For many years, my sister Elizabeth and I have started each year by choosing a one-word theme to sum up what we want the next twelve months to hold.
For 2025, my theme is “Door.”
Why do it? While for many people, New Year’s resolutions feel intimidating or draining, there are other effective ways to set our intentions for the next twelve months.
In contrast to a New Year’s resolution, a one-word theme leaves room for creativity, whimsy, and fun.
Over time, I’ve found that a one-word theme works best when it’s a word with multiple meanings and associations. For instance, my 2024 theme of “Wave” carried many thought-provoking associations: ocean waves, light waves, waving hello and good-bye, Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai.
It’s a creative task to summarize your aspirations in a single word or phrase: “Harvest,” “Allow,” “Fresh.”
Also, compared to a list of resolutions, a one-word theme is easier to keep uppermost in your mind, so it can guide your actions throughout the year. To help me keep my theme top of mind, I write my word on an index card and post it above my desk; my sister makes her theme into her phone’s background.
My 2025 theme of “Door” works on several levels.
I’m entering the “open door” phase of parenting, so a door is an appropriate symbol for my new stage of life, which is a time of transition and expectation. I love to read, and literature is full of significant doors. And of course, a door is an actual physical object, so it lends itself to a visual symbol.
To pick your own one-word theme, try brainstorming a list of possibilities, or just pay attention to a particular word or concept that resonates with you.
To get started, you might ask yourself a few Know Yourself Better questions:
- What do you want more (or less) of in your life? (Peace? Satisfaction? Movement?)
- What are you curious about? (Adventure? Mystery? Pathways?)
- What’s a specific aim you’d like to take on? (One year, my sister chose “Hot Wheels” to help conquer her fear of driving.)
- What word has special power or significance? (Peacock? Rally? Bounce?)
Your word might be a noun, a verb, or an adjective. There’s no wrong way to pick as long as it’s meaningful to you.
Here are some of Happier listeners’ one-word themes:
- Juicy
- Magic
- Nest
- Threads
- Mirror
- Resilience
- Season
- Daily
- “Stick to the plan”
- “Part of the hive in 2025”
- Color
- No
- Heal
- Retirement
- Liberation
- Oasis
- Dissent
- Glimmer
Are you going to choose a one-word theme for the year? It’s a surprisingly fun way to reflect on what we want from the coming year, and to generate ideas to meet those aims.
