Every January, I choose a word of the year to guide me through the coming 12 months.
Not as a goal.
Not as a productivity hack.
But as a way of being 💛
My Word of the Year
This year, my word is Essence.
I chose it because I’ve noticed how easy it is to live from the edges of myself. Performing. Coping. Managing. Pushing through. Especially when I’ve been carrying responsibility for a long time.
Essence asks a different question 💛
Not “What should I do?”
But “Who am I being while I do it?”
For me, essence is about stripping things back rather than adding more:
- Taking off my mask.
- Being less available for ‘noise’.
- Saying no to performance.
- Less striving to be someone I’m not.
And that means I’m saying YES to:
- Being more present.
- Getting into (and staying in) alignment with what actually matters.
I’ve realised that when I’m living in essence:
- my decisions feel cleaner
- my nervous system is steadier
- I stop over-explaining myself
- and my work becomes more impactful, not because I’m doing more, but because I’m more myself in it 💛
What Essence Isn’t
Essence doesn’t mean life is suddenly easy or calm all the time.
It means I pause more. I listen more carefully. And I give myself permission to step away from things that scatter me.
This year, I’m letting essence be my compass. In my work. My faith. My relationships. And how I spend my energy 💛
If you chose a word for the year, I’d gently ask:
- Does it bring you back to yourself?
- Or does it quietly ask you to become someone else?
And if you didn’t choose a word at all, that’s okay too 💛
Sometimes the work isn’t choosing yet.
It’s listening.
I’m opening up a few coaching spaces this month. If you’d like support to explore your own word of the year and live it in a way that’s genuinely authentic to you, you’re very welcome to get in touch here. We can start with a free, no-pressure discovery call.