It’s a brand-new year and I thought I’d start 2024 with a simple tip just to get us going.

I usually use those last few weeks of the old year and the first of the new to sit down and reflect on what I want for the new year. Not just what I need. Several years back, I started picking a word of the year to help me focus on what I want to accomplish. And it works oh so much better than a resolution!

As you may have already guessed, my word for this year is HOPE. I have chosen the word hope because this year I will embrace it. In all of its messy glory. As much as this word inspires, there is also an undertone of uncertainty and frailty that accompanies this word. It implies something wished for, wanted, desired or sought after that may – or may not – be obtained.

Have you set a one-word goal for this year?

Word Of The Year

If you haven’t chosen a “Word of the Year” yet, then you might want to pick one. I’d like to encourage you to pick a word that will bolster your creativity for 2024. But you should pick whatever word really speaks to you.

The layout above is one I created for a January 2024 challenge at the Digital Scrapbooking Studio. Part of the challenge was to scrap a “word of the year”. You can see more details about this layout in my 2024 Gallery.

As I already mentioned I started picking a Word of the Year a while back. Having a Word of the Year is a really fun way to set your intentions and theme for the New Year, or any other life event for that matter. Use your Word of the Year to help guide your decisions and continue moving towards what you want.

The first step to creating anything you want is to identify your self-awareness and specific intention(s). A Word of the Year will set you in the right direction by bringing more awareness to your intentions.

Pick Your Word

Grab a piece of paper and make two columns. On one side, write down everything that went well over the past year. On the other side, write what you would like to change.

Review the side that lists what went well. How do these things make you feel? What do you want more of?

Choose one to five words that really speak to how you want your year to feel. Nouns, verbs, anything works — just words that feel good to you. Don’t get caught up in the grammar.

Review them all together, then narrow it down to one that you know in your heart you need more of.

Then write your word on a pretty notecard and stick it to your bathroom mirror or anywhere else you’ll see it every day. Some other ideas are on your car’s sun visor, your office wall, or make it your computer desktop or phone wallpaper.

If you’re feeling a bit “word blocked” here is a list of words that might inspire you:

This list is by no means all-inclusive, just some ideas to get your creative ideas flowing.

Creativity Challenge

Once you’ve picked your word. I have a little creativity challenge for you.

I know…a lot of people think they aren’t the creative type. But creativity is just like any other muscle — if you want to strengthen it, you have to use it. You have to push it beyond its normal boundaries and apply pressure from different directions. I also believe we can expand and enhance or creative brains if we regularly practice it, thus the idea for this challenge.

Today I want you to take the word you picked along with several others that you came up with before deciding on the word and create a word cloud. Here’s what mine looks like using that massive list from above:

You can create your word cloud in any fashion you choose. Use different colors for different words. You can even use different fonts for different words if you’d like. Just please remember to use fonts that pair well. Above all, be sure to highlight your word of the year and make it the focus of your word cloud.

And if you’re at a loss for how to create your word cloud “from scratch”, fear not. There are some handy little cloud generators out there. You can just search for Word Cloud generators. Some are more user-friendly than others.

But there is one in particular that might be fun for you to play with; WordArt.com.

You can either click the logo or the name in the sentence above to check out WordArt.com.

WordArt.com is an online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease. You can customize every bit of the word cloud art including: words, shapes, fonts, colors, layouts and more!

And when you’ve finished, I’d LOVE to know what your Word of the Year is and why you chose it. Leave it and/or your word cloud here in the comments to share it with our community. “Speaking” it into the Universe is a beautiful way to get things flowing.

One last challenge…use your word/word cloud in a layout (like the one I shared above) or create a Facebook cover image with your word. And again, I’d love it if you shared whatever you create here in the comments. You never know…your word just might inspire others!

Some Final Thoughts For One Word

I truly believe that choosing a word of the year can be one of the most powerful things you can do in terms of goal setting and personal growth.

We all know that life doesn’t always go as planned, and often life changes become huge roadblocks when it comes to any resolutions we may have made. When life circumstances change significantly it can be hard to keep plugging along on a goal set months ago. Although everything can generally be figured out – sometimes it is just so darn discouraging when plans go awry!

Choosing a word for an entire year can allow us to create space for life to be, well, LIFE! A Word of the Year, has this way of following you, growing with you, and evolving with you. If you allow it to, a word of the year can make a real difference in your life!

Over the years, my word of the year has been a dear companion to me. I stepped into brave new things because of my word, I’ve learned to really appreciate who I am through my word of the year, I started taking time for myself because of my word…the list goes on and on!

Back to my word for the year…There is power in hope. That power can impact the outcome. But even if it doesn’t it will impact you. Feel every bit of the experiences life brings – the good, the bad, and the uncertain. Have joy despite the outcome. Fall hard. Hope fiercely. I’ll be by your side doing the same.

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. Remember, If you have any suggestions, questions or need some help with a word cloud generator – please don’t hesitate to “Message Me“. I’ll be back next week with some more crafting tips for you! Click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!