Word of the Year

Word of The Year

My word of the year is Pro. As in Professional.

As in Turning Pro, from the Steven Pressfield book of the same name. 

Pressfield says there are amateurs and there are pros. Amateurs work when they feel like it. Pros work even when they don’t feel like it.

Pressfield also has this great quote:

“Amateurs tweet. Pros work.”

Love that. I want to turn pro this year.

I also went with Pro because I want to learn some hard things this year, and the only way I will be able to learn them is if I carve out time, put my head down, reduce distractions, and commit to deep work.

I also like how pro is the beginning of the word process. 

Because that’s spiritually where I want to live. Whether it’s writing, reading, cooking, walking, etc. I want to be present and in the process. I don’t want be so concerned with outcomes.

Which is basically doing the “yoga” of an activity.

Pro also means “yes.”

I’m a “yes” person by default, but this year I want to be consciously aware of the kinds of things I say Yes to, and learn to be more discriminating.

The “21 for 21 List”

In addition to a word of the year, I also have a list of “21 things I Want To Do In 2021”. 

(This is a Gretchen Rubin thing.) 

As I continue these posts going forward, I’ll be writing about the things on that list, but I want to mention here the thing at the top of it: Blog Weekly. 

I’ve failed on this field before, so there is a lot of trepidation. But I need a win this year, so here goes. 

Color of the Year

I also picked a color this year. 

I became smitten with the two Pantone colors this year: a bright, joyous yellow called “Illuminating,” and a light gray they’re calling “Ultimate Gray.”

The gray is the tunnel of the pandemic.

The yellow is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Illuminating is my color for 2021.

The Chakra of the Year

After I picked yellow, I realized yellow is also the color of the fourth chakra: Manipura. 

I always think of Manipura as the The Rosie the Riveter, or the I-Can-Do-It chakra. It’s the place in my psyche where I develop the most bottlenecks and clogs. It’s right at the solar plexus too, that spot where if someone punched you there, they’d knock the air right out of you.

 When Manipura is weak, I procrastinate endlessly.

When it’s strong, I get after it. 

It’s also the chakra of  “shipping.” In the parlance of Seth Godin, shipping means sending your work out into the world.

That gives me even more incentive to focus there.

The Font of the Year

In addition to a word and a color and a chakra and a “21 For 21” List, I’ve also added a font this year. 

This year’s font is Lora. Since I use this font so much already, I went scrolling through fonts.google.com looking for something new, something fresh, maybe a bit edgy, maybe even *gasp* sans serif!

 But after an exhausting hunt, I just couldn’t find anything that fit my mood and vision better than Lora. 

Here’s the description of it:

Lora is a well-balanced contemporary serif with roots in calligraphy.

A paragraph set in Lora will make a memorable appearance because of its brushed curves in contrast with driving serifs. The overall typographic voice of Lora perfectly conveys the mood of a modern-day story, or an art essay.

Ah…perfect. And I love that expression “typographic voice.” 

So, tell me. Do you pick a word or mantra of the year to act as your North Star?

If you do, I’d love to know what it is! Let me know in the comments.

(btw: G’s word is Navigate. Emily’s is Growth.)

What’s yours?