{"id":12087,"date":"2026-01-07T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=12087"},"modified":"2026-01-06T21:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:42:07","slug":"a-new-day-my-new-years-phrase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/new-years-resolutions\/a-new-day-my-new-years-phrase\/","title":{"rendered":"“A New Day,” My New Year’s Phrase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Green<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a fun way to start the day: I look out the window, throw my arms up, and declare, \u201cIt\u2019s a new day!\u201d The logical thought that follows is: And what will I make of it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In years past, I made my share of New Year\u2019s resolutions, often variations on the same tired resolve to exercise more and eat healthy or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year I chose instead a word <\/em>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"postcards\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted something that sounded positive and hopeful. That\u2019s how I came up with \u201cA new day\u201d and the silent question that followed: What will I make of it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"our<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you make New Year\u2019s resolutions or choose a word or phrase for the year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a fun way to start the day: I look out the window, throw my arms up, and declare, \u201cIt\u2019s a new day!\u201d The logical thought that follows is: And what will I make of it? In years past, I made my share of New Year\u2019s resolutions, often variations on the same tired resolve to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2551,2737,2239,2720],"tags":[2738,654,2402,2605],"class_list":["post-12087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courage-2","category-hope","category-new-years-resolutions","category-no-kings-march-and-rally","tag-a-new-day","tag-courage","tag-new-years-resolution","tag-no-kings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-38X","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11261,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/war\/courage-a-virtue-for-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":12087,"position":0},"title":"Courage–A Virtue for 2025","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"January 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.\"- Robert Louis Stevenson climbing wall I didn\u2019t make any New Year\u2019s resolutions this year. 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