My Word And 22 for 2022

I gave up New Year’s Resolutions quite a few years ago. It was getting pointless to spend time and energy making them only to have fallen off the new year’s resolution wagon by the end of February (and that’s being generous 🤣).

Instead, I switched to picking a word for the year. Except there were always like three words that ‘called’ to me each year so I was a rebel and stuck with those words each year, instead of settling on just one.

Ask me what my words for 2021 were…

I couldn’t tell you. I don’t remember. So you can clearly see that choosing them and setting those as intentions for the year worked real great 🤪

But I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet on choosing a word(s) of the year! I went through this word-of-the-year discovery tool kit and one other one but I can’t link to it because it was offered in an email with a link directly to the document so I can’t share that.

After working through the tools, I came up with my words because of course there couldn’t be just one 😉

Word of the year for 2022

• Wellness
• Abundance

There was one other word calling to me – sparkle – but I’m pretty sure that was one of my words from another year so I’m leaving that one behind which is hard because I LOOOOOVE that word but it’s kinda hard to make that a theme for the year… I mean, what exactly does sparkle mean?! But I digress…

My main priority in 2022 is taking back my health (there’s a story in here but that’s for another day) and working on whole-body wellness (physical, mental and spiritual). I have a free consultation with a local naturopathic doctor on January 3rd. I’m nervous but have been researching alternative medicine/supplements for 2 years now – it’s time to do it; at least have the free consult appointment and get all my questions answered and then go from there.

The word abundance pertains to a lot of different things for me – financial, relationships, love, joy, gratitude, spiritual and just living an abundant life (and wellness definitely falls into this realm).

My 22 for 2022

I’m picking 22 things I want to do in 2022. I got the idea from a Moment of Happiness email from Gretchen Rubin where she introduced the idea of choosing twenty-two things you’d like to do before the end of the year. She said “these items can be easy or ambitious, one-time undertakings or habits that stretch for years. There’s no one right way to make your list—just think about what you want the new year to hold.”

And I’m putting my own spin on things. So my list has 22 things but there are several things that I’ve listed as one of my main 22 items for 2022, but I’ve actually set the goal to make that main item done 22 times. So technically my list is way more than 22 for 2022 but I’m all about not following the “rules” and doing my own thing 😉

22 things I want to do before the end of the new year in no particular order:

1. Whale watch on the Oregon coast – I’ve been here in the PNW for a little over three years now, and twice a year there’s a few places you can go to the coast to watch the wales migrate and each year I say I’m going to do it… and I don’t!
2. Oregon Coast Train Ride – I’m specifically interested in the Fall Splendor Excursion ride.
3. Attend Camp Yes – this is like summer camp except it’s for adults (and it’s so much more – seriously, click the link and read all about it!) and it’s kick-ass from everything I’ve heard about it. I met the organizer, Marli Williams, at an event a few years ago that she was MC for and I’ve been stalking, err following 😉  her online ever since – I was immediately drawn to her fun personality and energy! (Side note: this event takes place in September, it’s a nice chunk of change and my ‘excuse’ for not attending in the past, and September is also my sister’s wedding so I have to go to Michigan for that… which means I already see ‘challenges’ as to why yet again I can’t go but I’m putting the intention out there that this is a YES this year – somehow, someway!)
4. Get a rough draft of my book done – (Speaking of books, I am a co-author in Get Past Your Sh*t).
5. Float down the river (on tubes) – We say, every summer when we see others doing it, how fun it looks and we should do it. I’m tired of talking about it, it’s time to do it!
6. Go camping – again, another thing we keep talking about but haven’t done and I’m tired of talking and ready to just do it!
7. Create a signature body-positive course – not sure what this will entail but I want something out there to help other women learn to love their imperfect selves just the way they are.
8. Cultivate relationships with my community – I want more connection with my community and a safe place for us to meet but I’m not a hell yes to Facebook Groups so not sure what this means (platform wise).
9. Dance in the rain. 
10. Etsy store – I want to add 22 items (I mean why not make it 22 for 2022?! lol) to my very limited items currently there.
11. Livestream – I shy away from video because it makes me nervous (but I can be in front of the camera no problem – self-proclaimed selfie queen right here and I am not embarrassed to admit it 🤣 ). I know the importance of video (livestream) so I’m pushing myself to make this a regular part of my content marketing. To publicly hold myself accountable, I’m going to say I’m shooting for at least 22 livestreams (I mean, again why not do 22 for 2022?)! More than likely that will be on my Facebook Page.
12. Bungee Workout – I have been drooling over peeps on social media sharing how fun these workouts are and I am itching to find a place to give it a try! (Note: unlike in the past I do NOT exercise with the goal of losing weight. I find ways to move my body that are fun because I like to move my body – it’s different now than in the past when I was stuck in the revolving door of diet culture, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, etc.)
13. Drift Creek Falls – This is a 240-foot long suspension bridge crossing Drift Creek (100 feet above the creek). It’s time to face the fear and do it, after all, it’s been on my list for 3 years now!
14. Walk a 5k (3.1 miles) – I completed one 5k in 2021 and while it took me a while and several rests along the way, I loved how I felt completing it. This year, in alignment with my theme of wellness my goal is to do many more 5ks… and I bet you know what I mean by many 😉 yep 22! My goal is to walk 22 5k’s in 2022! (This is definitely going to be a challenge for me! This goal scares me but excites me! And the boyfriend is on board which makes this even more fun!)
15. Visit Rhododendron Garden – a unique 9.5-acre garden containing an outstanding collection of rare species and hybrid rhododendrons, azaleas, and other lesser-known ericaceous plants, as well as many companion plants and unusual trees. And there’s a spring-fed lake surrounding the gardens too.
16. Completely Unplug – I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a day where I wasn’t on my phone, my desktop or my laptop. I’m literally connected 24/7! I want to be intentional about taking some unplugged downtime in the new year. How often? I don’t know that yet – once a month is what is bubbling up for me right now so I may lean in and explore that.
17. RAOK – Random Acts Of Kindness. You guessed it… 22 of them 😉
18. Try a new food. 
19. Build a blanket fort – because I miss these from when I was a kid!
20. Haircut – I haven’t had my hair cut since 2019! Not even trimmed. It’s long. It’s heavy and causes frequent headaches from the heavy ponytail I wear just about every day. It’s a pain in the ass taking care of. It’s time to chop some of it off.
21. Stuntin’ Selfie Studio – As mentioned in #11 above this self-proclaimed selfie queen has yet to visit this local selfie studio. I mean this is right up my alley – they have a bunch of different selfie stations (guess that’s what you call it) with these fun backdrops you get to use and with their dressing rooms, you can even do outfit changes! OMG I’m excited for this one!
22. Pay down my tax debt significantly – this has been a huge source of stress for several years; at times not even not being able to sleep because of the stress of this hanging over my head. I’ve been self-employed since 2006 and the one “downfall” is taxes and being up to date with them! When I say I want to pay it down significantly, a number comes to mind but it scares me to put it out there publicly because I see no humanly possible way to make this happen… oh what the hell, I’m putting it out there… $20,000!!! (And you can probably guess by that number, I don’t owe a small amount of back taxes – it makes me throw up in my mouth a little just thinking about it but it is what it is.) 🤮

There you have it – my fun, adventurous, and even a few overly ambitious but doable (somehow, someway) 22 for 2022.

Your Turn

Leave a comment and let me know if you’ve picked a word for the year (and what it is) and what you’re looking forward to in the new year!