I started a new annual practice three years ago of creating a one-word theme for that year. Unlike most ideas I get, which came from a book or podcast, this idea just came to me seemingly from the ether. This word becomes the focus of the year, and for lack of a better term, an aspiration. In 2023, I was still wallowing in extreme fatigue, and even though I had a diagnosis of adrenal fatigue, my treatment was taking too long (in my opinion) to show any real signs of improvement. The words of my doctor still echo in my wee brain, “Remember, this is a marathon, and not a sprint.” I was not in a good place.
The word that came to me for 2023 was “Surrender.” Ouch. I did not like this one and asked for a different word. Surrender to me is a horrible word. It implies weakness, or an inability to carry on. This clearly couldn’t be the word for me. Maybe, I pondered, I got someone else’s word. The more I fought against it, the more convicted I became that it was the word. Once I came to the realization that surrender was my word for the year, I questioned what it meant for me.
After a couple of months of focusing on this theme, I came to the conclusion that in all ways, I needed to learn to surrender. I needed to surrender my health issues, the career that I worked so hard for, the business that I so carefully created, and all of the things that I could no longer do. I needed to “lean in” to my weakness, and only after I did that could I think of coming out on the other side, hopefully stronger and healthier.
Two years later, I now realize that I indeed needed to surrender. It wasn’t a weakness; it was a reality. Fighting without the energy to do so was exhausting. I was shadow boxing against myself, and my body was tired. As December rolled around, I grew in appreciation for my ability to learn how to surrender, and simultaneously, the new word was revealed to me for the following year… which was “restore.”
Sure, it rhymes with 2024, so it makes it easier to remember, but restore became my new focus. Again, I found myself noodling around in my mind about what this means for me. After weeks of thinking about the year’s theme, I determined that I had work to do. I felt like I had some physical restoration to do with my body, including health and fitness priorities, but maybe more importantly, I had some spiritual work to do as well. I felt like I needed to restore my proper relationship with God and needed to reorient my life in ways that would align more with His will for me.
I have never been a classic car guy, other than I can appreciate a fully restored classic vehicle. The process of restoring the car is an apt metaphor for the work that I needed to do during the year. The body of the car may be filled with rust, and the upholstery may be badly torn. Perhaps there are missing parts, and the engine won’t run. In the hands of the right craftsman, all of those things can be fixed. The car may need to be completely broken down before it can be rebuilt. But you have to admit, when you see a classic car after all of this work is done, you can appreciate what went into it. The owner may take it out with pride on a warm sunny day for a little drive or may even enter it in a parade to show others what a beauty he possesses.
In no way am I suggesting that I am going to parade around in 2025 with what I have done in the previous year, but I am happy that I took the time necessary to move towards a full restoration. While I was wrapping up 2024, I asked myself, “Are we still doing that theme thing? If so, we’ve got to come up with something new for next year.” Which is precisely the conversation I had with myself, verbatim.
In a moment of weakness and sticking with the rhyming scheme that worked so well the previous year, my word for this current year is “Thrive.” Finally, now we’re getting somewhere. I can get behind this theme for sure. Who doesn’t want to thrive? I mean, come on. Thriving is awesome, and it is the focus for 2025 for me.
Unpacking this one was a whole lot easier and more fun than the previous two years (which were kind of bummers if you ask me). I needed to develop, flourish, and grow vigorously, which are all synonymous with thrive, according to the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. By the way, what’s another word for thesaurus?
Thriving, however, also takes a lot of work. In order to thrive, one must work hard at it. It is an active pursuit and not a passive one. You can’t just sit around and thrive, you need to move, grow vigorously, and be intentional about everything. I am focused on my diet, nutrition, my mental and spiritual health, and my physical health. Thriving is actually much more work than surrendering or restoring. But in this effort lies the reward, which I am seeing almost daily.
This thriving also involves seeing myself differently. This is key for me. Rather than the past several years, I have seen myself almost as a wounded bird, frail and unsure, I am starting to see myself with unlimited potential. I am not there yet, but as I wrote in My Big Scary Thing, I have committed to a very large challenge next year, and I need to set myself up for success.
I apologize in advance for perhaps over-sharing my personal life, but I do so in the hopes that this small practice may inspire someone else to carry it on and start their own intentional theme each year. In the event that you do pick up on this practice, spend some time thinking about what you need to work on. Be patient and listen to the still, small voice. Once you are committed, print the word out multiple times and put it in places that you see every day. I have mine on my bathroom mirror, office monitor, and in my car. These reminders really help me to stay focused, and I am sure they will for you too.