Happy new year! It’s time to reveal my 2025 word and reflect on the intentions set for the coming year.
Word of the year 2025
It is a tradition to choose a theme word of the year. I started doing this in 2016 and choosing a word has made it a fun way to turn the page on each new year. Although like resolutions, the words are often forgotten a few months later, I find this annual event to be a great time marker. Consider it an indicator of the atmosphere on the first of each year. When you look at the list below, you can see how the atmosphere has evolved!
Words of the past
Before we get to this year’s, we need to take a look at previous years’ words.
2016 – PRESENT
2017 – GOALS
2018 – VULNERABLE
2019 – GOAL
2020 – VISION
2021 – FOUNDATION
2022 – FRESH
2023 – CREATIVE
2024 – EXPANSION
And this year’s word is….
RELA X.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that this word came to mind during a massage. But the irony is that as I was deeply relaxed having dug my shoulders in, I was actually crossing off my to-do list. I knew this post was coming and I started thinking of a word.
This is so formal for me, an over thinker, that it’s hard to turn off my brain. I’m constantly multi-tasking and working ahead “so I can relax”, but when it’s time to relax, I’m thinking of the next thing!
So my goal this year is to really work on strengthening my relaxation muscles.
A failed attempt to relax
About a year ago, I had the idea to set aside the 30 minutes before meeting the school bus for some time to reset my brain before an afternoon of overstimulating the kids. It could 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 it on purpose? Almost none. Almost every day I do something productive until the Pirates of the Caribbean bus alarm goes off, be it work or household. Relaxing isn’t something I’m good at because of subconscious guilt about my lack of productivity. These are ingrained beliefs that I am trying to undo.
Shift time
This year, I’d like to prioritize not wasting time so I have more time for intentional relaxation. I do a lot of busy work that makes me feel productive but isn’t (like checking my budget on YNAB to see if anything has happened since the morning 🙂 ). Doom scrolling on Instagram is another time waster that needs improvement. But I’ve also set up some great systems so that my email and digital life run on autopilot (More on that here!).
Where a more relaxed mindset has sunk in
My mom will tell you that having kids has loosened me up a bit. Before kids, I was more Type A, more in control. Because I 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 a T.
But after you have kids, you lose a lot of that control. Caring for someone else who is unpredictable requires extraordinary flexibility. Parenting puts such a mental strain on me that when it comes time to do things like plan annual meals for family beach trips, I reply, “I’m fine!”
My house is dirtier than ever with two kids who love Lego villages and slime kits, and I’ve learned to live with that instead of constantly fighting the mess. (Not that I don’t have them sorted, but the standards have dropped, lol). But that doesn’t mean I’m relaxed about it either.
Priorities 2025
This year I would like to prioritize:
- Slow walks
- Reading fiction
- Going outside to sit in nature
- Sauna at the gym / sauna blanket at home
- Meditate in small bites
- Listening to relaxing music
- Puzzle
- Spa days when possible!
- Less wasted time / more time for intentional relaxation
I realize this word of the year comes from a place of privilege. You can’t relax if you’re worried about putting food on the table or if you fear for your health. I am extremely grateful for where we are in our lives, and I don’t take it for granted.
But also, this whole country is on a very high note right now, and I think everyone could use some 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 breathe fresh air, is the best way to relax I can think of that we as a species can do together.
