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. Thanks for the reblog! I’m glad you enjoyed this post and appreciate you sharing it! Hope you look back on this year and see how mindfulness and resilience marked your days. 🙂

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    1. Aw, I’m so glad to know this post inspired you! As a writer, that means so much to me. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts. Hope you come up with some traditions that will be special and meaningful for years to come.

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  12. Wonderfully summed up- how one has to take up the new year, in-light of the old or past year. This is how one can try to be a better ‘ONE’…than the one you were yesterday. Do not discard the old year like a worn-pair of shoes and be always open – whole heartedly.
    Thanks a ton for sharing and ‘A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR’.

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  13. I stumbled across your post as it appeared on my wordpress homepage. I thoroughly enjoyed reading & wholly relate to you through it! 🙂 One Word is totally new to me, and I’m leaning towards the word “purpose”, but I’ll ponder on it a little more and decide on my final One Word for this year! 🙂 Thanks for inspiring me, and Happy New Year!

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    1. Purpose is such a strong word. I definitely resonate with that – “searching for purpose” is even in the tagline of my blog. I think finding purpose gives so much more meaning to our everyday lives. And doing things intentionally (“on purpose”) is a way of living fully, not just letting life happen to you. I’m so glad you were inspired by this post. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year to you, too!

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  16. thank you for sharing this. it’s definitely something i needed to hear… and am considering joining in on the #oneword365 movement… i love your word and your explanation for it because it’s definitely something that i need to focus on… but i dont want to copy so i need to find another word that encompasses that 🙂

    thank you for sharing. you have a wonderful blog here!

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    1. I don’t own it – it’s not copying if you want to adopt it too. 🙂 In fact, a lot of my understanding of wholeheartedness was influenced by Brene Brown – she has a few great TED talks about vulnerability and I read her book Daring Greatly this year which also talks about wholeheartedness. If you feel drawn to wholeheartedness I say go for it. 🙂 We can be a tribe! Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!

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  18. Hey there! I share your views! I liked what you said about how when we start a new year we cant just discard the past year! It is true we can only learn from our mistakes and make new ones next year! I am new here so i would really like if you could follow me as i need some motivation! Happy new year

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    1. Hi, welcome to WordPress and the wonderful world of blogging. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m really glad you enjoyed this post! Are you returning to blogging after time off? I looked at your most recent posts and they were from 2010. 🙂 Thanks for reading!

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  19. Pingback: #OneWord365: Purpose | with love, jeddacp

    1. Present is a really important word to me too. I am often tempted to spend time dreaming about what comes next or wishing for time to pass so I can move on to the next big thing that I can miss what’s right in front of me. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I feel like at this point if you live with no regrets you can not truly leave a year behind because of everything that has been seen or learned. I just want each year to be better than the last (if need be) but most importantly positive. Positive vibes mean so much.

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    1. Yes, I feel the same way. Of course you are going to make mistakes. We are human and we will never stop making mistakes. But the more we try to see the light, see the positive things, like you said, the more we can actually learn and grow from our pasts instead of just trying to outrun them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  33. Pingback: Hello 2015 Goodbie 2014 | PopcornandJellybeans

  34. Think my word for 2015 will be passion? Hope its acceptable. My word for 2014 was travel, as ironic as it turned out to be. although i didnt do any physical traveling to other parts of the country or world, i did some massive inner traveling in the form of self healing. Guess that can coubt? And the other traveling will come later. I love the word you picked, wholehearted is a great choice! Lovely post!!!!! Happy new year

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    1. Your word should be whatever you want it to be. 🙂 Doesn’t matter if it’s “acceptable” to anyone else. It should just be something that’s important to you. I hope passion is a guiding word for you this year. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts and Happy New Year to you too!

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  35. I love your idea!
    My one word is positive…. tons of health stuff but need positive energy so my spirit stays strong… Will write a post and add a link to your idea! 🙂

    Happy new year!

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    1. Positivity really can change your outlook so much. Sometimes when I want to wallow in self-pity I just refuse to be positive about anything because I know if i let some positive thoughts in I won’t be able to wallow anymore, haha. Looking forward to seeing your post! Happy New Year!

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  36. Thank you! My feeling about it was that passion doesnt have to be limited to loving a person, but can be related to work, or any area of life. Healthy boldness and fiery. Im ready for it! Again, great post

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  37. Pingback: Adieu 2014, and my one word wish for 2015! | Random Musings
  38. Pingback: Mona Lisa Monday- One Word for 2015 | The Millennial Mona Lisa

  42. Wow, I love the word wholehearted as your word of the year! I think I may have to take it and use it for mine too. I’ve been thinking about my one word for a little while and I thought I would find one (trust, hope, patience), but none really moved me and I would change my mind and pick a new word a day later or so. When I read wholehearted though my breath caught in my throat and I knew I had found my word for the year. Thanks for the inspiration and have a wonderful little life aka new year!

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    1. Awesome! Welcome to the wholehearted tribe. 🙂 I was also having difficulty choosing and when I brought up my options to my husband he said, “It seems like wholehearted kind of encompasses all the other things you’re talking about so I think that’s what you really want.” Which was a good point, of course. 🙂 So glad that you found some inspiration here. Thanks for sharing!

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  44. I appreciate your view on this, but how can one word encompass a whole year? I don’t make resolutions. I don’t really celebrate either. But I do reflect on the year and appreciate the fact that some people are looking for a time to begin again. To take what they have learned and try to apply it to the next year. Some do this daily, weekly, monthly, and of course yearly. It is hope. Hope that we can continue to change and evolve, be stronger and wiser. Does it need to be labeled or celebrated? Maybe to some. As long as we all continue to strive and move forward as time does, that is what matters. Hope in the New Year 🙂

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    1. One word CAN’T encompass a whole year. But it can simplify all the list-making and center your many experiences around a focal point. Choosing One Word isn’t about trying to fit a whole year into one experience – it’s about choosing a lens for how we look at the many experiences of the coming year. And of course, it doesn’t need to be labeled to be celebrated. But I know for me it’s easy to let life pass me buy if I don’t make a point of living intentionally. You, of course, don’t have to agree, but that’s how One Word helps me. 🙂

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      1. Sorry, I didn’t mean to belittle your idea or even disagree with it, simply to expand upon it and why it’s so hard to choose one word. I thought it was a beautiful article.

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      2. Oh, no worries! I didn’t mean to sound defensive. Just clarifying. 🙂 It is hard to choose one word. That’s why I picked one that has a lot of applications. 🙂 And thank you for your kind words!

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    1. Cool! My friend, Karissa, did a year of “Grow” in 2014 (which you can read about here if you want) and I thought it was such a great word because there are so many parts of us that can (and should) be changing and growing. Growth is a great thing to focus on and fun to go back and measure at the end of the year.

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  47. Reblogged this on Simply poetic moments and commented:
    Love that she shared Korean tradition. I love the way she presents alternative ways to approach a new year. Whether with a wonderful. ONE WORD approach (and wholehearted is a great one) or your own personal way, it is opportunity for hope, change, improvement, whatever suits you. Personally I can’t limit it to one word but at the top of my list would probably be Acceptance. For the things you can change, the things you can, and the reminder that things, people, time are constantly changing and so are we.
    Happy New Year friends!

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  48. Pingback: Fifty-Two Weeks of Adventure Link-Up: Adventure #1 | Such Small Hands

  50. oh. i really like your word your chose, ‘wholehearted.’ now it has me thinking about what word i would choose…

    i like how you described how as we grow, our past lives with us, and we are ever growing and changing. that paragraph reminded me of a kdrama i watched recently, called “Nine: Nine Times Travels.” Have you heard of it? If you ever have free time you should watch it because it fleshes out the very thing you describe, about how our past affects our future. =)

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    1. Thanks! And thanks for the suggestion. Even though I live in Korea I don’t really watch many Kdramas so I’m interested to try one out. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!

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