Word of the Year: How One Intentional Focus Can Shift Your Business, Energy, and Income
- Vanessa Ann Miller
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Table of Contents:
Have you chosen your Word of the Year?
If you’ve ever set big goals for the new year, felt genuinely excited about them, and then quietly watched that momentum fade by February, then you’re not alone.
Over the last couple of decades, more and more women are moving toward choosing a Word of the Year to increase the chances of achieving their goals.
People fail to achieve their goals because their nervous system, identity, and daily environment aren’t designed to hold the future they’re aiming for.
That’s where a Word of the Year becomes more than a trend and turns into a powerful subconscious anchor.
This isn’t about vision boards you forget about by Q2. It’s about choosing a single word that becomes a filter for your decisions, habits, boundaries, and energy — especially in your business.
Let’s break it down.
What Is a Word of the Year and Where Did It Come From?
A Word of the Year is a single guiding theme used for personal development to focus intention, values, and growth. It works like a flexible mantra—something you live by, not a rigid goal you try to force.
The idea gained momentum in the early 2000s as a softer alternative to traditional goal-setting, popularized through personal development spaces and later amplified by social media.
While dictionary “Words of the Year” (like Merriam-Webster’s 2006 pick, truth) highlighted cultural trends, this practice evolved into something more personal: an identity-based anchor for how you think, choose, and show up throughout the year.
Unlike traditional goal setting, which focuses on outcomes, a Word of the Year focuses on how you want to be while creating those outcomes.
Instead of chasing dozens of goals, people began anchoring their year around one guiding principle.
And it stuck because the brain loves simplicity and consistency.
Your subconscious mind doesn’t respond well to long to-do lists or abstract intentions. It responds to patterns, repetition, and identity cues.
1. It lowers pressure.
No rigid rules. No daily pass/fail. One word gives direction without demand. Your nervous system stays regulated instead of rebellious.
2. It’s identity-based.
Goals focus on outcomes. A word focuses on who you’re becoming. When identity shifts, behavior follows. Effort drops. Consistency rises.
3. It reduces decision fatigue.
Busy brain? One question solves it: Does this align with my word? Instant clarity. Fewer spirals. Cleaner yeses.
4. It’s flexible in real life.
Life changes. Kids get sick. Businesses pivot. A word adapts. Goals snap. That flexibility is why people don’t abandon it.
5. It taps repetition (hello, subconscious).
Seeing, saying, and choosing from the same word all year reinforces neural pathways. Quiet reprogramming. No vision-board guilt required.
6. It feels meaningful, not mechanical.
Humans are wired for symbols and stories. A word becomes a narrative you live into and not a checklist you fail.
A Word of the Year acts like a psychological north star — quietly influencing how you interpret situations and make decisions.
How a Word of the Year Actually Helps You (Especially in Business)
Here’s the part most people miss: A Word of the Year isn’t motivational. It’s regulatory.
When chosen intentionally, it helps your nervous system and subconscious mind stay oriented toward what matters even when things get busy, emotional, or uncertain.
For women in business, this matters deeply. Your biggest challenges aren’t usually about what to do; they’re about overthinking, second-guessing, and emotional exhaustion.
A well-chosen word helps you:
Reduce decision fatigue
Create internal consistency
Set boundaries without guilt
Filter opportunities without FOMO
Align daily actions with long-term vision
Instead of asking, “Is this a good idea?” You start asking, “Does this support my word?”
That one shift alone creates action when strategies feel scary to implement.
How to Choose the Right Word of the Year (Not a Cute One)
This is where most people get it wrong.
Your Word of the Year should not be aspirational fluff. Your Word of the Year should challenge you. It should reflect the identity you’re stepping into and the internal pattern you’re ready to shift.
Here’s how I guide clients through choosing theirs:
Step 1: Look at what you’ve been avoiding.
Your word often lives on the other side of resistance.
Avoiding visibility? → Visibility, Boldness, Authority
Avoiding structure? → Consistency, Discipline, Foundation
Overworking? → Sustainability, Ease, Capacity
If it makes you slightly uncomfortable, you’re close.
Step 2: Name the pattern that keeps repeating.
What keeps costing you time, money, or energy? Indecision. Over-delivering. Starting and stopping.
Your word should interrupt the loop.
Step 3: Choose a word you can practice daily
The best words are behavioral, not abstract.
“Abundance” is vague. “Leadership” requires action. “Devotion” asks for consistency.
A good word forces action.
Clarity → fewer offers, tighten up business strategy
Focus → one priority, one plan to execute
Authority → fewer disclaimers, stay in your zone of genius
Ease → redesigned systems, saying no more often
If you can’t list 3 behaviors that will change, keep looking. Your word should challenge you gently every day.
Step 4: Choose for who you’re becoming, not who you are today.
This is identity-forward, not current-state validation. If the next level of you had one defining quality this year, what would it be? That’s your word.
Step 5: Let it simplify, not complicate.
One word. Not a phrase. Not a paragraph. Not a “core values moment.”
If it quiets the noise and sharpens your moves—you’ve got it.
Step 6: Pressure-test it with real decisions.
Run it through business scenarios:
Would this word change how I show up?
Would it change how I market?
Would it change how I say no?
If the answer is “not really,” it’s too safe.
Best Practices for Staying Focused on Your Word All Year
Choosing the word is easy. Living it is where the magic (and discipline) happens.
Here’s how to make your word unavoidable—in the best way.
1. Translate the Word into Behavior
This is non-negotiable. Your word must change how you operate.
Clarity → fewer offers, cleaner messaging, shorter to-do lists
Focus → one priority per quarter, one main revenue driver
Authority → fewer disclaimers, clearer boundaries, higher prices
Ease → systems before effort, rest before resentment
If nothing changes on your calendar, your word is decorative.
2. Make It Visible
Put your word on your phone's lock screen, in your planner and/or on a sticky note by your desk.
Your subconscious learns through repetition, so the more you send yourself a subliminal message about your word, the more it sinks into your subconscious.
3. Use It as a Decision Filter
Before saying yes, ask:
Does this support my word?
Does this dilute it?
Does this contradict it?
This is how your word becomes embodied and not just symbolic.
4. Build a Weekly “Word Check.”
Five minutes. Once a week.
Ask:
Where did I honor my word?
Where did I override it?
What’s one adjustment for next week?
This keeps the word alive without turning it into homework.
5. Expect Resistance Around Month 2–3
This is completely normal, and it’s where most people abandon the process. Around months two or three, old habits push back, results haven’t fully materialized yet, and the temptation to fall back into them grows loud. Nothing has gone wrong.
This is the integration phase, when your identity recalibrates, and your nervous system catches up to the new way you’re operating. Staying the course here is what creates real, lasting change. This is the moment the work actually starts working.
Why Most Women Lose Sight of Their Word (and How to Prevent It)
Most women don’t abandon their Word of the Year because it “didn’t work.” They lose it because life gets loud and they default back to survival mode.
Here’s what actually happens and how to stay ahead of it.
Obstacle #1: Old Identity Pull
Your nervous system is wired for familiarity, not growth.
When your word requires a new way of being, your subconscious may resist because it’s unfamiliar.
Instead, normalize discomfort as a sign of integration, not a sign of failure.
Obstacle #2: Emotional Overload
Stress, grief, pressure, and over-stimulation pull you into survival mode. When money feels tight or time feels scarce, the brain reaches for speed, not alignment. The word gets replaced by reaction.
When that happens, long-term intentions fade.
I recommend building regulation into your week (white space, CEO Days, Goddess Days).
Your word can’t live in a dysregulated body.
Obstacle #3: External Noise
They override it to please others. Overcommitting, overdelivering, overexplaining—classic patterns that pull women away from their word.
Advice, trends, and comparison also dilute focus.
Fewer inputs. Stronger filters. Your word is the anchor.
Obstacle #4: No Behavioral Anchor
If the word lives in a journal but not on the calendar, it fades fast. Your word should transform how you show up.
Tie your word to 2–3 non-negotiable behaviors. When those stay consistent, the word stays alive.
From Intention to Identity: Staying in the Energy of Your Word
A Word of the Year only works when it’s supported by structure, nervous system safety, and identity-level reinforcement.
That’s exactly why I created Your 6-Figure Year.
It’s an integration space.
Inside, we don’t just choose a word — we:
Design weekly rhythms that support it
Align strategy with capacity
Rewire subconscious patterns that sabotage consistency
Build businesses that feel stable, not fragile
Success doesn’t come from more pressure. It comes from being able to hold what you’re creating.
Your Next Step
If you don’t want your Word of the Year to become another forgotten intention and you’re ready to embody it, not just name it, then Your 6-Figure Year is where that happens.
This is for women who are done white-knuckling growth and ready to lead from clarity, safety, and self-trust.
👉 Join Your 6-Figure Year and stay in the energy of the woman you’re becoming — all year long.
Want a printable checklist of these rituals + access to aligned routines that support your revenue goals? Take my quiz and start structuring your week like a six-figure woman.
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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