2026 Word of the Year

Word of the Year has been a tradition my mother and I started around 2020. Sometimes it’s one word and sometimes it’s a phrase, but the purpose remains the same. In the spirit of new beginnings and well-meaning habit implementations, we started this tradition as a way to encourage inner growth. While my mother has been better at keeping this resolution than I am, I wanted to write it down this year — to brain dump all the ways my word can affect me and encourage growth within myself.

Since I was young, I have always worried about how I appear to people — if people like me, how I look — and much of my mental space has been taken up by these hypercritical thoughts. The older I get, the less energy I have to maintain this constant background noise in my mind. I have been to counseling, and while it never turned into anything major, I have struggled with anxiety most of my life. My mom has said my mind is exhausting when I explain my daily thoughts to her. And she’s right — I am exhausted. I want to change these spiraling thoughts and the hypervigilance running in the background. While I know I won’t be able to get rid of them forever, I can give myself answers and redirect that mental energy elsewhere.

For 2026, my word of the year is: Intention.

This word isn’t just about thoughts, though that is where it stemmed from. It can be applied to energy, resources, and our most precious resource — time. This year, I want to be intentional about how and where I spend my money: who I give my hard-earned dollars to, and what I buy. Am I just collecting glorified junk that I won’t actually get around to using, purchased for instant gratification? What do I want my personal style to reflect about me? I might not have a sheer abundance of clothes, but I want to like every piece I own.

What am I paying for that I could get elsewhere? How can I better utilize the resources already available to me — libraries, community centers, and local businesses?

I was really inspired by Project Pan last year and want to continue carrying that mindset with me for the rest of my life. I have more makeup than I need (especially eyeshadow, which I never wear — partly because it takes too much time in the morning, but really because I’m scared I’ll look like a clown. I probably won’t, as I used to and still do watch tons of makeup tutorials. That’s the anxiety talking).

Mostly this year, I want to be intentional with my time and energy. Time waits for no one, as the famous quote goes, and the older I get, the faster it seems to move. I want to create as many opportunities as I can to spend time with those I love. My parents are getting older, and I know their time on this earth is limited — as is mine. I want to savor the time when the babies in our family are still small and create memories that can’t be taken from me.

I want to have more control over who can influence where my energy goes. Not everyone in the world is entitled to my energy; there simply isn’t enough to go around. I don’t have time to let unnecessary people make me feel angry or apologetic. Strangers do not think about me as much as I think they do. If someone thought I was rude — who cares? If that’s not how I would have handled a situation, why do I care? If my makeup leaned more toward clown today, I tried my best. I can take it off and try again tomorrow.

2026 is the year I let go of unnecessary thoughts, items, and worries. I am the writer of my own story, and I want to start creating a main character I would be excited to read about.