity for 2021. It was working for me and I needed more clarity about the educational coaching & consulting business I had launched.

Consistently searching for clarity helped me navigate and prioritize with integrity and paid great dividends! It also made selecting my word for 2022 easy - advocate.


2022 was full of advocacy opportunities! Here are just a few of my favorite highlights: