I wasn’t going to choose a Word of the Year. Again. I struggled with choosing a word last year, too. I ended up with EASE, which, every time I thought about it over the last 12 months, stuck it’s tongue out at me. Hahahahaha. Not. I don’t want to be taunted by my word again this year. I decided to abdicate from the WOTY process (though my fellow bloggers have offered many lovely words here).
Then, lying in bed last night, my word came to me. PENGUIN. The thought started with this. What can I write about this month that will allow me to share the cute penguin photos from my South Africa sojourn over the holidays? This led me to think about penguin-ness. What it is about penguins, especially the knee-high penguins in sunny climes, not on polar ice, which is so irresistibly charming that even the coolest, most blasé, jaded, seen-it-all person will be delighted. (Side note movie recommendation: The Penguin Lessons. How a pet penguin can make you a better person, even or especially when living under an oppressive regime, such as Argentina in the 70s.)
Penguin-ness is that unique combination of utter grace in the water and goofy awkwardness on land. Not to mention the transition from swimming to standing in the shallows, which seems to involve making a tripod with their wings (more like flippers) and then walking forward. The way we walk forward out of a downward dog. Except the last bit of the journey to standing, when the penguins’ wings pop out of the sand and, Weeble-like, they pop upright.
Awkward grace. Graceful awkwardness. This is the essence of penguin-ness. Capturing the art of being with what is in life. The grace of so many moments. The awkwardness of so many of the very next moments. Their inextricability. The impossibility of constant grace. The inevitability of goofs … and grace.
Can I live into my penguin-ness this year? Goof or grace. Awkward or elegant. Prosaic or sublime. Be with what is. In this moment. And this one that comes next.
Image description: word cloud in the shape of a simple flower, filled with the Words of the Year from the post below. Generated for free from wordcloud.app
Do you have a word that captures something of an envisioned 2025 touchstone for you? For the past few years we at Fit Is a Feminist Issue have had fun choosing words-of-the-year (#woty). You can see past choices here:
Sometimes we post updates partway through the year to check-in about how it’s going. On occasion, the call for an update sends at least a few of us scrambling to remember what word we had chosen. Some years we choose better than others. To me, the very process of choosing a word-of-the-year is a fun and sometimes revealing attempt to have a thematic focus for the year to come. Today, we present this year’s choices.
Natalie: Steady
Steady is my word. I want to be steady in my exercise, writing, crafting and paid work.
I’m using my bicycle commute to experiment with smaller distances more often. My smart watch is giving me a lot of insight into how inconsistent I have been in 2024.
Since I’m working on my balance I also want to be steady on my feet and on my bike. Re-training my brain is a big part of this.
Steady as she goes!
Samantha: Engage
Engage is my word for 2025. On the work front it’s my first research leave in eight years since winter 2017. I’ve never gone that long without leave before and I’m keen to re-engage with ideas, and arguments, and writing. I’m also feeling keen to engage with all the outdoor activities I love, hiking and biking and back country canoe camping. I’m also feeling the need to see more of the people I love, to engage more with the people I care about. I’ve had a few significant losses in recent years, two more in the past few months, and I’m struck anew by how short and precious life is. But then there’s also the big scary political world, getting scarier by the day as Trump talks of leaving the WHO, escalating the death penalty, taking over Canada, and forced mass deportation Add to that the rise of the right here in Canada and I’m having to fight very hard against the impulse to hide under my blankets. Instead I’m resolving to engage, to take a stand, to write letters, campaign door to door, to do something.
Tracy: Confidence
I went back and forth between “ease” and “confidence,” and settled on the latter because I want to let go of all the various little insecurities and areas where I’ve lacked confidence, and trust my own capacities. It’s time. In my work, I’m returning to the classroom after a couple of years away, with not one but two classes starting in January. You’d think that after 32 years of teaching anyone would just be filled to the brim with confidence. But that turns out not to be the case. However, with my WOTY this year, I’m going to stare that down from day one.
I also want to pursue my fitness activities with confidence. Instead of “I can’t do that,” I’m going to go in with the attitude that I can. I can lift heavy things. I can do push-ups and renegade rows. I can do unmodified chataranga in the yoga flow. I can do speed work, and tempo runs, and endurance runs, and easy runs. And I can factor actual rest into my fitness routines. And I am perfectly capable of maintaining a regular routine.
Then there is my photography. I have a lot to learn still, but I can also feel confident that I have a good eye and that I am capable of getting better.
Finally, I want to tackle my big move to Toronto with Diane, coming up this summer, with confidence. I’m already confident that it’s going to be amazing once we are there. So what’s the problem? Between now and settling into a new place in TO, we need to find the right place, sell our places, get rid of excess stuff, pack up the remaining stuff, and coordinate two moves. But we can do this! People do it all the time.
So this year, whenever that annoying voice in my head starts planting doubt, I am going to counter it with a confident rejoinder.
Elan: Consistency
Sloooooowwwww was my 2024 WoTY. For the first part of the year, especially when I was cycling, SLOW came to mind only when I wasn’t meeting my desired pace. But over the year SLOW shifted from an excuse or an apology to something I tried to embrace. The mindfulness exercises I did reggularly around lunch time using my Oura app also gave me permission to slow down.
Over the winter break I read about how avoidance and procrastination activates in our bodies a stress response that builds anxiety. In contrast, making a start (however slowly) reduces anxiety and builds our capacity to adapt and grow. My hope in 2025 is to continue to embrace slowness, and from that build more consistent habits, which I’ve found even more difficult than slowing down. So consistency will be my WoTY for 2025.
Catherine: Compass
Collective was my 2024 WOTY. Realizing that a lot of my happiness comes from being part of a collective, I engaged in lots of activities with my various groups– from the bloggers at Sam’s 60th birthday party to book club to traveling, cycling and swimming with friends and family. I feel lucky to be a part of a number of communities, and I spent more time being active and present.
2024 was also a year in which I (more or less) came to terms with the fact that I have limited time and energy and resources to devote to people, places and pursuits. This year, I’m focusing on physical health and strength, creativity (mainly through writing, but also some art/craft) and being with people I care about.
The destinations are clear, but I still need help in navigating there. So my WOTY for 2025 is Compass, to help me find my way to the people, places, and pursuits I value so much. Yes, I may take the scenic route sometime, and there will be detours. And traffic jams. But as long as I have something to guide me, I think 2025 has the potential to be a great year for journeys and destinations.
Nicole: Believin’
First of all, as is customary for me, I have forgotten what my word for 2024 was and I am not looking because I don’t want to look back. I want to look forward. Not wanting to reminisce, is not typical for me, but that’s how I feel right now.
The word I have chosen for 2025 is “Believin’”. A few years ago, on our first trip anywhere after the lock down of 2020 and most of 2021, my husband and I went to Vancouver and Victoria for a brief, very welcome, change of scenery. It was early summer. We were warned ahead of our arrival at the Granville Island Hotel, that there would be a party in the hotel on our first night there and it might be a bit noisy. At first, we were not thrilled, expecting it to be noisy in a stressful way. However, much to our delight, while we were cozy in our room around 11 pm, we were serenaded by the sound of a group of early teenage girls singing “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey at the top of their lungs at the bat mitzvah taking place in the party room below. it was just the tonic our hardened, still pandemic-wearing souls needed in that moment. And, so, it occurs to me that my soul needs my word for 2025 to be “Believin”. Whether it’s toward my workouts, my family life or the world at large, I am going to try and summon the word, “Believin” – Believin’ in possibility, strength, moments of joy, gratitude and peace in all “this”.
Diane: Enjoy
I loved EXPLORE, my word for 2024 and I did quite a bit of exploring about myself, though not enough exploring in my surroundings. I’m tempted to keep it for another year but the areas where I fell down relate more to learning to relax and enjoy what is happening in the moment.
Realistically, relax is too…relaxing to suit me so I’m going to work on “enjoy” – enjoying my new job, my new grandson, my new cottage and the surrounding area, and doing physical and artistic things that give me joy with friends or on my own.
Amanda: Limits
My word of the year is Limits. As in recognizing, accepting and respecting my own limits. Not easy but important.
Cate: Pathways
My word is pathways. It’s the year I turn 60 and make some decisions about the directions I’d like to curve the rest of my life toward.
Amy: Initiate
I feel like my year started over the summer with a big birthday, so the mid-year/new-year brings a good opportunity for reflection and a fresh perspective. My WOTY is initiate – just get started and see what happens instead of holding off for fear of failure, not having enough time, perfectionism, etc. I don’t usually also add a motto but based on a birthday astrology reading I’m adding one this year: go big AND go home. Lastly, I’ve been on a colorful kick, trying to wear more colors and expand how I see color in my life. I’ve even purchased a hot pink planner for the year, where pink is formerly a no-go color for me.
Martha: Replenish
My word is replenish. Like the meme says, I’ve been driving full tilt with the engine light blinking and the gas tank on fumes. Time to rest, refocus and replenish literally and figuratively. Sixty five is on the horizon and time to think on my goals for the next decade and more.
So those are ours. What’s your word of the year for 2025? And why did you choose it?
Image description: star-shaped word cloud featuring the repetition of four words in block letters: GROWTH, WELCOME, PURPOSE, THRIFT.
A few of us chose Words-of-the-Year back in January and we are due for a check-in to see how the chosen WOTY are working for us.
Mina
I couldn’t even remember my word, when Tracy proposed this post. When she reminded me it was WELCOME, I had to go back and look at why. Oh right, because I knew how hard the year was going to be and I wanted to find something that expressed a willingness to receive what was given this year and, in that way, find flow and ease, dynamism and stillness. I rejected the words GRIT and RESILIENCE, as too much focused on survival (versus the potential to thrive). I’m glad of my choice. At this point, every time someone tells me I’m resilient, a part of me wants to punch them and then collapse to the ground screaming and crying to prove that I’m not and that I need their care. I am welcoming those feelings. I am welcoming grief. Sure, some moments I set my grief off to the side, to try to focus on work or a friend or the potential of a pleasurable moment. But I am never denying grief, or pushing it away, as if it doesn’t belong. This opportunity to be reminded of my word and welcome it anew is well-timed. Welcome springtime.
Nicole
My WOTY is PURPOSE. I also forgot what it was and Tracy reminded me. I thought it was BLOSSOM, but turns out, that was last year’s word. I think there is something to the way my memory has worked with respect to the WOTY. Perhaps, 2022 was getting my mind ready to BLOSSOM, but I wasn’t in a place to actually BLOSSOM. After leaving my last job and having some time to find my next opportunity, I had the privilege of time to think about where I would like to work. I have landed in a place that will provide me with an opportunity to learn, grow, use my legal skills and work at helping others. This seems like an opportunity to BLOSSOM. It also seems like an opportunity to do my work with PURPOSE (2023 WOTY). With respect to exercise, sometimes I have to remind myself the PURPOSE of my exercise. I am good at keeping my schedule, but lately, I find myself tired and cranky, on occasion. I blame it on menopause, but it could be other factors. Either way, in the moments of tiredness and crankiness, I believe it would be wise of me to remind myself of the PURPOSE of why I exercise. It provides me with energy and a clear head and strength – life transitions be damned. I also am purposeful about appreciating the ability to experience these life transitions, as I am more often than not, cognizant of this privilege that not all are afforded. I’m glad to be reminded of my WOTY. I endeavor to use PURPOSE in both my work and working out, for the remainder of the year.
Samantha
From my original WOTY post, “My word for 2023 is GROWTH. I want to expand in lots of different ways. I want to learn new things, make some new friends, discover some new music, travel to new places, read some new authors, and think about new problems. I want to challenge myself to think big and take risks. I’m not sure yet what the specific fitness applications of this new focus will be but I’m open to ideas.”
How’s that working out for me?
Well, on the one hand, not as well as I’d hoped. It feels a bit more like Groundhog Day, as I’m halfway through medical leave for the second knee replacement. Instead of doing new things, mostly I’m working hard to get back to old things. I keep thinking words like “grit” and “determination” might have served me better.
On the other hand, if I think about life on the other side of this surgery and recovery, “growth” is still a word that excites. I keep thinking about new things I can do and new places I can travel with two working knees. It’s also pushing me to think about goals bigger than mere recovery. I’m excited about a lot of strength training in my future.
Last year during a tough time @fieldpoppy wrote about following Adriene’s yoga series, Begin, in which she describes the “Beginner’s Mind.” It’s exactly the non-self-critical headspace that gives the rest of me permission to explore new things: “presence, simplicity, no decisions. […] Experience what’s there now, not what was once there, or what could be there in the future.”
Tracy
My word-of-the-year this year is THRIFT. Not in the sense of “thrifting,” where you shop for bargains at thrift stores, but more in the sense of being thrifty or frugal overall. It dovetails with my no-buy challenge, which involves no purchasing clothes, jewelry, accessories, or camera equipment in 2023.
These things all made the list because they are things I tend to spend way beyond my needs on them. There is simply no need to browse the clothing every time I go to Costco, to buy earrings every time I travel, or to keep adding to my camera kit when I already have more equipment — and it’s good equipment — than I regularly use.
The no-buy challenge and my WOTY have combined to make me think more carefully about my “allowable” expenses. As has everyone, I’ve noticed the prices shooting up in the grocery store and at the gas station, making everyday necessities quite a bit more expensive than they used to be. Taking a more thrifty approach means I will sometimes forgo things I would otherwise have purchased.
It’s also gotten me to try a discount airline for the first time. I’m flying out to Vancouver to see my step daughter and her partner and meet my new grand-baby. on Swoop the round trip ticket is a mere $163 CDN! If I can get away with just a small back pack (I’m gonna try!), I won’t have to fork over the additional $60 EACH WAY for a carry-on! If I wasn’t trying to economize this year I’d probably just do it. But now I feel as if it’s a challenge.
Related to my no-buy thrifty year, is a more aesthetic desire for minimalism. I’m not there but I wish I could be. If in the second half of this year I can combine no-buy with also shedding some stuff, so much the better.
I find having a WOTY can be a motivating touchstone for me when I’ve chosen well. This year I feel I’ve chosen very well. I had a brief moment today where I started browsing for dresses on a website, and pretty much the only thing that stopped me was my no-buy thing. Indeed, I almost said “screw it! I can buy a couple of dresses,” and then a friend who I ran it by said, “but think how you’ll feel after you’ve done so well so far.” That got me over the hump. The moment passed. I didn’t buy new dresses and instead I committed to going through my closet to remind myself what’s in there as far as summer wardrobe goes. I’m sure there is plenty.
I anticipate one exception, which is I need new running shoes pretty soon. I think that should be okay since it’s a well-considered purchase and my current shoes are reaching their training mileage limit.
All-in-all I’m happy with my word THRIFT and can already see a slight shift towards more intentional MINIMALISM in my future for next year.
I woke up alone on Sunday morning (January 1st) for the first time since I was 19 years old. I had a lovely celebration with friends the night before and even in the days leading up. And the day of the 1st itself was rich and full—I wrote, I went to a three-hour 5Rhythms event, talked to a friend on zoom and had dinner with another friend. But it’s clear that this will be a very different year. How different and in what ways is still an unknown.
So, my word of the year (WOTY) is WELCOME.
Every year (as many of you do, no doubt, and many of us here at Fit Is a Feminist Issue) I choose a WOTY (here’s about last year). Sometimes the word is aspirational and other years it is a beacon. This year it is the latter—a lighthouse to indicate the shoals, when I fall out of alignment with its intent; and a north star to guide my speech, actions and spirit. Last year was a hard one and this year coming will be … well, January 1st is at its core, just another day, the next day following December 31. It is not a magic wand or a reset button. It is a continuation of what already is, with the added seasoning of a societally reinforced moment for self-reflection and taking stock. All of which means, this year will be hard, too. At least for a while. How I approach it is where I can make a difference.
Other contenders were words like resilience, grit, open and heart. None of those quite captured the full essence. Resilience and grit were too anchored in the challenge, too much about survival. Open and heart did not feel robust enough, like they were too easily crushed. Then Nicole proposed greet and my mind immediately jumped to welcome (Thank you for the prompt!). I can greet something with pleasure or dismay. I wanted a word that included the dismay, invited it in. I want to welcome the dismay, the grief, the fear, and all the everything hard and unpleasant. Just as much as I want to welcome the love, the heart, the kindness, the connection and all the everything pleasurable and joyful the year has in store. Welcome contains flow and ease, dynamism and stillness.
Good. That’s settled then.
As for my annual challenge (not a resolution!), I had some initial resistance to this staple in my new year habits. My being protested, “Just getting through the year will be a challenge! Isn’t that enough?” Yes. And an annual challenge will redirect some focus. I’m sticking with my habit. This year I’ll return to a challenge I undertook 5 years ago—to not shop for clothes, shoes, accessories for the year. I had an initial instinct to change the challenge a little from last time and allow myself vintage or second-time around shopping, but even in just thinking about it, I quickly realized that I appreciate the challenge not only for its environmental aspects (which Sam talks about so well here in her piece about how she’s continuing her no shopping challenge), but also for the mental hygiene, keeping my mind space clear of my tendency to crave a new piece of clothing. To wit, I almost didn’t take up the challenge, because I had this thought, “But I’ll need the pressure release and/or the solace of buying something new!”
Exactly.
This year I’ll work on welcoming the discomfort, instead of burying it under a new pair of pants and a fresh top.
