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Have you chosen a word of the year yet? Here’s why you, as a mom with PMDD, need one and how to find the most fitting word to guide you through the year.

What a word of the year can do for you

I’m on my 7th year of choosing a word of the year. When I was introduced to the concept, I was tired of making resolutions and traditional goal setting. Over the years, it has evolved from a fun experiment to an unmissable tool that helps me live a fuller life and be the mom my child deserves.

The concept is easy: you choose one single word that will set the tone for your year. Rather than specific goals, it conveys a general intention for the year ahead. With a word of the year, you are basically announcing your intentions to the universe. A single word can serve as a reminder of the change you want to see in your life, and will guide your decisions on how to get there.

Intentions Over Resolutions: an approach for moms with PMDD

Chances are that somewhere between New Year’s Day and now, you have reached your luteal phase. BAM! Hello fatigue, depression, and anxiety! How are your New Year’s resolutions looking now? I bet you’re done with them by now.

Traditional New Year’s resolutions can feel like we are setting ourselves up for failure, especially when navigating the challenges of PMDD. Resolutions are often rigid and require consistency. As moms with PMDD, we have to deal with cyclical mood swings and fluctuating energy, so consistency is hard to achieve.

For moms with PMDD, a word of the year can be more helpful than any kind of resolution. Choosing a word of the year provides a flexible, motivating guide that adapts to both good and difficult days. This single word can serve as a daily motivator, help with decision-making, and offer reflection points, without the rigidity of typical resolutions.

How a word of the year shapes daily life for moms with PMDD

Imagine this situation with me: You are in a hurry to get out of the house. It’s a random Tuesday morning, nothing special. Your kid asks you for help with tying their shoes. And you lose it. All of the sudden you are yelling at them that they need to do this themselves, you are not their servant and you’ve had it.

Seconds later, you look at your visibly shocked child and you realize that the rage you are feeling is the PMDD. And you feel like you’ve failed as a mom. Again. You know this feeling well, because something similar happens every month.

Now, if your resolution were to “Yell less” this year, how would that make you feel? Exactly, it would be a reminder that you failed, because you yelled.

What if a single word, such as “Kindness” would guide you in that situation? You might see your post-it on the mirror before you explode and respond to your child’s request kindly. 

mirror with encouraging sticky notes
Photo by cottonbro studio

You might not be able to stop the yelling, but instead of guilt, you might find room for a kind word for yourself, tie their shoes and move on. 

A single word like this really has the power to influence every interaction with your children and to make you the mom you want to be, despite your PMDD. Of course there are other ways to stop the explosion. Create your own S.O.S Plan with my free guide.

Steps to choosing your word

Choosing your word of the year always starts with reflection. I like to do this in December, and find the time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve especially suitable. But there really is no deadline for finding your word. And if you don’t have one, you can get started right now.

  1. Reflect on the past year: go through your photos and diary. What events stand out? What was important to you?
  2. Make two lists: one with all the things that went well, another with things you’d like to change.
  3. Review your lists and circle the words that jump out to you. Try to pick 1-5 words.
  4. Narrow down the list to the 1 word that captures how you want your next year to feel. 

Sometimes, you can’t find the right word immediately. That’s okay. Sit with your list for a couple of days. Try saying the words out loud and see how you like them. You might want to pick a group of words to better express your feelings. That’s okay, too. 

Inspiration

The process of picking a word of the year is very personal, and can be very inspiring. There is no right or wrong. I would caution you to be mindful of the words you choose and see, if they really resonate with you.

The year that I chose “Focus”, I realized that it was not my word at all, but it was what other people wanted from me. Needless to say that I didn’t find focus that year. However, I did think about my relationship with focus and why it doesn’t work for me. Win-win, I guess?

If you need some inspiration, take a look at the word-cloud and see which words jump out at you.

Previous words of the year

Just to add some inspiration from my own reflections, here is a list of my previous words.

2024 – Activate 

2023 – Be gentle

2022 – Keep growing

2021 – Onward

2020 – Courage

2019 – Focus

And as you might have read in my year review, the current word is “Receive”.

How to incorporate the word of the year into your daily life

Once you have found your word of the year, it’s time to use it. It’s important that you see it often and are reminded of it.

Some of my favourite ways to use the word of the year are:

  • As the cover page of my diary/ planner
  • Desktop background
  • Phone wallpaper
  • Sticky note on the bathroom mirror and the coffee machine
Journal page stating Keep growing
My Word of the Year from 2022 as the cover page of my bullet journal

You can get even more creative with your word of the year. Try incorporating it in your journaling practices by setting daily or weekly intentions. Experiment with visualizing it in different ways and putting up a vision board (and use your visuals as desktop background!)

Another fun thing to do is to ask your spouse or partner to put up sticky notes in random places with your word on it.

You might ask yourself how seeing your word of the year will actually help you in your daily life. Let’s say you are faced with the decision of staying in your child’s bedroom at night, because they don’t want to fall asleep alone, or making time to study. If your word is “Surrender” you might stay in the room and find ways to make this work for you as me-time. If your word is “Growth”, you might want to find ways to study.

Word of the year: a powerful tool for moms with PMDD

Having a word of the year can really bring positive change for moms with PMDD. It is a very gentle and flexible reminder of qualities that you want to have in your life.

If you haven’t picked a word of the year yet, I highly encourage you to go through the reflection process and choose your word.

Found your word? If you are happy to, share it with us in the comments!