One Word
Every January feels a little… loud.
New goals, new plans… new promises to somehow become a completely different person by February!
I am sure anyone reading this blog will not be new to making (or at least thinking about) ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and making some goals or promises to oneself for the upcoming year. Whether you have done this occasionally in past years or do it faithfully every year… it is interesting to analyze what your intentions are. Do you use these ‘resolutions’ to motivate yourself? Hold yourself accountable? Or to help keep your focus on one thing at a time to achieve your goals?
I recently read a newsletter by a manifestation coach (Matt Cooke) that I follow where he mentioned choosing ‘One Word’ for the year ahead. It was a very intriguing read that led me to dig a little deeper, read the book "One Word That Will Change Your Life"(where he discovered this practice)and really fall into the simplicity of it.
Rather than re-invent his message from the newsletter, which resonated more with me than the actual book I mentioned above, I am just going to copy and paste some parts of it below.
Insight: Your One Word Is Your North Star
What if your entire year could be guided by just one word?
I discovered this practice back in 2019 through the book "One Word That Will Change Your Life". Their core insight is powerful: clutter and complexity lead to procrastination and paralysis, while simplicity and focus lead to success and clarity.
But here's where I want to take this deeper.
Your one word isn't just a focus tool. It's not just about simplifying your to-do list or cutting through the noise.
Your one word is a frequency to manifest from.
And that changes everything.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely still create intentions and individual goals.
Your one word is the energetic foundation that all your goals are built from.
Think of it this way: your goals are what you want to create. Your one word is the frequency you're broadcasting while you create them.
If your goals are the frisbees you're throwing into the quantum field, your one word is the energy behind the throw.
You can have a goal to write a book, start a business, find a partner, or create financial abundance. But the frequency you're holding while you pursue those goals will determine not just whether they manifest, but HOW they manifest and what energy they carry when they arrive.
For example, my word for 2025 was EXPANSION.
And the universe didn't just expand my circumstances. It expanded my capacity, my comfort zone, my sense of what's possible and my willingness to be seen.
Your word doesn't just organize your life, it literally reorganizes your reality.
When you choose a word and commit to that frequency, you're not just setting an intention, you're issuing an invitation to the universe.
You're saying: "This is the energy I'm choosing to live from. Show me everything that matches this."
And the universe will respond.
Not always in the ways you expect, not always comfortably, but always accurately. Your word will also surface every place where you're not currently living that frequency.
If your word is TRUST, expect situations that ask you to let go of control.
If your word is ABUNDANCE, expect old scarcity patterns to come up for clearing.
If your word is COURAGE, expect edges that terrify you.
If your word is SOFTNESS, expect all the ways you've been rigid to reveal themselves.
I promise you, this isn't punishment, it's refinement.
The universe isn't testing whether you're worthy of your word. It's showing you where the gaps are between who you've been and who you're becoming.
Your word becomes a tuning fork. And everything in your life that's out of tune with that frequency will start to become obvious.
Your goals might say one thing, but your frequency says another. And the universe always responds to frequency, not words.
But when you choose your one word and genuinely commit to living from that frequency, everything aligns.
So how can you approach this?
The Framework (My Adaptation)
The practice unfolds naturally in three phases:
1. Create Space for Clarity
Before you can hear what your soul is asking for, you need to get quiet... You need to slow down out of your left brain, and into your intuitive right brain.
This isn't about sitting down with a pad and forcing an answer. It's about slowing down enough to notice what's already trying to emerge.
Ask yourself questions like:
What does my life need most right now?
What would my future self be most proud of me embodying?
If fear of failure didn't exist, what word sums up my next move?
What word keeps showing up in my life lately?
What's been blocking my flow?
What am I ready to release?
Turn off the noise. Step away from the constant input. Give yourself permission to just be with the questions and allow it to gently find you.
2. Let Your Word Find You
Here's the part most people get wrong: they try to think their way to their word.
But your word isn't an intellectual exercise, it's always an intuitive knowing.
Use whatever practice helps you access that deeper wisdom: journaling, meditation, quiet walks, or simply paying attention to what keeps showing up in your thoughts.
Your word will often choose you, not the other way around. It's less about deciding and more about recognizing.
You'll know it's right because it will land in your body, not just your mind.
3. Live It Daily
Once you have your word, the real work begins: integrating it into your daily life.
Close your eyes right now and imagine it's December 31st, 2026. You're looking back on the year. Your word didn't just guide you, it transformed you. How does that feel in your body? What's different about you? How do you move through the world?
That's the frequency you're tuning into, and that's what you're practicing.
Here's how to anchor it in 2026:
Make it visible. Write your word somewhere you'll see it every single day. Phone wallpaper, mirror, journal cover, whatever works. Let it catch your eye constantly.
Feel into it. Don't just think about your word. Embody it. If your word is COURAGE, what does courage feel like in your chest? If it's FLOW, how does flow move through your body? Practice the energetic quality of it.
Journal with it. Each week, ask yourself: "Where did my word show up this week? Where did I resist it? Where did I embody it fully?" Track the evidence. Notice the patterns.
Share it. Tell a few people who will hold you accountable with love. People who will gently call you back when you've drifted off frequency.
Check in daily. Make it simple: "Am I living from this frequency today?" Not as judgment. As recalibration. As a gentle reminder to come back home to your word.
The power isn't in choosing the word. The power is in living it so consistently that it becomes who you are.
Reading about this practice of choosing ‘One Word’ for the year and using this word as a foundational, grounding element to ‘tune’ in to really resonated deeply with me, so I thought it might also resonate with some of you.
I am going to give this a try for 2026. I haven’t found my ‘One Word’ yet but it will come to me as I reflect in the coming days. And if it doesn’t come to me then I will just pick any old word and force myself to think, say and feel it for 365 days. HAHA… just kidding and wondering if anyone actually made it this far in this long and drawn out blog!!! I know my intuition won’t let me down… I just have to listen to it😊
I am going to create a vision board and my word will be prominently displayed in the center… reminding me to manifest from this frequency when thinking about my goals and intentions for different areas of my life.
May we all be blessed with exactly what we need this year! Happy 2026 everyone!
Much love,
