Word Of The Year Ideas For A Better 2022

Word of The Year 2022

Last updated: December 2021

Are you feeling the need for a change, or wanting to improve on something in 2022?

2020 was a year unlike any other and a year that most people will be glad to see the end of. Some would argue that 2021 hasn’t been that great either. 

Even more reason to focus on the inspiring, the good, the positive and the possibility of the next year ahead!  

Instead of writing a new year’s resolution (or panicking that you can’t decide on one) another great way to go into a brand, spanking new year is to have a focus word instead.

What is a focus word for the year?

A focus word for the year is a single word that encapsulates what you need more of, what you want to focus on, or what you need to improve on.

A word for the year!

The benefits of having a ‘word of the year’

It might be a theme or overarching focus for your year ahead – either way, it’s an exciting way to set your intention for the year ahead.

It provides an anchor and encourages you to consciously (and subconsciously) consider this focus word when making decisions – what you want more of and what you want less of in your life.

*Once you’ve chosen your word for the year, be sure to check out: ​How To Make Your ‘Word of The Year’ Really Stick!​​​

How to decide on your word for the year

Sometimes we know exactly what we need in our lives, and sometimes we need to stew on it a bit.

Here are some simple questions to get you thinking, and below is a list of over 300 word of the year ideas:

• Considering how this past year has been, what is something that you could improve on, do differently or keep working on?
• Have a think of something that isn’t going so well in your life right now. What’s a word that is the opposite or more positive alternative to this? For example, if fear keeps holding you back, then the alternative could be fearless or brave?
• What do you want MORE of in your life?
• What do you want LESS of? Be sure to turn it into a positive word though!
• What would be a game-changer for you?

If nothing is jumping out at you just yet, check out the below ideas:

 

300+ Word of the Year Ideas

• Absolve
• Abundance
• Abundant
• Accept
• Acceptance
• Achieve
• Act
• Action
• Adapt
• Add
• Advance
• Adventure
• Align
• Alignment
• Alive
• Allow
• Amazing
• Ambition
• Anchor
• Appreciate
• Articulate
• Ascend
• Attention
• Awake
• Awaken
• Awe 
• Awesome

 

• Balance
• Balanced
• Be 
• Beautiful
• Beauty
• Begin
• Behold
• Believe
• Belong
• Best
• Better
• Big
• Bliss
• Bloom
• Bold
• Boss
• Bounce
• Boundaries
• Bounty
• Brave
• Breathe
• Bridge
• Bright
• Brother
• Build

 

• Calm
• Capture
• Care
• Caring
• Celebrate
• Centre
• Challenge
• Change
• Charisma
• Chase
• Clear
• Comfort
• Commit
• Committed
• Communicate
• Communication
• Compassion
• Complete
• Completion
• Compose
• Compromise
• Confidence
• Connect 
• Connection
• Conscious
• Consistency
• Consistent
• Contribute
• Courage
• Create
• Creation
• Creative
• Creativity
• Cultivate

 

 

 

• Daughter
• Declutter
• Decrease
• Dedicate
• Dedication
• Deliberate
• Delight
• Determination
• Devote
• Diligence
• Direction
• Discipline
• Dream

 

• Ease
• Education
• Elevate
• Elevation
• Embody
• Embrace
• Emerge
• Encourage
• Energy
• Enjoy
• Enlighten
• Enough
• Enthusiasm
• Enthusiastic
• Environment
• Escalate
• Examine
• Excite
• Excitement
• Expand
• Expansion
• Experience
• Exploration
• Explore

 

• Faith
• Family
• Fast
• Father
• Favorite
• Fearless
• Finish
• Fitness
• Flourish
• Flow
• Fly
• Focus
• Forgive
• Forward
• Foster
• Foundation
• Free
• Freedom
• Friend
• Friends
• Fulfil 
• Fulfilling
• Fun
• Future

 

• Generosity
• Generous
• Gentle
• Gently
• Give
• Glorious
• Glow
• Go 
• Goals
• Grace
• Gracious
• Gratitude
• Grounded
• Grow
• Growth
• Habit
• Happy
• Harmony
• Heal
• Health
• Heart
• Here
• Higher
• Home
• Honest
• Honesty
• Hope
• Humble
• Hustle

 

• Imagination
• Imagine
• Immerse
• Improve
• Improvement
• Increase
• Indulge
• Inspiration
• Inspire
• Integrity
• Intent
• Intention
• Intentional
• Intimacy
• Intimate
• Intuition

 

• Journey
• Joy
• Jump
• Kind
• Kindness
• Laugh
• Laughter
• Lead
• Learn
• Less
• Life
• Light
• Listen
• Live
• Love

 

• Magic
• Magical
• Manifest
• Meditate
• Memories
• Mindful
• Mindfulness
• Moment
• Moments
• Money
• More
• Mother
• Move
• New
• Nature
• No
• Now
• Nurture

 

• Observe
• Open
• Organize
• Overcome
• Pardon
• Partner
• Passion
• Patience
• Pause
• Peace
• Permission
• Persevere
• Persist
• Perspective
• Play
• Positivity
• Possibilities
• Possibility
• Possible
• Power
• Powerful
• Practice
• Pray
• Presence
• Present
• Prime
• Probable
• Progress
• Progression
• Prosper
• Purpose

 

• Question
• Quiet
• Re-brand
• Receive
• Reclaim
• Reflect
• Relax
• Release
• Renew
• Renewal
• Reset
• Resolve
• Respect
• Rest
• Retreat
• Revive
• Rise
• Rise
• Romance

 

• Satisfaction
• Seek
• Self
• Self-care
• Self-love
• Serene
• Serenity
• Share
• Shift
• Shine
• Siblings
• Simple
• Simplify
• Sister
• Sisterhood
• Slow
• Small
• Smile
• Son
• Soul
• Soulful
• Spark
• Sparkle
• Speak
• Spirit
• Still
• Strength
• Strengthen
• Stretch
• Strive
• Success
• Support
• Surrender
• Surroundings
• Survive

 

• Teach
• Think
• This
• Thoughtfulness
• Thrive
• Today
• Touch
• Transform
• Transformation
• Travel
• Treasure
• Trust
• Truth
• Try
• Understand
• Unique
• Unlimited
• Unstoppable

 

• Value
• Vision
• Visionary
• Vulnerability
• Vulnerable
• Wake
• Wander
• Wellness
• Whole
• Wholehearted
• Why
• Wild
• Win
• Winning
• Wisdom
• Wise
• Wish
• Wonder
• Wonder
• Work
• Worth
• Wow
• Yes

Why I’m choosing 4 this year

In 2021, I have focused on the word simplify.

It was exactly what I needed going into 2021 as I was craving a simpler way of living. Simplifying and decluttering our home and our schedules has been amazing. It was basically a word that was screaming at me this time last year. And it worked.

As to be expected, I now feel differently. When I was trying to decide on my word for the year, I had four words that kept jumping out at me:

• Abundance
• Memories
• Brave
• Self-love

A year is a long time, but also goes by very quickly. So, I’ve decided that I will focus on all four as they are obviously much needed in my current stage of life.

There are no rules. If you choose a word and then part way through the year, you want to change it, add another or modify it – then do it!

It’s your own personal ‘game’! You might even find that you want to choose a new word each month to focus on?

I hope this provides some ideas for you. I would love to hear your thoughts on having a word for the year and what that word is…

Related:

• How To Make Your Word of the Year Actually ‘Stick’!
• Vision Board Quotes – To Encourage & Inspire!
• ​​How To Make A Vision Board – Even If You Don’t Have A 5-Year Plan​​​