My Word for 2020

Inside: Choosing a word for the year is like setting your course, compass in hand. Granted, I’m not the one choosing my word for 2020. Read on to find out more.

My Word for 2020

Simple adjective 1. easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty. 2. plain, basic, or uncomplicated in form, nature, or design; without much decoration or ornamentation.

My word for 2020 arrived midday on the first of January. I’d like to say the start to the year was wonderful and happy, but it wasn’t. I was not in a great mood. Nor was I feeling excited about the fresh start of a brand-new year. Sometime in the middle of binge-watching The British Baking Show and eating up the rest of the good stuff in preparation for the start of a diet the following day, I heard the word simple, with a gentle thought that this was my word.

The previous day’s baking show fare had included the introduction of a Danish word, enkeldt, which has no exact word translation into English but means “beautiful through simplicity,” and that had gotten my attention, but I didn’t get the nudge for another day. Then, as always happens, the word nearly lifts off the page every time I see it or turns my head when I hear it spoken. That’s how I know.

But the story gets a little more interesting. A day or so later Mom stops by to talk, and I happen to mention I got my word. She says that, yes, she finally did, too. So I tell her it’s simple, and she gets a strange look on her face and covers her mouth in astonishment. “Why, did you get ‘simple,’ too?” I ask.

“Simplify,” she says.

And we’re still trying to figure that one out. We both lead pretty simple lives already. We don’t have to go out into the workforce–well, she’ll go back to part-time transplanting at the greenhouses in February, and I work on editing projects. But we don’t have scheduled days, for the most part. We don’t have elaborate wardrobes or dozens of pairs of shoes. We both routinely declutter to get rid of excess stuff. We’ve farmed most of our lives, caring for livestock and growing garden. I’d venture to say neither one of us has ever gotten a “mani” or a “pedi”–well, I know I haven’t, and I’d be willing to bet she hasn’t. Simple is the way we live our lives.

Simple has also been a theme of this blog, and I’ve often thought about offering a course. (Maybe in 2020?)

Since finding my word this year (or, rather, my word finding me), I’ve done some poking around. Reading about how others apply simple to their lives, I seem to keep circling back around to decluttering–whether it be a schedule or a basement–and slowing down. One lady talked about how a counselor had given her family the assignment that when one person talked, they had to look him or her in the eye. I found that interesting.

So I’ve decided to become a student of all things simple. Getting back to basics. Tossing away unwanted items. Unsubscribing to some of the clutter taking up space in my inbox. And my attitude has trotted right alongside. For January, I’m taking time to stop and listen. When I brought my goals to my critique group, admittedly, part of me wanted to have a paper full of new and shiny exciting things. Instead, my list was very boiled down. (More on that soon.)

So I’ll be keeping you posted from time to time, letting you know how this simple journey is going.

Curious, but did anybody get vision for their word of the year? You know, 2020. . . Wouldn’t that be a kick!

Do you have a word for the year? Share it in the comments.

Resources and related posts:

One Word That Will Change Your Life, Expanded Edition, by Jon Gordon, Jimmy Page, and Dan Britton

Taking Inventory 2019

When Your New Year Didn’t Go as Planned

25 Ways to Be Good to Yourself

Post from a year ago:

My Word for 2019

My Goals for 2019

From two years ago: 

My Word for 2018

Making Goals for the New Year