It’s a fun way to start the day: I look out the window, throw my arms up, and declare, “It’s a new day!” The logical thought that follows is: And what will I make of it?
In years past, I made my share of New Year’s resolutions, often variations on the same tired resolve to exercise more and eat healthy or less.
Last year I chose instead a word for the year: courage. It was a good choice. In a year when we had a president who was determined to make us afraid to speak our minds and protest his actions, we needed at least a bit of courage.
I didn’t want to be afraid to join local protests or to sign and send postcards and emails telling the president what I thought.
Thinking about courage also helped when I was tired and the hills were too steep. Was it courage to keep going? I don’t know. But thinking about the courageous Ukrainian soldiers inspired me to continue my walk.
For this year, I had a hard time finding just one word that felt right for the year. I was thinking that 2026 would be a year when we might feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the problems that surround us here and around the world, and with the difficulty of doing anything about them.
I wanted something that sounded positive and hopeful. That’s how I came up with “A new day” and the silent question that followed: What will I make of it?
Do you make New Year’s resolutions or choose a word or phrase for the year?
In a time where the world seems like it has gone mad, ‘What will I make of it?’ is something that can be inspiring each day. It’s also a time where we may need to be courageous to speak our voices and come together in community to see positive change in this world.
I still keep last year’s word, courage, in mind. But I like the positive feeling I get when I say out loud that it’s a new day with new possibilities.
I’ve not chosen a word for this year for the second year running. I knew this year would be one of changes and there are a number of states I would find useful: calm, brave, confident, resilient and hopeful just for starters – so found myself unable to choose one. Hearing your idea has given me the idea of having some form of virtual toolbox – one where I can select what emotional state will be most useful for each new day.
That sounds like a good idea. I hope it works for you.
I guess my choice was based on wanting to have an energetic start to the day, to be hopeful and open to new possibilities. What I like about it most is that I say it out loud, which gives it a surprising strength and even joy.
Everywhere I look I see lack, lack of humanity, resources, kindness and love, so my word (and mantra) for this new year, new era, is abundance. I am open to the abundance of the universe in all things.
Your mantra is a reminder of the abundance all around us and the possibility of more.
When my daughter was working in the Russian Far East in the early 1990s, she visited the site of a former gulag prison camp and she was heartened to see all the flowers that had grown back in the short time since that camp was closed.
To say “It’s a new day!” reminds me of Nunc Coepi! Let us begin (again). My word this year is “champion”. I commit to being a champion for my total Self. Onward, Nicki!
Champion. That’s definitely a positive way to look at the year to come. Onward!
My intention is to stay in the moment . . . living in the present . . . being here NOW . . . as each new day dawns.
It’s a new day! What can we do to make things better in our own little corner of the world? 😀
Good thinking, Nancy. In the moment, the only place we are is our own little corner of the world.
I love this sentiment and choice for each day! “It’s a new day! What will I make of it?” Yes I look out my window. I see a hummingbird and a squirrel and the neighbor’s Christmas lights still on, which makes me very happy.
Kizzie, you’re always so positive. Even when we see and care about serious problems (and try to do something about them), it would be a sin to ignore all the beauty and love around us.
I’m too old to climb on the roof, but I’m grateful to my younger neighbors for their Christmas lights.
It’s a good phrase. Although I think my next thought would be the very cynical, “Same old bull$%*#!
Lots of the same and even new and surprising bull$%*#.
Nicki, what a lovely phrase for the year. It sounds fresh and active.
I usually don’t make resolutions. But I am working through goals.
Come to think of it, the nice thing about my phrase is that I can decide each day anew what I can do.
My goals these days are either keeping up with the usual stuff or goals that aren’t particularly long term, the kind I write in my datebook every week.
I don’t do either but they way I’m feeling right now my word would be “survive.” If only we can get to the next level. Surely this dysfunction can’t last.
History just keeps marching on. I hope we’ll not only survive but make progress up toward the next level. Rapid progress.