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Do you choose a “Word of the Year” or participate in the One Little Word project? With SO many great words to pick from, it can be tough to narrow down the selection, so I’ve put together a list of some of the best Word of the Year ideas to help you make your decision!

one little word ideas and planner with cup of coffee

150+ Word of the Year Ideas

In December of 2010, not long after I started this blog, I decided to choose one single word to be my focus and guidance for the upcoming new year and all of my goals. I wanted to choose something meaningful that would guide me through the year and be a compass throughout life’s many decisions, something that would encourage me to be the best version of myself. I settled on the word “Bloom,” and in that year I grew this very blog from a part-time hobby to a full-fledged business!

It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I discovered that One Little Word was a growing movement linked to a popular hands-on workshop that incorporates a little bit of scrapbooking with a lot of journaling and an abundance of self-growth. The idea of selecting a guiding word resonates with many, many people, and the trend of choosing a Word of the Year has gained popularity for good reason!

word of the year word ideas in collage

So, what are some of the most popular choices for your “One Little Word” word of the year? Balance, Focus, Grow, Simplify, and Organize tend to be crowd favorites, because, really, couldn’t we ALL use a little bit more of those things in our lives? They’re fantastic words!

Personally, my words over the years have included a couple of those popular favorites along with Joy, Improve, and Intentional. I haven’t completely settled on my word for next year yet, but I’m leaning heavily towards Gratitude!

To help you choose your one little word, I put together a list of 150 potential Word of the Year ideas to help inspire your selection:

goals and dreams with word of the year ideas printable

There are SO many great choices on here!

Whichever Word of the Year you choose, you can keep it front and center with these awesome Word of the Year Gifts and Reminders like jewelry, home decor, t-shirts, and more!

word of the year ideas printable

Choosing your guiding words can be a really wonderful activity to do together with your family – choose a word for the entire family and then have everyone select their own personal words as well. It’s always fun to see what everyone comes up with!

Get the Word of the Year Ideas Here

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150+ Word of the Year Ideas for 2024

If you don’t need the word ideas in printable format, scroll through here for 150+ incredible Word of the Year ideas to motivate and inspire you to have your best year ever!

  • Focus
  • Grow
  • Organize
  • Simplify
  • Bloom
  • Brave
  • Inspire
  • Thrive
  • Gratitude
  • Consistency
  • Balance
  • Be
  • Worth
  • Elevate
  • Today
  • Less
  • Mindful
  • Considerate
  • Calm
  • Positivity
  • Respect
  • Appreciate
  • Enlighten
  • Intentional
  • Flow
  • Family
  • Slow
  • Possibility
  • Persevere
  • Love
  • More
  • Reflect
  • Light
  • Heart
  • Now
  • Passion
  • Joy
  • Unlimited
  • Kindness
  • Play
  • Thoughtful
  • Deliberate
  • Trust
  • Conscious
  • Increase
  • Breathe
  • Commit
  • Seek
  • Pause
  • Forward
  • Change
  • Listen
  • Free
  • Build
  • Flourish
  • Move
  • Renew
  • Progress
  • Explore
  • Finish
  • Hope
  • Fearless
  • Happy
  • Spirit
  • Glorious
  • Grace
  • Truth
  • Belong
  • Strive
  • Always
  • Compassion
  • Energy
  • Sacred
  • Persist
  • Bridge
  • Determination
  • Enough
  • Improve
  • Strength
  • Encourage
  • Wake
  • Present
  • Beauty
  • Enthusiasm
  • Connect
  • Alignment
  • Priority
  • Create
  • New
  • Faith
  • Believe
  • Transform
  • Integrity
  • Gentle
  • Expansion
  • Grounded
  • Harmony
  • Action
  • Ambition
  • Purpose
  • Hero
  • Dream
  • Magic
  • Shine
  • Peace
  • Try
  • Teach
  • Compromise
  • Imagine
  • Learn
  • Wonder
  • Embrace
  • Courage
  • Humble
  • Wish
  • Work
  • Smile
  • Meditate
  • Lead
  • Celebrate
  • Relax
  • Pray
  • Sparkle
  • Represent
  • Whole
  • Journey
  • Prosper
  • Contribute
  • Discipline
  • Laugh
  • Here
  • Shift
  • Delight
  • Patience
  • Cultivate
  • Stillness
  • Serenity
  • Vision
  • Wisdom
  • Vulnerability
  • Adventure
  • Example
  • Comfort
  • Give
  • Rise
  • Perspective
  • Glow
  • Forgive
  • Observe
  • Soul

Do you know what your word of the year is going to be? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for new inspiration!

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39 Comments

  1. Cultivate is my 2022 word of the year. I’m retiring in late 2022 and I want to cultivate new avenues for me, my family and my present co-workers.

    Reply

  2. I never heard of a word of the year instead of creating resolutions, but I am all for it! Thank you for the helpful article!!!! I was looking for some words and I think I have found one now thanks to you!

    Reply

  4. My daughter just told me about this idea in December.
    My word is healing
    Healing my body
    healing my faith
    healing my self care
    healing my relationships

    I am now pessing this information on to my residents in my skilled nursing facility.
    This is awesome thank you.

    Reply

  6. Years ago, I set aside New Year’s Resolutions in lieu of doing this same thing. This is the first time I’ve come across your blog touting the same idea! Over the years I’ve come to realize the word I choose can manifest itself in unpredictable ways. For example, the year I chose Relationship, with the intent to focus on strengthening my then 18-year marriage, I wound up separated by end of January and divorced at the end of the year on New Year’s Eve. I learned a whole lot about how to show up in relationships though and have continued to since then. The year I chose Brave, my car got repossessed (because my ex stopped paying for it unbeknownst to me), and I lost my job. But I also bought a car by myself for the first time and was brave enough to try to negotiate down the price and I found a new job in a new industry in an environment that previously would have been very intimidating to me. The year I chose Abundance, I lost my father (8 months after losing my mom, at the end of the Brave year). Abundance showed up in ways I never expected, financially, spiritually, emotionally. Last year I chose Balance and spent the entire year wondering what was going to happen with my work and living situation as my company was relocating to a new state. If I was to receive an offer to relocate, it meant prepping my house of 15 years to sell it and leaving my four college aged kids behind. I very much did not feel in balance but learned to manage stress while living in grey and unknown. For 2020, I chose, of all things… Joy. So imagine the irony when the pandemic hit two months after I relocated to a new unfamiliar city where I knew nary a soul. Let me tell you how much the lessons from the previous years of Relationship, Brave, Abundance and Balance played a role in being able to actually achieve a 2020 full of quite a bit of Joy, despite the circumstances. So it is with slight trepidation and anticipation that for 2021, I am choosing the word LISTEN. I do not know how the yin and yang of this word will play out but after doing this for so many years, I’ve learned to start reflecting on word choices around Thanksgiving and eventually a word comes to me that sticks and is my “a-ha!” So, here we go… full speed ahead into 2021, ready to LISTEN and discover what there is to learn from focusing on this.

    Reply

  8. I love the simplicity and design of your word list. I would like to use your word list with my students. I know it states for personal use, but do your think you will be willing to offer permission for use with my class. Please let me know. Thank you, JM

    Reply

  9. I am feeling drawn to the word – Treasure. It is a word that caught me by surprise because it came to me when I was purchasing a bracelet on the annivsery of my fathers death- New Year’s Eve. The bracelet inscription is ” Live simply, Love deeply and Laugh often ” . This is the way he lived his life each day . The bracelet is described as a daily reminder to “treasure” each day . So it has been in the back if my mind since I purchased the bracelet.

    Reply

  11. I’m thinking that my word for this year should be abundance. I have never had a word for a year, but for the last week or so the word abundance keeps popping into my FB feed. So, how will this look like…good question.

    Reply

  12. My word for 2020 is rejuvenate. Almost my entire adult life I’ve worked two jobs, or been involved in so many things after regular work hours that I am just tired. I was going to try to start a small from-home business this year and decided I need to take a year off and just try to rejuvenate my mind, body, and spirit.

    Reply

  13. May I share this image on a page, giving credit? (no ads, not selling, not downloadable, pointing folks to the source?) I love this layout it’s simple and straight forward and prefer to give credit than re-make the wheel and not give credit 🙂 My Word for next year is balance, I need to find balance in work/family/activities, right now we are spread too thin and it’s not making anyone happy or successful, so we need to refind balance.
    Thank you!

    Reply

  14. I had been praying about which word to choose, and your list helped me discover it : delight! I want to remind myself to delight in the Lord and love what He loves, and also remember that He already delights in me. I’m having it put on a necklace.

    Reply

  15. There are so many goals that I want to see through to completion in 2019. I finally chose the word “REACH” because it has so many meanings. I hope to reach some goals and reach for new ones, stretching myself and reaching out to others. Thank you for your inspiration!

    Reply

  16. Discipline is going to be my word of the year! No more excuses not get on my yoga mat everyday or get to the gym more or just do everything that I want to do this year, all it takes is “Discipline”

    Reply

  17. Just last night I had the idea to create a word of the year for myself and figure ways to incorporate it into my blog dreamcottagecreations.com. I had no idea this was a trendy thing. I though I had an original idea. Sigh..
    Oh well, my word is BELIEVE…it’s not just for Christmas anymore!

    Reply

  19. My word of the year is FORGIVENESS! I have so much in my heart that I need to forgive people and situations for …. If i carry this word with me all year long I know that it will help set my heart free.

    Reply

  20. My word of the year is going to be Finish. I get so many great ideas. I start something, then get distracted and start on a different idea. I know my house will look better when I just finish a job. That means dishes after a meal. Open the mail when I bring it in, sort it and deal with whatever is there, recycle the rest. You get the idea. Finish what you start.

    Reply