My One Word For 2021 + Free Phone Wallpaper Template

Inside: Do you want to simplify your resolutions this year? Read this guide to choose just one word for the year that will guide your goals and decisions. In this post, I share my one word for 2021 plus you can download a free guide to choose your word for the year as well!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Click here to read what that means.

Phew! We made it to the end of 2020 and now it’s time to, first, take a breather for a moment!

I will go out on a limb and say that EVERYONE faced hardships and challenges in 2020.

But there were also a lot of positive things as well, and if I didn’t take the time to reflect on everything that happened, I would totally miss out on the good times as well!

For the past few years I have chosen a word of the year to guide me in my decisions and the goals that I set for myself. I am excited to share the word that I chose for 2021 with you all today!

Keep reading to learn what the one word for the year challenge even is, how to choose a word for yourself, what to do with the word, and then learn a little bit about the word I chose for myself.

>> Before we get started, download your free Guide to Choose Your One Word for 2021! <<

What is the one word for the year challenge?

I first learned about the One Word Challenge in 2018 when I participated in Ali Edward’s One Little Word Challenge. It was a ton of fun to learn about choosing and, more importantly, using one word to guide my decisions and actions during the year.

You definitely don’t need to participate in Ali’s challenge, but it’s a great place to start if this is your first year choosing a word!

By choosing a word for the year, you are choosing a word that will guide you throughout your actions in the coming year. For example, my word in 2018 was BREATHE. So during the year, I focused on my breath through meditation, recognizing when I tend to hold my breath, and learning about different types of breathing to settle my nervous system.

You can also use your word to choose goals during the year as well. For example, in 2018 I had a goal to learn how to meditate and develop a regular meditation practice.

How do you choose one word for the year?

The pdf download will walk you through the process and provides space to jot down your answers, but here are the steps in a nutshell:

1. Reflect on the past: What went well?  What didn’t go well?
2. Dream about the future: What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year or two?What kind of person do you hope to become?
3. Brainstorm some words that embody these feelings.
4. Go through the list slowly and narrow it down to 1 or 2.
5. Then if one is not jumping out at you, dig into the words you have narrowed down.  What are their definitions?  Are there any quotes or books that resonate with you?
6. Then, make a choice and own your word!  It’s better to pick something and change it later than spend a ton of time trying to pick the perfect word.  Remember, nothing is set in stone and you can always change it later!
7. Embrace your word during the year!  Keep reading to learn about some of the ways that I embrace my word during the year.

Related Posts: My 2018 Word of the Year. My 2019 Word of the Year. My 2020 Word of the Year.

What are some examples for your guiding word of the year?

There are endless words you can choose for your word of the year and it’s very personal to what you want to focus on!

I can provide examples, but it’s ultimately up to you to choose one for yourself. Nobody can tell you what you want to work on or how you want to feel.

With that being said, the words tend to fall into two categories: action words and feeling words.

Action words are words where you want to DO something. An example of an action word of the year would be BEGIN since you want to begin a new activity or new habit.

Feeling words are more about how you want to feel during the year. An example of a feeling word of the year would be FOCUSED since you want to feel focused rather than jumping from one thing to the next.

The FREE One Word Guide has a list of words you can choose from, or you can do a google search to see what other people have chosen in the past.

So you chose one word for the year, now what?

Hopefully you have had some fun choosing a word for the coming year and are excited to start embracing it to make positive changes in your life.

But you may be wondering, what exactly does it mean to “embrace your word?” And that is a very good question!

Here are a few ideas to use and embrace your word for the year:

• Create a vision board.
• Create a phone wallpaper. (see my wallpaper below…and download the FREE guide to create your own.)
• Make a development plan with books to read, podcasts to listen to, courses to take. And then make a plan to implement what you’re learning.
• Find quotes or affirmations about your word to solidify the new way of thinking in your mindset.
• Make it public by telling your friends or family or even posting it on social media if you’re brave enough! (Perhaps BRAVE is your word this year??)
• Wear a special piece of jewelry that says your word of the year.
• Make it visible around your home…print it on a piece of paper and hang it by your desk. Or, write it on a bunch of post-it notes and place them in areas around your home.

How you embrace your word is just as personal as the word you choose. It doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to do everything in the list above. Pick and choose what resonates with you!

I would recommend starting with one idea and then go from there!

My 2021 word of the year: Present

For some reason my words of the year have always just popped in my head and haven’t left when I start thinking about choosing a word for the next year.

Some people have trouble narrowing it down to just one, but for some reason I usually know right away what word I want to choose.

My word for 2021 was no different!

This past year I felt very distracted by all the things going on in the world…pandemic, presidential election, racial inequalities…and then on a personal front my pregnancy, changing career paths after 14 years, and missing out on seeing family.

There was a lot to take in (I’m sure you feel the same way!) and I felt like I wasn’t giving my best self to my family, friends, and myself.

I read Hands Free Mama during the summer and the content really resonated with me because I think one of my biggest challenges to being fully present is my tech.

This year I want to learn more about technology addition and how I can set better boundaries for myself.

Present Definition

One of the things I like to do when I choose a word is look up the definitions.

Here are some of the definitions I found online:

1: now existing or in progress

2a: being in view or at hand

b: existing in something mentioned or under consideration

3: constituting the one actually involved, at hand, or being considered

4: of, relating to, or constituting a verb tense that is expressive of present time or the time of speaking

The other definition that resonates with me is “a gift.” To me that is so important to think about because the present moment is really all we have and it’s such a gift to be able to enjoy it and be all there in that moment.

Present Looks Like…

• Making eye contact with those around me.
• Not looking at my phone every 10 seconds.
• Connecting with my family and friends.
• Not worrying about the past or stressing about the future.

Present Feels Like…

• Calm
• Not anxious or stressed out
• Connected with those around me

How I Plan to Embrace the Word Present in 2021

• Read books
• Watch videos
• Listen to podcasts
• Topics to unpack:
• Practice more mindfulness
• Complete a digital detox
• Make it visible with a phone wallpaper. Here is a screenshot of how mine looks! It’s a great reminder for me!

If you’d like your own phone wallpaper, keep reading for directions on how to create one for free!

How to create a phone wallpaper

Here are simple directions to create your own phone screensaver with your word of the year.

1. Download the free templates inside the One Word Guide, and save the files to your Photos on your phone.
2. Click “Edit” in the top, right-hand corner of the photo.
3. Click the circle with three dots, and choose Markup.
4. Choose a pen, and write in your word of the year!
5. Or if you prefer not to write it, you can select “Add Text” instead.
6. Click “Done” and use it as your wallpaper!

I hope this simple tool is a great reminder of your word all year long.

KEEP READING

• My One Word from 2018
• My One Word from 2019
• My One Word from 2020

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Did you choose your one guiding word for the year?

Let us know what word you chose in the comments below! It’s always so fun to see what other people want to focus on for the year. 🙂

Then, pin this post for later!