Thread by @Melanie_Paradis

5yrs ago, my friend told me about using a “Word of the Year” to manifest an intention instead of a #NewYearResolution.

I gave it a shot and I have had some very powerful experiences since.

But it comes with a warning… 🧵 1/13

#NewYear2022

You really need to choose your word wisely.

I’ve found the universe (or God) has its own ideas about how to creatively interpret your chosen word.

Sometimes for the better, sometimes maybe not. 2/13

For 2018, my first year doing this, I chose “Metamorphosis.”

That year I ended my toxic marriage, moved cities, quit my job, worked another provincial war room, and started at a new firm with some of my closest friends.

That was a big year. 3/13

In 2019, I wanted to keep the energy going so I chose “Momentum.”

I got the divorce done, worked a national war room, got back into the gym, and finally began a healthy relationship for the first time in a very, very long time. 4/13

By 2020, I was like, OK this is awesome. Now I’m ready for “Roots.” I was dreaming of putting down roots with a home.

But, I was pretty vague.

The universe brought the chaos monkey of COVID instead, and “Roots” turned into “planted in one spot for a while.” 5/13

I went back to my roots, in some ways, baking bread and watching @MitchHeimpel grow roots from seeds in his COVID vegetable garden on our balcony.

Then the guy we rooted for won the Conservative Leadership and we uprooted to Ottawa. We got engaged and pregnant. 6/13

Are you starting to understand how important word choice is?

@matwilcox had warned me about that when she first shared Word of the Year with me.

You would think I’d have gotten it by now. Turns out I needed another year. 7/13

Enter 2021. I chose “Fortify” as my word this year. I had very specific reasons for doing so.

I’m still trying to unpack everything that happened this year around that word. But suffice to say, it didn’t really go like I thought. 8/13

When you choose a word that is really by definition about planning for an attack, you are inadvertently manifesting some difficult times.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t work… 9/13

See, I thought Fortify was about strengthening. I pictured upgrading castle walls from wood to stone. 🏰

I was pregnant when I chose the word, and I wanted strength and protection for the birth and my maternity leave. And I did get those things. 10/13

But words have limits. Because you can fortify all you want, but stronger walls don’t protect you from a siege surrounding you and cutting off supply lines.

I wasn’t actually under siege this year. But if you are constantly on the lookout for one, you might as well be. 11/13

In the end, I think I learned some valuable lessons this year about myself and the people on both sides of my walls.

And some might say I took my vitamins - which is indeed another definition of “fortify.” 12/13

Choosing a word to capture your intentions for the year ahead is tricky & it’s harder to quit than your #NewYearResolution!

So, my word for 2022? I’ll be carefully choosing until midnight to get it right!

But if you’ve read this far, I want to know, what’s your word?
❤️✨13/13