Word Of The Year 2024 – Embrace

Time is flying by and we are here again doing the new year rituals, this time it is for 2023 2024. It’s only been seven days, so need to practice that more! Word for this year came to me early, even before the year began. The month of December’23 was full of social travel. Amidst these trips and a series of packing and unpacking, a sudden moment of peace took over the anxiety of never-ending laundry and the upcoming trip. I knew it then; it would be the theme for the next year.

The Word of the year – 2024 is EMBRACE.

It feels like continuation of the last year’s theme of Mindfulness. This year’s intention is to embrace what life offers us.

Embrace Chaos. Coming this from a perfectionist is a bit of a shocker, I know but this year I wish to let chaos take over perfection sometimes. After all, perfection often kills the fun. Over the years, I have seen myself running after perfection in every little thing. First, it was academics, then it was profession. Soon in married life the desire for perfection in the household followed. (we can call it the eldest-daughter-syndrome!) Before it makes me any more cranky, I decide to let the chaos stay for a while, in meantime I shall enjoy the coffee I just brewed.

Embrace Routine. Consistency of doing small things has been observed to give great results. I noticed them too. Hence, I choose smaller goals to achieve and let some routines rule my life, for this year.

Embrace Joy. I have found joy in the biggest celebrations and, also in the smallest of gestures. But quite sometimes I found myself guilty of not accepting the joy that stepped into my life. This time I want joy to define my life in the little things like gratitude, love, home, and food.

Embrace Risks. Let us blame it on covid years again which has shaped/ changed our personalities a lot. This year will an attempt to revive that person who used to like to try new things, take risks (let’s start from smaller ones), and learn from those lessons.

Embrace Adulting. It is said that the adulting begins the day you join your first job. Well, it’s been years now but there seems to be no sign of this getting any easier or me getting better at it. 30s are strange years of anyone’s life, when the adulting takes away most of the life from you, you stare back and wonder if all of it is actually worth it. This wondering self now decides to embrace this adulting package as it comes and try not to crib about it, because there are sure benefits of it too (staring longingly at the chocolates beside my bed )

Embrace Myself. The last five-six years of my life have been quite eventful, least to say that these events surely changed much of me. Some are acceptable, some not so much. There have been times I tried the revival of the older me, with mixed results. This time I am trying to accept the newer version and a tidbits of the old me.

Above all, let this year be a year of Embracing Life.

Turns out there are a lot of tasks for this year (tries not to run and make yet another to-do list). I better buckle up! But before that, it’s time to embrace the blanket and give these freezing hands some respite!

Tell me, how has your 2023 been? What’s your word/ theme/ intention for 2024?