HAPPY NEW YEAR
I was not going to do a word of the year for 2025. I haven’t done one since 2019, which was soar. The purpose of choosing a word of the year is to create a theme for how you want to move forward for the year.
In 2019, I was done with mediocracy, especially in my writing career. I didn’t want to trudge through each day, hoping to get a few words, hoping to get noticed, hoping to make a name for myself, hoping to make a difference in the world.
I wrote. A lot. I submitted manuscripts to my editor. Hounded her. In desperation. I see that now, and eventually I intentionally buried desperation and breathed. I went to two writing conferences. Met some wonderful people. I changed jobs from two nearly full-time jobs to one job. I met a wonderful man, one of the greatest gifts of my life. At the end of the year, I felt like I soared. I was no longer trudging through the muck, but using my wings to fly.
I haven’t chosen a word of the year since. I haven’t felt the need, and up until earlier this morning, I wasn’t going to choose a word for 2025, but here it is.
INTENTIONAL
Being intentional doesn’t happen by accident. You have to make a conscious decision. According to good old Dictionary.com, intentional means to do on purpose. It’s a call to action, not a “good intention” that never produces fruit.
If you want to see your writing career flourish, or anything in your life, you have to be intentional. You have to choose to do, not just wish or want it into existence. You have to do the work.
Intentional is not a new word or concept to me. I’ve been utilizing this action for a few years now, and I’m seeing the fruits of my intentions. It’s a word I’ve tried to live by daily, and will continue to do so because it’s imperative to a healthy mentality.
I’m sharing this word, and choosing it as my word for 2025, not just for me, but I want to bring it into the new year, to share with you. If you haven’t chosen a word of the year, yet, consider this one. Practice it. Daily. Several times a day
Be intentional in your gratitude. You’ve heard like attracts like. If you wake up in a woe is me attitude, you’re very likely to attract situations that will provide you with more woe is me opportunities. If you wake up an intentionally choose gratitude, you’ll most likely attract situations that will provide you with more opportunities to be grateful, even when things don’t go as planned.
Be intentional in your joy. Your happy. Your love. Your kindness. Your authenticity. Your peace. And, I’m going to put this one out there because I know I’m not intentional enough in this aspect but be intentional in your health.
Be intentional in recognizing you are the captain of your own ship. Even when waves roll over the edge and threaten to toss you around, you are responsible for your actions. You can choose to be intentional.
When it comes to writing, or any venture you choose to pursue, whether it be for an added residual income or a hobby, you have to be intentional. You have to choose to show up. If you don’t, the work won’t get done. You can blame it on time constraints, but again, you are the captain of your ship. You can set aside time to write and protect that time, or you can blow it off until tomorrow, until you realize, 150 tomorrows have gone by and you still haven’t opened up that file.
An example of how I achieved a goal in my writing by being intentional, is what I did with a recent proposal for my editor at Love Inspired. After contracting a single book for an Amish contemporary, my editor informed me that the next step would be a possible two book contract, and once that two book was fulfilled, they might consider offering a larger contract. At this point, I had been with Love Inspired since 2011, each book a single book contract. My Amish book, A Husband for an Amish Bride, released in November 2024, was my seventh book in over ten years. I’m not going to lie, I was frustrated, and my frustration dictated some of my actions and my attitude. I didn’t want to just write; I wanted to be successful at it.
Well, instead of following the rules and sending in a two-book proposal, I sent in a five-book proposal, and declared I would receive a six-book proposal. Why six? I have no idea, but I dreamed bigger. My thought was to provide my editor with options to secure a two-book contract. The goal was to finally, after all these years, receive a multi-book contract. But I’m a publishing unicorn, and yes, I was very intentional in believing (KNOWING) that fact to be truth. In November 2024, just as my first contemporary was about to be released, I didn’t receive a two-book contract offer, but rather a four-book contract offer. Being intentional served me well and I achieved a writing goal.
I have some pretty hefty ambitions this year as I carry out my contractual obligations to Love Inspired, but I’m being intentional about them and not just tossing my diamonds into the air hoping they land in the right places.
I wake up each morning grateful for the life I have. I verbally speak how grateful I am for the other half of my team-my partner in life and all the support and encouragement he offers me, all our kids and grandkids, how grateful I am for my day job, and for writing opportunities. When I’m out walking, I do the same. And as I go to bed each night, with a genuine smile on my face, I speak the same.
You can always find something to be grateful for. A life of gratitude is a wonderful way to live.
If you’ve chosen a word to guide you into the New Year, what is it? If you haven’t, do you think you can be intentional?