New Year: My One Word for 2015 and Why I Can’t Leave 2014 Behind

In Korea people don’t stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year. Instead, they get up in the middle of the night and they hike a mountain. They climb through the dark, snowy pre-dawn hours and when they reach the top they stand with their faces to the sky to greet the first sunrise of the New Year.

What a contrast to how we in the West often enter the New Year – stumbling out of bed at noon, tired and quite possibly hungover. For many, January 1st is a day of recovery. We spend New Year’s Eve celebrating the ending of something and the beginning of a new thing. We bombard the internet with reflections on the previous year. Even the less introspective among us take a moment to declare the past year, “the best” or “the hardest” or “the craziest” year of their lives.

I can never bring myself to make those kinds of statements. Because I don’t believe a year can ever be just one thing. Life is never just one thing, and what is a year besides a microcosm of an entire life?

Elaine’s comment on my Year in Review post explained this perfectly. She said she was struck by “how every year is a little life – with birth, death, family, love, travel, new things, familiar things, difficulties and good friends all swirling through it.” I thought this was profound because of what it says about the year we’ve just lived and what it means for the year ahead.

2014 had a life that is both self-contained and part of a larger whole. Entering the New Year doesn’t mean we’ve finished with the old one. We can’t discard it like a worn-out pair of shoes. We carry our past years deep inside our bones. They make up the very DNA of our lives.

The person I was as a child is markedly different from the person I am today, but I could never say I’ve left her behind entirely. You never completely stop being the person you were at 8 or 18 or 28. You carry all of these selves inside of you and they shape who you become. In the same way, we each carry dozens of lives with us –the lives we lived in our previous years – and these lives become part of our future.

But carrying the past year with you doesn’t mean you have to be weighed down or shackled by it.

In the past, I’ve looked back on my previous year and made some promises. I’ve set goals for the year ahead that were largely lists of how I would do better, be better than I was the previous year. I used to think that doing this was a way of leaving the previous year behind, but maybe all that is is a way of letting the previous year enslave me.

I don’t think we have the choice to throw out the previous year or any year of our lives. But we do have a choice about how we let it shape our lives. I can either look at the previous year and allow my mistakes and disappointments and perfectionism drive me to guilt-ridden resolutions, or I can look at the previous year and simply embrace it all, both the proud moments and the parts I wish I could undo, thank God for them, and let them be part of my story.

This year, instead of making a list of resolutions, instead of thinking of all the ways I failed in the last year or all the things I want to do better, instead of making 2015 a giant to-do list, I’ve decided to join the many people I know who choose One Word. The idea of One Word is to get rid of your list and to choose just one word to focus on for a whole year. “One word that sums up who you want to be and how you want to live.”

I’ve been thinking about my word for several weeks. At first I thought about “Belief,” because it’s something I desperately want more of – in God, in myself, in the world. And then I thought about “Present,” the practice of being fully engaged where I am instead of constantly thinking of the next thing or the last thing. Both of these are important to me, but when I really considered what summed up who I want to be and how I want to live one word rose to the top. My word for this year is Wholehearted.

Wholehearted is about sincerity and commitment. For me this means authenticity in my life and my writing. It means commitment to continue my faith-wrestling and to asking sincere questions. Being Wholehearted is also a commitment to courage, compassion, and connection. It is the courage to be vulnerable despite the risk, the compassion to love other people well and to extend grace quickly, both to myself and to others, and the choice to develop genuine connections with others. Wholeheartedness means committing to being fully present, to showing up for every day of my life instead of checking out when things are hard or boring. It means engaging with Today and believing that every day is a gift. And Wholehearted means believing that I am worthy of love and belonging – not because there is anything especially great and deserving about me, but because we are all worthy of love and belonging and because we can’t fully accept love and belonging unless we believe we are worthy of it.

This year I want to step into the New Year with intention. I want to turn my face towards the sun and say, “I’m here. Whatever you have to offer, I am fully present and ready to receive it. The births and the deaths. The joys and the fears and the disappointments. The beauty and the brokenness. The faith and the doubt. The longing and the contentment. The adventure and the mundane.” May 2015 be a step on the journey towards Wholeheartedness.

Happy New Year.

 

Image Credit: Iamidaho at Deviantart.com

1,082 comments

  1. Yes you’re right. We enslave ourselfs to often by a calendardate / times and workflows. In germany we have a phrase: “there is no clock tickin for the lucky ones.” If i read your post i can feel that i’m with you. The future will be what you made of it. Happy new year.

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    1. That’s such an interesting expression. Many of us spend our lives fighting with time in one way or another. But time isn’t the enemy. It’s a gift. We choose what we do with that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for the reblog!

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  5. Reblogged this on and commented:
    A very timely and motivating read. I’ve heard of many One Words but have never had the courage (?) to pick one myself because I’m a true blue Arian- I discard projects shortly after diving into them. Needless to say, all my previous resolutions were abandoned. Before the new year began, I told myself that in 2015 I will be more empathetic and also grateful. Because of that, I took on a big responsibility to sponsor a child on my own. However, as I was reading through the article, one word circled my mind: Endurance.

    Endurance means to persevere through all the classes even if I don’t feel like attending them at all, religiously practicing yoga even if all I want to do is curl up in bed. Enduring through all creative processes, putting in the time and effort to actually produce my own work instead of just the endless search for inspiration. Going through with all responsibilities that I’ve taken up. I will make sure that my fear of commitment does not impede me from accomplishing in 2015 like how it did last year.

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    1. I’m so glad this post was inspiring to you! And thanks for reblogging. I think endurance and perseverance are closely linked – there are two parts to completing something and carrying out commitments – stamina (endurance) and the will to press on through distractions (perseverance). I would love to hear how focusing on endurance affects your studies and health and attitude towards other commitments. Also, I really admire you for sponsoring a child. It’s easy for many people to say, “That’s important, but I’ll wait until I’m more settled, out of school, have a better job, etc.” Bravo for choosing to meet a need NOW in whatever way you can. Best of luck to you this year!

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  7. Focused.
    Great piece. Sounds like something i was writing in my mind on new year’s eve as the fireworks welcomed 2015.
    I made no resolutions but one word kept tugging at my heart- Focused. And that is my one word for 2015.
    May 2015 be good to us all.

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    1. It’s cool that your word came to you so clearly. When I hear the word focused I think about cutting out distractions – identifying priorities and not letting other things get in the way. That’s a great way to go into the new year because with so many goals we fail because we lose focus and get sidetracked. If your attention this year is on keeping your focus you can achieve any number of other goals. I’m really glad you enjoyed this piece. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. Purposeful. That’s so good. I’d add that sometimes it’s about having the eyes to see the meaning that’s already there. I’m so glad this post was inspiring to you. Thanks for the reblog and Happy New Year!

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    1. COURAGEOUS! What a powerful word! I was looking at the definitions of some of these words recently and I was struck with the definition of courage as “The ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.” I was struck by how courage is not just a feeling – it’s an ability – an action. I hope your yer is full of daring deeds. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!

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  11. I love this so much. Thank you for your profound, poignant, and inspiring words. I just posted about a similar topic today–having gratitude for the past year and approaching the New Year with one word. But you gave me new things to think about and a new perspective and understanding on life and time and our worthiness. Happy New Year to you. And I love your word. Wholehearted. I am definitely going to include you attitude with my word, Risk. Thanks again.

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    1. Thanks, Lizzie! I’m so glad you were inspired by this post! As a writer that’s one of the biggest compliments anyone could give me. 🙂 My understanding of wholeheartedness has been greatly influenced by Brene Brown – she has a few TED Talks about vulnerability and shame and I read her book, Daring Greatly, this year and learned so much. If you’re interested in learning more about “wholeheartedness” I highly recommend checking her stuff out. Risk is a great word. It requires courage and vulnerability and trust and belief all in one. I hope this is a year of risks that pay off for you. 🙂 By the way, I noticed your email address came from Elon – don’t know if you are currently there or if that’s an old address or what, but I recently got a message from a senior at Elon called Tori and I was curious if you knew her. Just a random coincidence. 😉

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      1. Hi! Okay so I am still getting used to WordPress and I just realized that you replied to my comment. How exciting! I have a Brene Brown TED Talk queued up and ready to watch.I’m always looking for a good TED talk–so thank you! I can’t wait to watch it, I’ll let you know what I think. I’m also always looking for good books so I’m going to look that one up and put it on my list. Thank you for all of your words. I’ve been doing my absolute best to risk–especially when it comes to speaking up for what I believe in or speaking my truth. Definitely difficult but already paying off 🙂 Yes! I currently go to school at Elon! I do know a Tori at Elon, but I don’t think she is a senior. What is her last name? If I don’t know her, it is likely that I know someone who does. What a small world!

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      2. Hi! No worries! Sometimes I miss comments too, they can get buried. 🙂 I really think you’ll enjoy the TED talk – she actually has two and they are both excellent. And if you’re ever looking for more book recommendations, I’m running a Book Chat series on Fridays where I talk about book-related things (favorites in different genres, books I can’t seem to finish, etc) and link to books on sale for kindle. The Tori I emailed with was Tori Twine maybe? I’m guessing from her email address. I also went to a small liberal arts school so I know what you mean about someone you know knowing her. 🙂

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  12. Pingback: Strength in Joshua | Life, there's no app for that

  14. I am currently questioning life on every level having recently been diagnosed with depression. Your words have real meaning to me as i recently turned my face to the sun and felt its healing warmth. Your one word was great, im going to think of mine carefully as this coming year is going to be tough yet I hope healing. Thank you.

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    1. Liz, I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a difficult time right now. As someone who has struggled with depression I really do understand how it can send you into a tailspin of doubt and fear and questioning. Don’t be afraid to ask honest questions. I hope you are able to get whatever help you need to take care of yourself well. I also want to encourage you to be forgiving and gracious with yourself. Sometimes with depression I can feel like this is my fault and if I could just force myself out of my funk everything would be better, so I beat myself up about not being able to pull myself out of it, which just makes things worse. Give yourself permission to feel however you feel, but keep reminding yourself of what’s true and surrounding yourself with people who will speak truth to you. I sincerely hope this year brightens for you and that you feel better and that God grants you peace in the meantime. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂

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    1. Hi Kathi, I read your post. I really liked how you made the distinction between being present and being engaged. How it requires more than just physically being there. Blessings on your year of engaging. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. Aww, Maegan, you are so sweet. As a writer, that’s one of the highest compliments you could give me. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading. I’m so glad this was meaningful to you. Happy New Year!

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  22. Reblogged this on chinelletam's Blog and commented:
    Focused.
    Great piece. Sounds like something I was writing in my mind on new year’s eve as the fireworks welcomed 2015. I made no resolutions but one word kept tugging at my heart-Focused. And that is my one word for 2015.
    May 2015 be good to us all.

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      2. Having a generous heart and attitude can be such a game-changer. I always find that it’s much harder to focus on myself and my own self-pity when I’m focused on what I can give to those around me. What an inspiring goal. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

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  27. This is such an inspirational post. I hope to read more from your travels and adventures. I am very much interested in travelling to Korea as well so I was really thrilled to have arrived to your website!

    Anyhow, happy 2015 Lily!!!

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    1. Thank you! I’m so glad your were inspired by this post. and it’s always fun to find another traveler. I hope to hear more from you in the future. 🙂 Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

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  28. Pingback: 2014 recap; 2015 prospect | Hold fast, and let go.

  30. Wow! You have made me rethink my strategy for my goals in 2015. I actually just wrote a post a few days ago about my take on resolutions and how most people don’t actually accomplish their goals and I really wanted to challenge myself this year so I made a ton of goals…. but your idea of one word is understated and beautiful. Wholeheartedness is definitely something I think a lot of people need to work on and you have inspired me to try to be a better version of myself. Thank you for such a beautiful and simple post!
    – Red

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    1. I’m so glad this post was though-provoking and inspiring to you. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I hope the next year can be more about becoming the person you want to be than it is about trying to undo past mistakes or check a bunch of things off a to-do list. Thanks so much for reading and Happy New Year!

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  39. Thanks for posting this!!! i just join this site a couple of min ago and yours was the first post I read !!! And I am glad it was !!! I love the of having one word to focus on!!! Healthy is my word. Happy new year!!!

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      1. Hello! I was just browsing through and your title captured my eyes. Funnily enough, I was just watching TED and the speaker mentioned wholehearted in her talk. And then I read what you wrote – just 15 mins later. Sheer coincidence I guess, but a bit creepy nonetheless. Enjoyed your writing. 😊

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      2. That’s so cool! I love those kinds of coincidences. 🙂 I assume you are talking about Brene Brown’s TED talk. She has two (that I know of) and they are both excellent. So is her book, Daring Greatly. My understanding of the word wholehearted was greatly influenced by her. Thanks for sharing this story! I think that’s pretty cool. 😉

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      3. Yes! Brene Brown’s indeed. Was watching both her videos back to back. Talk about being wholehearted. Strange coincidence. Am enjoying your posts so far. 🙂 Thanks for the tip on her book, I’ll check it out. 🙂

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    1. That idea really struck me as well – sort of changes the importance of each individual year, doesn’t it? Thanks so much for reading and for sharing your thoughts!

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      1. It does! I really feel like it puts things into perspectives when we say “woah where has __ year gone?” and we realize that maybe we need to slow down and take a look at all that has happened! Great post!

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  48. Your “one word” concept is interesting and inspiring. I think my one word for this year is love. Love for everyone around us including the poor , the riches, the kids, the needy, the giver, the trees, the atmosphere but most importantly Love for myself.
    Thanks for a great blog. Happy New Year!

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    1. I’m so glad you were inspired by this post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It’s so easy to say that we love people, but so much harder to show it. I hope you find many practical ways to show your love this year. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year to you too!

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