Although about 50% of Americans set New Year's resolutions, by the end of the year, only 8% consider themselves "successful" in accomplishing them, according to the National Institute of Health. A strategy gaining popularity is setting your intentions with a "word of the year." The team at Ameera was curious to experiment with a word of the year and found it profoundly more impactful in accomplishing professional, personal, and spiritual growth over the last year.

What is a "word of the year?"

A word of the year is simply a single word that you choose to be your North Star for the year. Maybe you want to practice patience, be more fearless, or implement gratitude into your daily routine.

Once you select a word, keeping it top of mind when you find yourself in a testing situation is key. You'll keep the same word for the entire year but it'll apply to every aspect of your life.

...for example

Your family wants to go white water rafting in April, but you're terrified. You chose "fearless" as your word of the year. Acknowledge that it's valid to be afraid, and then muster up the courage and fearlessness that you promised to lead your life with this year and go for it!

You might also find yourself being fearless in switching careers, trying out a new sense of style, or going on that trip you've been putting off.

Ok, you've picked a word, now what?

We suggest picking a word that might be something you've been trying to work on in life or implement more of. Maybe you want to travel more and thus a word could be "exposure" for new experiences.

Once you pick a word, the key is using it to guide you in decision making throughout the year. When in doubt, word it out.

Word of the year suggestions

Some of the most popular resolutions are improved fitness (48%), improved finances (38%), improved mental health (36%), and improved diet (32%), according to Forbes.

If your goal is diet or fitness oriented, your word could be "green." Every time you go to the market, you'll think about buying more greens, having more greens on your plate, bringing more green air-cleansing plants into your space, living more sustainable with organic fabrics and slow fashion and spending more time in nature.

For improved finances a word like "abundance" is great. It'll encourage you to adopt an abundance mindset and trust that any money spent will come back to you. 

Here are a few other word of the year favorites:

• Fearless
• Consistency
• Gratitude
• Abundance
• Play
• Beauty
• Purpose
• Peace
• Patience
• Vulnerability
• Balance

What will your word of the year be?