Choose a Theme Word

An alternative to new year resolutions

Since 2009, I’ve been eschewing new year resolutions in favour of setting a single “theme word” for the year.

The Problem With Resolutions

Setting explicit goals is incredibly helpful in most situations. They provide an explicit destination and can guide your habits. However, most of us have had the experience of hitting February and finding that we’re not tracking well on any of our lofty goals. By March, it’s easier to just pretend they never existed.

The reasons for this falloff are myriad. Perhaps there were too many goals set, or the goals were not well identified (“drink less, workout more”), or generally overly drastic as it relates to your lifestyle (“cook at home five days a week”).

New year resolutions also tend to focus on fairly explicit outward facing behaviour. Assuming the intent of these resolutions is to better yourself, these types of resolutions might be focusing more on the output than the core issues.

Using a Theme Word

I started using theme words because they provided year long focus on a particular aspect I wanted to improve upon. A word is easy to remember and its meaning to you is yours alone. Whereas resolutions provide a destination, a word can provide a road. Sometimes, the words have been instrumental in how the year played out.

For example, one year, my word was Persist. That was the first full year the startup I’d founded was in operation. Every time we were hitting a roadblock, whether it was an investor conversation or just a hard day to get through, I’d just think to myself, “persist,” and it surprisingly gave just enough nudge to keep going.

In the same year, I was pretty long overdue to finish a book that had been announced for four years. Some evenings I’d sit at the computer and think, “I’ll finish this chapter tomorrow.” Then (persist) I’d push through and finish it before ending my writing session.

The theme words I’ve used, in chronological order:

• Realize: Try to realize the potential in all things
• Listen: Pause and listen before acting
• Nurture: Keep building on the past year’s work
• Persist: Keep on pushing through
• Now: Always asking, “how about now?”
• Oneness: Treating the mind and body as one
• Focus: Not have too many projects at once
• Release: To let things be

Theme words are additive, not exclusive. Over the years, I still apply the past ones, especially those that particularly served me well (Listen, Persist, Now were particularly strong ones). They’re a way to help me focus on improving me at a core level and build new approaches to everything, not just one specific activity.

What’s Your 2017 Theme Word?

For 2017, my theme word is Connect. I’ve been relishing connection time with smaller groups of friends and hope to continue to foster that in 2017. In this time of uncertainty, connection to others is one of the most important aspects of being human. I also hope to serve more to help others connect in more meaningful ways.

I didn’t come up with the concept of theme words and I certainly don’t own it. I’d love to hear if you decide to use this concept. Although I frame theme words as an alternative to resolutions, you can certainly do both.

I’ve been lax in posting my theme words for the past few years but I have a publication to collect them. If you’re interested in sharing, please feel free to submit your theme word to the Theme Words publication.