WOTY 2022 GIFT
Posted on by Debbie

Sharing my #WOTY for 2022

My Word of the Year for 2022

Over the past few years I have chosen a WOTY (Word of the Year) and I try to stick with it as a theme, or a focus, for the year ahead.

Why do I choose a WOTY?

This is a really fun way to set your intentions and theme for the New Year, or any other life event for that matter. Instead of a rigid New Year’s Resolution, a Word of the Year is your constant—yet gentle—reminder to focus on creating positive change.

Choosing a Word is different to setting a New Year’s resolution and I don’t find it as restrictive or punishing. Resolutions, or starting over, seem too much like hard work to me (maybe I’m just getting lazy in my old age) and I find I just need to tweak a few things and keep my focus. Having a Word of the Year helps me do this.

Once again I thought long and hard and considered lots of other words, but in the end I settled on:

GIFT

What does GIFT mean?

I’ve chosen a word that just ‘came’ to me when I woke up one morning. I’ve been tossing around a few words like Commit, Mighty, Bright, Colour – but felt they weren’t right for me at this time.

With GIFT, I’m thinking along the lines of giving something voluntarily without payment in return and giving of myself throughout the year.

Being silly - I'm a gift to the world
Being silly – I’m a gift to the world
Gifts under the tree
Gifts under the tree

I can be gift, give a gift, receive a gift, I am a gift, gift my time and energy, I have a special gift….the list goes on!

So what’s next?

I’m not exactly sure how it will unfold yet, but I’m happy to have chosen a word and have a focus to help me through the year. I already do a lot of volunteering with my local Rotary Club, with my involvement on the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail committee and have time for more giving in whatever way takes my fancy! It’s a new year, and hopefully it will be a bit better than 2020 & 2021, in terms of world wide stress.

WOTY 2022 GIFT
WOTY 2022 GIFT 2

As in previous years I plan to review my WOTY each month, in my end of the month update posts – what I’ve managed to give, how I’ve been giving and what it means to me.

I’ll try to create a fun vibe with my photos and a Spotify playlist and have another great year of blogging!

I’m hoping it will help me focus during the coming year and help me to make good decisions, I think I say that every year 🙂

A great gift that should always be given and returned is a smile.

Paaj Miv

Previous Words

My word for 2021 was BOLD and each month I wrote a post using the letters B.O.L.D to spell out how I was bold during the month. It made me accountable and gave me a focus to live a bold-er life and it was great fun to work out how being bold was impacting on me and others!

Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash
I am Bold – Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash

Yes, others got involved, were inspired by my posts and told me how they too were trying to get some bold happening in their lives, whether it be a bolder attitude, wearing bolder colours or just enjoying seeing me embrace my inner ‘bold’. How cool is that??

My WOTY in 2020 was JUMP – and it was a great word, so much fun! My final post summed it all up – Jumping out of 2020. I managed to weave the word jump into my monthly updates throughout the year and I also tried to capture a photo of me jumping in most months. It was a word with lots of meanings and started with me jumping in a puddle aged 59, while we were travelling in England.

Jumping in puddles as I approach my last year in the 50s
Jumping in puddles as I approach my last year in the 50s
Debbie jumping at the beach
Debbie jumping at the beach

I always enjoy reading back over these previous posts to see what sparked my choices at the time. You can find my past words in these featured posts:

2021 – Bold

2020 – Jump

2019 – Time

2018 – Focus

2017 – New Horizons

What about you?

Do you do something similar each year? I’m interested in knowing what you do or what word you would choose?

I’d also love to have you join me, either by sharing your WOTY in a comment or by following along with me.

Happy New Year to you all!

Wishing you all the best for 2022 – whatever it has in store for us!

Deb xx

Linking up with Denyse for #lifethisweek

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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55 Replies to “Sharing my #WOTY for 2022”

  1. Oh how I wish a word would knock me in the head one morning!! I have toyed with a full list of words but none of them fits just right. Going to work on that today. Maybe one will fall from the sky onto my lap.
    You above all the bloggers I love and follow do so much with your WOTY. I pick one and promptly forget it. You live it and feel it. You taste it, share it. Put it on and take it off. I love that about you. You are a gift.

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    1. Thanks lovely Leslie 🙂 I hope your word has dropped from the sky for you by now but if not keep thinking and looking. I do enjoy my Word each year and really try to live it, and I’m so happy you appreciate that! I’m smiling with joy at your lovely comment about me being a gift – as are you xx

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  2. First, I love the smiley picture of you. You look like you are about 12. Secondly, I love the idea of gift. It is so unselfish. I hope it will include a gift of a story to Story Chat. I have one month left with no author signed up – September, and I’d love to feature another of your stories. 🙂 I wish you the best year of your life ever. Happy 2022.

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  3. If your new blog header is anything to go by, you are already gifting us with brightness and cheer. Well-done on such an appropriate word that words for the giver and the receiver. Looking forward to seeing where gift takes you…I love its simplicity and its gentle presence (ha, sorry did not even mean that to sound like presents!)
    Thank you for linking up for the first Life This Week in 2022 at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
    Thank you too for sharing your post with our community and commenting on mine.
    See you next week for 2/51 Life This Week,
    Warm wishes
    Denyse

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    1. Thanks Denyse, I have had a few days of blog housekeeping and updated headers, banners for regular posts and a general tidy up, which was great fun. I am really pleased with my WOTY and have had a great response to it too. I was worried as Bold was so good last year and how would I top that?? I liked the presence/presents pun 🙂

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  4. Deb, I absolutely love your approach to the WOTY, and you’ve inspired me so much during the past year! So much that now I’ve also chosen a word for the year, which is calm. To create calm, be calm, work on staying calm… learn to handle stress and bad news, and much more. I may not update every month like you have done, but I think it’s helpful to have a focus during the year!
    Gift is a wonderful word and very flexible as you describe it!

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    1. Thanks very much \Susanne, I do tend to have fun when choosing my WOTY and think about how I can make it last all all year. I’m so please to have inspired you in some small way during the year, that makes me smile knowing that 🙂 I love the word ‘calm’, and it will provide a focus for you during 2022 I’m sure. All the best and love our connections we make in this blogging world.

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  8. I am very much looking forward to see how this one unfolds! Bold was great, as was Jump. You are so creative in your word choice!

    I’ve not chosen a WOTY – nothing really called to me. I’m going to focus on my lifestyle vision statement this year as we live our first full year in our new home.

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    1. Thanks Pat, it is often something that prompts me in a certain direction and without thinking too much I just run with it! Hoping it works out well but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it no matter what.
      Enjoy your lifestyle intention, that’s a great focus for you for the year ahead.

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  9. Hi Deb! Yes Gift is a great word with all sorts of associations. I love how each WOTY carries such personal meaning and ways to use them with intention. As you know and I revealed on my blog, my word for 2022 is “surrender”. I am sure both of our words will guide us as 2022 unfolds. ~Kathy

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  10. What a fun choice, Deb! I definitely consider your blog to be a gift and am looking forward to seeing how you incorporate your Word of the Year. I haven’t always chosen a word, but this year I decided to. I will reveal it in tomorrow’s post…along with some tips for choosing a word, in case there are those who would like to choose a word, but don’t know where to start. Here’s to 2022 and all its gifts!

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    1. Hi Christie, that’s a lovely thing to say, as i like to think of my blog as a gift but wasn’t sure i should say that in my post! Looking forward to reading your post 🙂

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  11. Interesting choice, and I’ll definitely be following along to see how the word influences your year 🙂 I’ve never chosen a WOTY – I feel years are too unpredictable to identify one that would work for the whole year! I have a sort-of resolution however. I’m attempting the 365 photo challenge, taking at least one photo each day and using Blipfoto to journal my year. I’ll probably do some summery posts on my blog so watch this space!

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    1. Thanks Sarah, I agree the years especially lately have been very unpredictable but in a way that helps me focus on my WOTY. Good luck with your 365 photo project, I’ve not heard of Blipfoto before!

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      1. I hadn’t heard of it but saw it mentioned on another blog and checked it out. I’ve always sworn I wouldn’t attempt the 365 but when I started to investigate Blipfoto it somehow changed my mind 😆

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  17. Hi Deb – I really love this word – it’s positive and “others” focused. I think one of the biggest joys of gifts is that they bless others while blessing the giver. I’ll be really interested to see where you take this one – I think it will be a fabulous way to tackle 2022 🙂

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    1. Thanks Leanne! I like that this word is ‘others’ focussed as you say and yet it can still relate to my lifestyle too. Love your WOTY too – just fabulous 🙂

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  19. What a great idea. I would maybe choose strength as my word. For me, constant chemo for cancer has become not only a physical but mental challenge, I am so sick of it but also grateful. Strength is something I need every day.

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    1. Oh I feel for you with the chemo treatment! My brother-in-law is also going through it and it’s definitely not pleasant! Sending the gift of strength to you xx

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    1. Yes that’s why my photo all wrapped up under the tree from a few years ago made it into my post :). Gift will be a different word but I’m keen to make it work, sort of like gratitude.

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    1. Thanks Jen, gift has lots of meanings so I’m sure to make it through the year without too much trouble 🙂 Looking forward to another great blogging year!

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  22. Awesome choice! Indeed, like Sue says, you are a true gift to the people who know you. I love your intention of volunteering more, but you’re not putting it into some kind of resolution or the like. I’m pretty sure that if you don’t end up volunteering as much as you’d like this year, you’ll still manage to be a gift to those around you. #LifeThisWeek

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  24. Gift is a beautiful word for the year Deb! I love it and the intention behind it! I don’t choose a word each year anymore but I do have a general intention each year. This year is about acceptance, faith and belief in the strength within myself, along with the continual intention of being the best me I can. Happy New Year to you. I hope it’s a great one for you! xo

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    1. Thanks Min, I am very happy to have a word that I can use as a focus this year. It will be like a self fulfilling prophecy where I will see gifts everywhere I look all year. I like you intention and think it speaks volumes about where you’re at and what life is like at the moment. You are strong! Take care. xx

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  25. I love your WOTY, Deb and you are a GIFT to everyone who knows you. It is lovely to have a focus on giving for your WOTY and I look forward to seeing how your year unfolds. I like to think I’m a ‘giver’ and there is so much personal reward in giving to others without any expectation of anything in return. I get so excited when I give a GIFT to someone (see I used your woty). It is the anticipation of making someone feel loved and happy. Giving to the community is something you already do and I’m sure everyone appreciates all you do. Thank you for your GIFT of friendship which I treasure. #lifethisweek

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