Happy New Year!
Here we are again. It’s the beginning of a new year — that magical time when your journaling app sends you a passive-aggressive reminder to “set your intentions” (and you almost believe you’ll live up to them).
What are your New Year’s traditions for starting again? Do you write resolutions? Do you set intentions? How about goals? How do you make sure you’ll keep working toward them?
I’ve found that setting a single word as my aspirational and guiding principle for the year makes it easier. My New Year journals track my words for at least 20 years.
In case you’re curious, here’s the list for the last 10:
- Imagination (2024)
- Balance (2023)
- Freedom (2022)
- Love (2021)
- Elegance (pre-COVID 2020)
- Happiness (2019)
- Scale (2018)
- Execute (2017)
- Evolve (2016)
- Manifest (2015)
I also assign a word for what the previous year became. In fact, I choose a word for the old year first. The two words rarely match. 2018’s “scale” turned into “choice” at year’s end, and 2016’s “evolve” became “evolved.”
The years when they don’t align reveal my struggles. 2019’s “happiness” gave way to “rambling,” and last year’s “imagination” gave way to “pivot.”
Focusing on a single word gives my intention a name and provides the foundation for every action I plan and take rather than a set of rules I’ll likely break.
Drumroll, please: My word for 2025
I mentioned that my end word for 2024 was “pivot.” I went through a lot of change this year (as many of you did).
The nature of my work today is completely different than in January of 2024. The model by which I do it changed. The business world has changed. Geopolitics has changed. And our beloved marketing practice faces some of the biggest disruptions in over a decade.
Some of this change felt hard and discouraging. Other elements sparked positivity and excitement. But I feel grateful for all of it. As I mentioned in a recent post, shifting my focus from “I have to” to “I get to” helped tremendously.
So, I almost chose “gratitude” as my word for 2025. Here’s why I decided on a different word.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking about what we don’t have. And it’s much harder to remember all that we do. But that keeps people stuck in a scarcity mentality.
Gratitude can tip the scales back in the other direction. But, if you’re not careful, you can go too far. Then, what I call “rationalized gratitude” becomes toxic.
Rationalized gratitude sounds like a cruel inner monologue: “Unhappy in your job? Be grateful you have a job!” Or, “Need more money? Be thankful for the money you have and spend less of it.”
This form of “gratitude” is actually a scarcity mindset in disguise. It tells you there isn’t enough to go around, so you should feel lucky to have anything at all.
When you’re practicing gratitude, it’s OK to acknowledge that life isn’t perfect. And it’s OK to recognize that you have things others might be grateful for but aren’t right for you.
After I thought long and hard about the “pivot” I’m still in the process of making, my word for 2025 emerged. It’s abundance.
Abundance is a word that feels expansive, hopeful, and deeply aligned with a fresh start. Abundance, for me, isn’t about accumulating money, stuff, or more of anything.
Abundance is about flow — a dynamic, energizing rhythm of giving and receiving, of noticing and amplifying what already exists.
Motivational speaker Wayne Dyer once said, “Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”
That simple truth has stayed with me as I’ve reflected on the kind of year I want to create.
For me, abundance isn’t about striving, hustling, or pivoting. It’s about attunement. It’s about opening my eyes to the richness of life that’s already here — in creativity, relationships, opportunities, and even uncomfortable challenges that stretch me.
It’s about trusting that life has a rhythm and that by participating fully, I’ll receive what I need when I need it.
This idea of abundance as flow feels especially meaningful as I continue to pivot my professional career toward providing fractional marketing services.
I’m drawn to the idea of creating something sustainable and balanced: A business that thrives not through constant hustle and 225 days on the road but through steady momentum.
I want to deepen relationships with colleagues and friends, generate ideas with people I encounter, and contribute my expertise in ways that feel energizing and reciprocal. And, in return, I want to feel inspired and free, with the kind of peace of mind that comes from knowing I’m aligned with my purpose.
Abundance, in this sense, touches every aspect of life. It’s the freedom to choose how to spend time and energy, the creativity to imagine new possibilities and bring them to life, and the gratitude that fuels a mindset of “enough,” even while I aspire for more.
Abundance isn’t static — it’s a river, always moving and continually replenished, as long as you stay in tune with its flow.
So, as I set out to live my Year of Living Richly (the title of an imaginary book I wrote in my notes), I found myself writing these questions in my journal:
- How can I give more generously without fear of running out?
- How can I create space for inspiration to find me?
- How can I honor the flow of abundance by trusting in what’s yet to come?
I hope that by sharing this intention I’ll inspire you to think about what abundance might mean for you. It’s not something we need to chase or hoard. It’s already here, waiting for us to tune in.
What’s your word for 2025? Let me know on LinkedIn (and tag Content Marketing Institute).
It’s your story. Tell it well.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute