We’ve been choosing words of the year for a few years here at Fit is a Feminist Issue. Here’s our post announcing our words last year. In this post, we reflect on how well our words have served us. We ask ourselves if we made the right choice given the way our lives turned out.
ELAN
My word was “explore.” I appreciate how January Elan gave me permission to try things without judgement, but I now reflect on how realistic that was for me. Because you can only explore something for so long. And knowing my insecurities, it is difficult for me to withhold self-judgment, especially when, in groups, I am called upon to perform. So, as I face a busy fall with a new hobby that challenges me enormously, I think I would change—or perhaps pair—my word “explore” with the word “commit.” December Elan is going to commit to see through what she’s been exploring.
DIANE
My word was Accept. The shoulder issues that plagued me for much of the year forced more acceptance of my physical frailties than I had planned. I did exceed my own expectations on some cycling goals and I’m happy to be well in my way to qualifying as a swim instructor. Over the year I have moved from accepting my impending retirement to being eager for the next stage in life.
CATHERINE
My word has been Allow. Turns out, allowing is hard, especially regarding myself. Allowing myself to do less, to be what and where and who I am at the moment, requires courage. The times I’ve done this– said and done and shown what I needed and what I needed not– have been mostly positive. I’ve discovered that my friends and family already know who and what I am, and they’re happy to support me and let me be me. Not that I don’t get reminders and gentle nudges to do and be what I need to be in the world. For the most part, I appreciate that.. 🙂 So yes, Allowing is something I recommend for anyone shopping for a 2024 word.
SAM
My word of the year was “grow.” And I still love and embrace it. I may even reprise it! I’ve used it in the sense of growing in areas that are already my own–growth as deepening and strengthening–as well as in the sense of trying new things–growth as expanding and widening my horizons. In my very good moments I have a real sense of “watch out world, here I come” and “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” As I approach 60, I’m excited about the decade ahead. Zoom, zoom!
NICOLE
My WOTY for 2023 was Purpose. I said that I didn’t want it to be “purpose with pressure”. More about “purposely looking for fulfilling opportunities, whether at work or at the gym.
I feel I’ve been successful, in that way, in my career. I was looking for a new job in 2023 and landed on one in April that suits me quite well. It fits the bill in terms of the type of “purpose” I am looking for in my career.
At the gym, I continued with my regular routine, which I continue to find purposeful. My workout routine keeps me physically strong and mentally content.
I am purposely thinking of what my word will be for 2024.
I also want to mention that my word for 2023 was Blossom and then became Envision. That word “Envision” is still impactful in my life. I think of it in my regular mantras and when I am feeling I need an inner push to “envision” myself doing things that scare me or that I worry I am not “up to” or “good enough” for. So, I think WOTY can carry over, from year to year, in meaningful ways.
NATALIE
My “consolidate” materialized in a strong twice a week weight lifting workout. It meant saying “yes” to doing new things with friends and family that deepened our connection. I took a drawing class with my beloved in the spring and a pottery class with a friend from work.
I settled into my new home and after a year living here it truly feels like home.
It felt good to think about solidifying and appreciating rather than stretching and striving.
TRACY
I have absolutely loved my word of the year: THRIFT. As I said in my original post, it’s not “thrift” as in thrift shopping. It’s “thrift” as in being thrifty or frugal overall. It has mostly kept me on point with my “no-buy challenge,” in which I have bought almost no clothing, jewelry, accessories, shoes or photography equipment since December 2022. I say “almost” because I bought one new pair of running shoes (which were essential for taking care of my feet) and one new work bag (which had to be done since my old one was tattered and looking really unprofessional). I also had two photography equipment lapses: a new, smaller camera bag (which was my only buyer’s remorse situation of 2023) and a new 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, which was my only splurge of the year, purchased for myself as a birthday present–no buyer’s remorse. I loved the freedom (yes, freedom!) of knowing that shopping for things I would normally be shopping for were just off the table, and things that I was shopping (such as things in categories outside of the no-buy parameters and the new lens) had to be properly sourced, price-compared, and thought through. I feel as if using “thrift” as my guide this year has re-oriented my spending in a more mindful direction that has created a lasting shift.
AMY
My word of the year was create. I go through phases where I might not even be able to name my word in week or month chunks, but I kept coming back to this particular one and trying to sit with it, especially when I was frazzled. Making things (knitting and sewing, primarily) and creating ideas (mostly professional-minded) has kept me sane through a year with some curveballs. I’ve had to be very protective of my creative energy and remember that “No” is a complete sentence so I am not drained of my creative spark.
MINA
Okay–my word was “welcome” and whoa this has been a year. First, my 28-year marriage dissolved definitively, and with that I lost my home and financial security. Welcome. Then my beloved 17-year-old cat died in my arms. Welcome. Then I got tired and more tired and even more tired. Until I ended up in the hospital, where they saved my heart from stopping. After which ensued months of mystery around what was wrong with me and why my potassium level was dangerously high. Now solved by daily medication. Welcome. Me and my WOTY have not always been on the best of terms this year. In fact, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the word has not even stuck in my brain. When we did a mid year reflection, I’d forgotten my word. And I had to look it up again today for this reflection. Welcome. And yet, in the last couple of months, as my health has returned, I have noticed more welcome in my world. And I welcome the end of this year and the feeling the new year gives of new possibility, as random and arbitrary as January 1 is.
