Looking back at 2023, one word comes to mind…”reclaim”.

2023 was the year I began to address years of suppressed trauma. It was the year I started to rediscover my voice. It was the year I began to truly understand my value.

It was the year I began to stop trying to always be what I thought people wanted me to be and instead began to embrace my flaws (though it’s still a work in progress).

It was a year I began to make bolder choices and step out in faith even more.

As we begin a new year, I see countless posts of “here’s my one word for the year”.

I don’t know about you but I can’t even remember what I ate for lunch most days, much less come July trying to remember a word I selected in January.

For those of you out there who the one word becomes your mantra, huge applause! I wish I was that kind of person but I’m not.

One year, I saw my buddy Tanner Olson share that he doesn’t just select one word for an entire year. He selects a word he wants to embrace each month. (you can read more here)

That made much more sense to me and who I am. So that’s what I do now. I choose a different word each month, cause I am NOT the same person in September that I was in January.

So today I wanted to share with you my word for January. Yep, just January. I’ll pick a word for February as it gets closer.

My word for January is explore.

I want to explore more things that make me uncomfortable. I want to try new things. I want to take bigger risks. I want to explore what it’s like when I speak up for things that matter to me with no concerns about what others think of me. I want to explore new thoughts, new practices, new routines. Some will stick, others won’t. But I won’t be afraid to at least take the plunge.