When you’re a doer and an action-taker, staying focused is of utmost importance. But setting monthly or weekly goals can sometimes be overwhelming and set us on the path to burnout. And no one wants to burn out before they achieve their goals!
One way to mitigate the laser-like intensity of weekly or monthly goals is by instead setting a word of the month. This is a technique employed by many over the last few years, and it’s growing in popularity. Like a word of the year, choosing one single word for any given month can help focus your attention on your goals while still being flexible.
Words Have Power
If you know Wild Simple Joy, you know that I believe words have tremendous power over our lives. They have the power to tear us down and set us into a tailspin of negativity. But they also have the power to lift us to greater heights, to release our burdens, and to help us attract mind-blowing things into our lives.
According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, the words we use during self-talk are powerful in creating new neural pathways in the brain, effectively rewiring our thoughts and mindset. This can help us create more joy, success, and learn to take calculated risks.
Words also have the power to communicate to others in our lives our devotion and gratitude, or our inattention and disconnection. There is no need to provide evidence that words greatly affect others around us!
But did you know that the words we use in our thoughts and speech are also like prayers to the Universe? The Law of Attraction is primarily what dictates this. When we focus our attention on positive, abundant, fulfilling words, we’re more likely to be given those gifts by the Universe, Spirit, God, or whatever you believe in!
(Learn more about Dr. Joe Dispenza and some of his famous quotes here.)
History of Word of the Month
Word of the year has a very distinct history, stemming from dictionaries that assigned a word of the year for each year as it came to a close. Individuals decided that this was a wonderful practice for themselves, and they started to choose a word for the coming year instead!
This then got narrowed down into a word of the month to accommodate the ebb and flow of life.
Why You Should Choose a Word of the Month
The premise is simple, really: it’s powerful to choose a word of the year… but life is cyclical and changes with the seasons. Why not embrace that feeling of flow and break down your time period into months instead of just one for the year?
You can choose a word for each month of the year in conjunction with a word of the year, or you can do a monthly word in place of a yearly word. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Do what works best for you.
You can choose them in advance, or you can pick the word on the last day of the previous month.
How to Choose a Monthly Word
You can honestly choose however you like! I prefer to brainstorm and narrow down my choices to find the right fit. I also like to be flexible when a word isn’t working for me. (Read all about my horrendous experience with my word of the year last year!)
1. Brainstorm
What kind of word do you want your life to embody for the next four weeks? Energetic? Radiant? Calm? Focused?
There’s no wrong choice. Brainstorm a few things that hold deep meaning for you right now.
2. Ask yourself some personal development questions
If you need more ideas, greater focus, or need to narrow down your list, you may want to ask yourself some personal development questions.
- What words bring me a feeling of accomplishment?
- What words bring me a feeling of peace?
If you need ideas for what questions, check out this huge list of deep questions to ask yourself!
3. Narrow down your list
Once you have some excellent words, work on narrowing the words down to choose just one for the coming month.
RELATED POST: 20 Decks of Affirmation Cards for You To Utilize the Power of Words
My Words for the Months January Through December 2023
I decided to choose my word of the month in advance (all 12 months at once), and I decided to use my New Year tarot reading to inspire my monthly word. (Obviously this is a personal choice that goes along with my own beliefs, so take it if it resonates, or discard it if it doesn’t.)
Here are my power word choices for 2023:
- January – Foundation
- February – Strength
- March – Power
- April – Wit & Insight
- May – Beauty
- June – Commitment
- July – Swiftness
- August – Balance
- September – Master Artist
- October – Priestess
- November – Light
- December – Rest & Reflection
The beauty is that I have goals to work toward, but if, for example, something happens in March and I need to reset my priorities for the following months, I can always just go back in and change the next few words until I get back on track.
I’ll make sure to come back at the end of the year and let you know just how well these words worked for me!
Always remember that these words are like sending out a prayer to the Universe! Be careful what you wish for!
350+ Word of the Month Ideas
I’ve selected these 361 words to be widely-varied and applicable to a great many aspects of your life, such as relationships, finances, job or career, community, home, children, spirituality, and so on.
Many of them are the same as those one the personal word of the year list, but there are a few more here.
- ability
- abundance
- abundant
- acceptance
- achieve
- admire
- adventure
- adventurous
- affect
- affluence
- align
- alignment
- alive
- allure
- allow
- amaze
- ambition
- ambitious
- amplify
- appreciate
- art
- artful
- artisan
- ascendancy
- ascending
- aspiration
- astonishing
- attraction
- authentic
- authority
- awake
- awareness
- awe-inspiring
- awesome
- badass
- balance
- be
- become
- beautiful
- beauty
- believe
- belong
- birth
- blessing
- bliss
- bloom
- boss
- bold
- bouncy
- boundaries
- brave
- bravery
- breakthrough
- breath
- breathe
- breathtaking
- brilliant
- buoyant
- buoyancy
- captivate
- captivating
- celebrate
- centered
- ceo
- challenge
- challenging
- charisma
- charm
- charming
- cheer
- classy
- cleanse
- colorful
- comfort
- command
- commit
- commitment
- community
- complete
- completion
- connected
- connection
- conquer
- consistent
- contained
- contemplate
- contribution
- courage
- courageous
- create
- creation
- creative
- curious
- dedicated
- delightful
- depth
- desire
- design
- devoted
- discipline
- discover
- divine
- dream
- driven
- dynamic
- Earth
- earthy
- ease
- easy
- ecstasy
- effortless
- electric
- electricity
- elegance
- elevate
- empathy
- empowering
- energy
- enjoy
- enliven
- enrapture
- enrich
- enthralling
- epic
- epitome
- exceptional
- exciting
- exclusive
- exquisite
- extraordinary
- fabulous
- faith
- family
- fantasy
- fantastic
- fearless
- feeling
- feisty
- ferocious
- fierce
- fiery
- finish
- floating
- flow
- flowing
- fly
- focus
- force
- forgive
- forgiveness
- foundation
- foundational
- free
- freedom
- fun
- gain
- genius
- gentle
- genuine
- give
- giving
- glamour
- glisten
- glow
- glowing
- goal
- God
- Goddess
- gorgeous
- grace
- graceful
- gratitude
- grounded
- grit
- grow
- growth
- happiness
- healing
- health
- heart
- heavenly
- help
- hero
- heroine
- honest
- honesty
- hope
- humility
- idea
- ignite
- imagine
- imagination
- immerse
- impact
- improve
- influence
- innovation
- insight
- inspiration
- inspirational
- integrity
- intense
- intention
- intentional
- invest
- joy
- joyful
- jubilant
- kindness
- King
- laugh
- lead
- leader
- leadership
- learn
- liberate
- light
- limitless
- love
- lovely
- luxury
- magic
- Magician
- magnificence
- manifest
- manifestation
- marvelous
- meaning
- meditate
- metamorphosis
- mind-blowing
- mindful
- mindset
- miracle
- miraculous
- moon
- money
- motivated
- new
- nirvana
- nourish
- optimistic
- passionate
- patient
- peace
- peppy
- perfect
- perfection
- perspective
- phenomenal
- play
- playful
- pleasure
- positivity
- power
- powerful
- prevail
- Priestess
- priority
- progress
- purpose
- Queen
- radiant
- rainbow
- receive
- refined
- reflection
- release
- renewed
- rest
- rich
- rooted
- safe
- satiating
- secure
- security
- self-care
- self-love
- self-worth
- sensational
- sensual
- service
- share
- simple
- simplify
- smile
- soar
- soothe
- sophisticated
- sovereign
- sovereignty
- soul
- soulful
- space
- sparkle
- Spirit
- spirited
- spiritual
- splendid
- splendor
- spritely
- stargaze
- still
- stillness
- strength
- sublime
- success
- sun
- supernatural
- surprise
- surprising
- surrender
- swiftness
- sympathy
- teach
- tenacity
- thrilling
- thriving
- timeless
- trailblaze
- transform
- transformation
- travel
- unbreakable
- unchained
- understanding
- unlimited
- unstoppable
- Universe
- vibrant
- vigor
- vigorous
- vision
- visionary
- vital
- vitality
- vivacious
- vivid
- voice
- warm
- warmth
- wealth
- wealthy
- weightless
- wellness
- wholehearted
- wild
- wish
- wicked
- wit
- witch
- witchy
- wonder
- wonderful
- worthy
- yearning
- zeal
- zealous
- zenith
- zest
- zestful
