My 2021 Word of the Year

My word for 2021 is "deepen."

The truth is, I haven't assigned myself an annual sentiment since 2017 – I think it was one of those situations where it was going to be "my year," and then life ran off the rails by St. Patrick's Day. Since then, I've been a touch skeptical of New Year's and her glittery ideals.

LAST YEAR

We collectively experienced eternal motion sickness from the swirling toilet bowl of the pandemic, sweeping social injustice, and the presidential election, amongst other duties, like, you know, our everyday personal lives. While I half-expected to turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight this year (entering into a vegetative state to attempt to heal from the 2020 grief doesn't sound all that bad), the other half of me was craving some way to formally bid this chapter farewell. A new word for a new year felt right.

I feel miles wide and only inches deep right now. I think I'm in this place, craving to deepen, for two reasons: (1) the enneagram seven in me thrives on fun and races from pain, thus a tendency to live in the constantly shifting tides of the shallows, and (2) my attention span is being continually compressed by the immediacy of, well, everything.

I've found that this depthless place, which we think can protect us from what hurts, actually isolates us from what heals us.

THIS YEAR

Deepen /ˈdēpən/: to make fuller or more complete; to become or to cause (something, such as a feeling or emotion) to become stronger or more powerful

We're going all in, sister. One of my favorite scriptures, Jesus says, "A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life — life in all its fullness." (John 10:10 ICB). Too often do I allow my joy and creativity to be stolen by fear and the inner critic - and instead of challenging that voice, I escape it by scrolling social media, drowning myself in a new series, etc.

HOW I’LL DEEPEN

• Find areas to go analog. 

  Yes, we are living in a digital world and I am a digital girl. The thing about digital is that there are little boundaries to this landscape. Working on my calendar and to-do list with pen and paper is grounding. It brings me into the immediate present. I designed a calendar specifically for this purpose - take a peek.

• MINDLESS / MEANINGFUL?

  I'm checking in with myself each time I open apps on my phone to gauge if I'm being meaningful or mindless with my time. Using the Screen Time app, I'll monitor myself. The goal is more creativity (Pinterest, lightroom, Grammarly) and productivity (outlook, notes) than media (Instagram, messages).

• DOCUMENT EVERY DAY.

  This one feels a little like a trap (yikes, commitment) but it's a path I need to reroute in my brain: writing is how I take out the trash and take in the good stuff. I can't speak life into what I won't speak about.

I hope you find a word or motto for your 2021 that guides, challenges, and inspires you in the days to come. If you're looking for some ideas, here's a Reel by Morgan Harper Nichols with some beautifully curated words. 

To deepening in 2021.

Xx,

AR