Do you choose a “word of the year” or a theme of the year?

Over the years, I have tried to make resolutions and have lost interest and momentum by February or March. When I became an entrepreneur in 2014, I heard about fellow entrepreneurs and business owners choosing a word of the year or a theme instead of resolutions. I decided that choosing a guiding word of the year worked much better for me and my lifestyle!

Over the years, some of the words that I have chosen have been Believe, More, Simplify, Work Smarter and Not Harder, No Excuse and Balance.

When thinking about 2023, I honestly wasn’t sure I would choose a word because 2022 didn’t go as planned. My guiding words/phrase was Work Smarter, Not Harder—and I definitely didn’t work harder than some years because we were pretty sick throughout the year! We had covid multiple times, long covid symptoms, hand foot and mouth, colds, coughs, gastro, you name it and it came through our household.

When my content manager asked me during our last meeting in 2022 what my word for 2023 was, all I could think was sleep and being healthy or just surviving once again. But as my body and mind had a chance to rest over the holidays, there was a word that kept coming back to me. It kept appearing when I would think of plans and goals for 2023. It’s a word that could be used both personally and professionally.

That word is LESS.

A few years ago, my word was MORE, so you may be thinking, “Why would you want to do less in 2023?”

My choice is easy when I think of my health (physically, mentally and emotionally), our household, the business and life in general…. The last few years have been rough, to say the least!

In 2023 I want to do LESS.

– Less hustling
– Less worrying
– Less self-doubt
– Less guilt
– Less posts & time spent on Social Media
– Less time randomly scrolling
– Less time on my computer
– Less time thinking I don’t deserve success or money
– Less imposter syndrome
– Less overthinking
– Less clutter
– Less time wasted
– Less time overthinking
– Less time in the kitchen
– Less time cleaning
– Less time running errands/shopping

And so much more!

What exactly does all this doing LESS actually mean?

It means MORE time for so many positive and fun things!

• More time for fun

• More time for myself

• More time with my family

• More time with friends

• More time for adventures

• More time for reading

• More time for connecting with like-minded people

• More time to be creative and to learn

• More time to discover

• More time to learn new recipes and try new restaurants

• More time to explore

• More time for self-care

• More time for self-love

• More time to sleep

• More time to move

• More time to manifest our dreams

When thinking of the word LESS you may think inferior, negative, beneath, reduced, or shorten, but I’m not thinking of that at all. I’m excited to see what removing the negative and doubt from my life will leave more time for!

I’m participating in the declutter challenge to get rid of 2023 items in our home and 2023 items digitally (emails, pictures, files etc.) So far, I’ve already gotten rid of 280 items on both lists, which has given us more freedom, less cleaning and less worries.

In 2023 I’m manifesting an amazing year, and I can’t wait to see what the next 365 days hold for me, my business and our family.

If you have chosen a word or theme for the year, I would love to hear about it!