Choose a “word of the year” to stay motivated and keep you on the road to success in 2021 with this printable list of positive, motivational, and inspirational words.
Use our free printable list of positive, motivational, and inspirational words to help you choose your “word of the year” for 2021. Use the positive word you choose as a mantra or focus point to help you stay motivated to achieve your goals!
This list of positive motivational words is not exhaustive. You can choose many more inspirational words that would make a perfect choice to be your “word of the year.” It can even be a short motivational phrase, #hashtag, or group of positive words.
Word of the Year Ideas 2021
Have you ever made a New Years’ resolution that you were able to keep?
Yeah, me neither… I found a better idea!
Today, I like to turn my resolutions into SMART Goals and then create an action plan to achieve my goals with actionable steps.
Next, I choose an inspirational word for the year to help me stay focused, motivated, and on track to accomplish my goals.
Related: How to Plan Your Day
What is a “Word of the Year” and the “One Little Word” Project?
A word of the year is a word or phrase you choose to help you stay focused, motivated, and on track throughout the year. It is an uplifiting positive inspirational word that motivates you to take action. I learned about the one little word project from Ali Edwards. She writes,
In 2006 I began a tradition of choosing one word for myself each January—a word to focus on, to live with, to investigate, to write about, to craft with, and to reflect upon as I go about my daily life. These words have each become a part of my life in one way or another—a process I document via simple creative monthly prompts from January to December.
Related: How to Use the Power of Habit to Change Your Life
Related: I Am Grateful: Gratitude Journal Printable Worksheet
How to Chose a Word of the Year
Choose your word using our free printable list of positive motivational words. Click the link to download and print this FREE printable list of inspirational words that you can use to choose your word of the year for 2021.
This printable list of “word of the year” ideas is not exhaustive. There are other motivational words you can choose that would also make a perfect choice. Of course, any of the positive words on this list of ideas can have their form altered. If, for example, you would prefer your word to be courageous instead of courage, then, by all means, change it! Your “one little word” can even be a short phrase, #hashtag, or group of words if you wish it to be. It is, after all, your word. Choose something meaningful for you and prepare to be amazed!
When considering the word that you would like to use, take a moment to consider your goals and any challenges that you may be facing in your life.
What’s going well and what can you improve?
If you still need to decide on your goals for the year, head over to have a look at our tips in How to Set SMART Goals. We even have a free goal setting worksheet you can download–just click the link!
Choose a positive inspirational word that will help you balance everything and make it happen… The choices are unlimited! Claim any word that holds heart and meaning to use as your word of the year.
Don’t worry if none cry out to be your word of the year at first. Meditate, reflect, and allow your word to come to you.
Related: Achieving Goals: Create an Action Plan to Accomplish Goals
5 Fun Ways to Use Your 2021 Word of the Year
Some people claim writing down your goals is the quickest way to reach them. Choosing a word for 2012 can help you get focused and stay motivated. Bring the word that you choose into your life with any of the fun “word of the year” ideas below.
1. Doodle Your “Word of the Year”
Spend some time writing and doodling the motivational word that you choose for your word of the year 2021. This will help you embody the positive word and make it yours for the year. Make sticky notes and put them all around the house.
When you are finished, frame your inspirational word and put it someplace that you will see it every day. If you keep a bullet journal, place your inspirational word for 2021 on the cover or front page.
2. Paint a Rock with Your Inspirational Word
First, paint a rock, or several rocks, with your inspirational word for 2021. Next, place them somewhere that you will see them daily. Inspirational word rocks make a great paperweight for a desk and look lovely in the yard or garden. Pop over to have a look at these fun rock painting tips and ideas to get started on your inspirational word rock.
3. Make a “Word of the Year” Bracelet or Necklace
Make a beaded bracelet or necklace with your “word of the year” on it. This jewelry-making tutorial shares how to make a name necklace. Substitute your positive “word of the year” in place of a “name” and your good to go!
Alternatively, use this tutorial to make a beaded necklace and bead an inspirational word charm into it. If you don’t want to make your own necklace, purchase a nice sterling silver ball chain and put a word charm
on it!
4. Paint a Candle Holder with Your Positive Motivational Word of Choice
Use our personalized candle holder tutorial to paint a heart with your motivational word of the year on it. These gorgeous hand-painted candle holders cast beautiful hearts upon the wall when lit!
Related: How to Start and Finish a Beaded Necklace or Bracelet
5. Purchase Positive Inspirational Word Swag
Make your inspirational word of the year work for you with fun swag you can buy with your motivational word on it to help you stay focused on your goals all year.
Related: Get Organized for Good: 10 Reasons to Make Rhythm a Habit
Word of the Year 2021 Ideas
Once you have decided on your word for 2021, use it to create any of the ideas listed above to help enliven it and bring your dreams and goals to fruition.
The next step in the process is turning your goals into positive affirmations to help you achieve them. Click the link to learn how!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Helpful Articles
- How to Raise a Helper
- Goal Setting: How to Set SMART Goals
- Achieving Goals: How to Make an Action Plan to Accomplish Goals
- How to Plan Your Daily Routine for Success
- DIY Projects for Do it Yourself Families
- Gratitude Journal Prompts Printable
This is very helpful. As a refugee from the Paradise fire (I prefer not to call myself a victim) I am confronted with a New Year unlike any in my experience. Most everything has been lost from my life, so it’s a perfect opportunity to focus on the parts that I want to restore, and let the rest go. So, “Simplify” might be a good word for the coming year. And yet, my life has already been simplified for me because of losing my home, so maybe that’s not quite the word. Still, it does help me remember that I want to consciously choose to stay focused on the most important things in life, now that I have had so many distractions swept away.
Cheers!
How to print word list
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for alerting me to the fact that the link to the printable list of inspirational words was not working. It’s all fixed now, and ready to download and print!