I came across word of the year several years ago. Back then it was a very new and mysterious concept to me, so I paid someone to provide me with my word of the year.

The word that I was provided with didn’t really “do” much for me, I know I’d forgotten all about it by the summer.

When the winter rolled around again and people were talking about getting their word for the following year, I knew I didn’t want to pay someone – no matter how small an amount – to provide me with something I could do myself.

The very first attempt at doing this myself was me opening a dictionary at random and letting my eyes fall on the first word I saw. That word was free.

I remember spending months trying to figure out what I could possibly gain from that word, I was certain it wasn’t serving me any purpose. Even now I think I spent more time trying to figure it out than actually feeling into the energy.

The next winter I spent time quietly contemplating what word I would choose for the following year. This time I got learn. That was a word that helped me to understand where I was at on so many levels in my life. This marked the start of me successfully choosing my own word and being able to allow it to teach me throughout the year.

Just before Yule 2019 I realised I hadn’t chosen a word and then forgot all about it until the first few days of 2020 had started. I remember reading something about not making New Year’s resolutions – something I’d stopped doing many years earlier – and simply allowing yourself to love you.

I embraced this word and boy did it serve me well as the pandemic spread worldwide during the first months of 2020. I reminded myself regularly throughout the year that I was being kind and loving to myself and I believe that gave me the tools I needed to cope.

Funnily enough, I didn’t choose a word for 2021. There was a lot going on and I just never got round to it. For me, 2021 was a tougher year than 2020. It was an incredibly difficult year and really tested me on so many levels.

I decided around mid December that my word for 2022 was going to be healing. No meditation to choose it, no other weird or wonderful methods, I just decided.

Healing.

Physical. Emotional. Spiritual.

2022 is the year I will heal myself.

What I’ve found over the past few years is that choosing my own word gels better with my life. I feel more connected when I engage myself to choose. I know plenty of people swear by the service of paying someone to choose their word for them and that’s fine. Whatever works for them. I just felt it didn’t work for me and didn’t see the point in paying someone to do something I could do myself.

Each to their own.