What’s Your Word of the Year?

Every December, I take time for one of my favourite personal activities – choosing my word of the year. I like selecting a word or phrase that sets my intention for the year ahead. It gives me a chance to reflect on what I have learned, recognize the progress I’ve made, and look toward the possibilities that lie ahead. This simple exercise helps me stay grounded and focused in both my life and work.

My Word of the Year

I’ve always found it easier to centre myself around one meaningful word instead of tracking a long list of resolutions. My word for 2026 is BELIEVE. This word feels right for this moment, both for Career Professionals of Canada and for all of us stepping into a new chapter together. BELIEVE invites optimism, trust, and confidence. It encourages us to see what is possible before it becomes reality and to move forward with purpose and heart.

Believing in the Future

At Career Professionals of Canada, our core principles, including inclusivity, engagement, and purposeful action, continue to guide our direction. After navigating a challenging transition, CPC is emerging with renewed purpose, shaped by experience and inspired by the road ahead. This is a moment to believe in our collective strength, our capacity to evolve, and our shared commitment to building something better together.

As CPC reemerges, we have an opportunity to believe in our members, our clients, in the career development community, and in the broader landscape we are part of. Believing means trusting in people’s potential, encouraging new ideas, and creating spaces where individuals feel supported, valued, and encouraged to grow. BELIEVE reminds us to see beyond today’s limitations and lean into what we can accomplish when we move forward as a community.

The Power of Selecting a Word of the Year

In previous years, my words have been “nurture,” “empathy,” “gratitude,” “patience,” “together,” and “inspire.” I have carried them with me through coaching, training, innovating, exercising, resting, meditating, praying, and more. By keeping my focus on a single word, I have been able to learn, grow, and develop into the person I strive to be. Selecting and committing to one word or phrase allows for significant and lasting change within and around us.

During the peak of the pandemic, I chose the phrase “purposeful kindness” and kept it for two years. During that time, I had the privilege of working alongside outstanding career professionals as we developed our Work-Life Strategist Certification Program, focused on compassion and trauma-informed care. We implemented various programs to support our members through purposeful kindness, and I gained so much from each experience. It deepened my passion for integrating positive impact into every aspect of work and life, and it made me a better person. This approach has become part of CPC’s culture, embraced by many of our members.

As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time for a fresh start. Selecting a word of the year can guide your intentions, inspire growth, and bring clarity to what matters most. It can help you uplift both yourself and those around you. Read on to learn how you can determine your own word of the year.

Looking Back – Performing Your Year-End Review

Let’s start by looking back at your year. Your year-end review will allow you to reflect on your success. Centre yourself and your reflections on your positive accomplishments, fondest memories, and favourable outcomes. This is an opportunity to celebrate yourself for everything you have done and express gratitude for all that you have received. Here are the kind of questions to ask yourself:

• What was the best thing that happened to me?
• What went well for me this year?
• What new thing did I try?
• What did I create, build, or develop?
• What objective or goal did I achieve?
• What accomplishment am I most proud of?
• What is my happiest memory?
• What compliment did I receive and remember?
• When did I have the most fun?

If you are having trouble remembering your successes, refer to your social media posts and photos. If you prefer, you can use these questions as a fun exercise with your family over a holiday dinner. Make a bulleted list of your own responses, so that you can refer to them often – they’ll make you feel good!

Looking Ahead – Determining Your Intention

Now, it’s time to look forward and determine your intentions and goals for next year. Answering these questions will help you get in the mindset to come up with your word of the year. This word will serve as a mini action plan that will help you accomplish your goals. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself:

• What do I want to learn next year?
• What new things do I want to try?
• What do I want to accomplish next year?
• What would I like to create, build, or develop?
• What am I happiest doing?
• How do I want to spend my time?
• What do I want to do more of?
• Who do I want to become next year?

Don’t be shy when answering these questions. Allow yourself to dream big because this will help you find meaning and purpose in the upcoming year. When you are clear about your intentions, you’ll be able to align your actions with them.

Selecting a Word – Creating Your Focus

Review your reflections and intentions and use them as inspiration for your word or phrase. Pick a word that resonates with you. Your word will be your theme for the year.

Here are some links that might help you select a word or phrase:

• 166 One-Word Affirmations to Instantly Kick-Start Your Motivation
• 50+ Motivational and Inspirational Words and Quotes That Can Change Your Life
• 30 Power Words to Activate Intention Setting

Once you’ve determined your word, make sure that it is the right choice by asking yourself these questions:

• Why is this a great word for me this year?
• Does it feel appropriate based on my reflection?
• Is it consistent with my intention(s)?

You’ll incorporate your word into many aspects of your daily life, so it needs to feel genuine and authentic to you. Consider how you want to behave in the future. This way, your word will align with who you want to become moving forward.

Implementing Your Word – Keeping Yourself on Task

The key to your success is keeping on task with your selected word or phrase. Use your word or phrase in as many ways as possible so that it becomes part of who you are. Pay attention to it every single day. It will provide you with inspiration, motivation, and accountability. When you are consciously and routinely thinking about your word or phrase, it can be habit-forming. You’ll start to notice small positive changes that will transform you over time.

Here are some of the ways you can use your word or phrase moving forward:

• Incorporate it into your “introduction script” or “elevator speech.”
• Integrate it into your blog posts (in titles and content).
• Place it right in the centre of your vision board.
• Create a list of goals or objectives around your word.
• Write your word on a “post-it note” and paste that on your computer.
• When you are faced with a dilemma, refer to your word for guidance.

What’s Your Word of the Year?

We would love to hear from you. What’s your word or phrase for the year ahead?

– By Sharon Graham, Founder and Chair of Career Professionals of Canada –