My 2020 Word of the Year – Expansion

Day 5 of 100 days of positive self-talk.
Today’s positive self-talk revolves around my 2020 word of the year: Expansion!
Do you pick a word of the year?
Who in their right mind can pick just one word? I try each year to pick just one but what a challenge for a creative being like me.
I saw someone else use the word expansion with an adjective before it and I thought, oh yes! I need an adjective too. So I added “graceful” because I want this year to be about ease and grace, not overwork, hustle or push and grind.
Then in my friend Elaina Geltner’s Facebook group The Cosmic Tea Room she was talking about the word “blissful” along with one of her beautiful glyphs, pictured below.
And I knew right away that blissful was the adjective I wanted to grab onto!
I also realized that what I wanted wasn’t a word but a theme for the year. Theme feels expansive! Hence my theme for 2020 is Blissful Expansion – arms wide open to give and receive gracefully and generously.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines expansion as the increase of something in size, number, or importance.
I giggled at that because expansion of my “size” is the opposite of what I want to reach physically this year. If you’ve been following my posts, especially Day 4 where I talk about stretching outside my comfort zone, the focus of this 100 day project is on positive self-talk and improving my relationship with myself which will ideally result in a reduction in my physical size – not an expansion.
Why then is the word expansion resonating with me so deeply. It won’t leave me alone and I am seeing and hearing it everywhere. Here’s my brain dump about all the ways I could think of. I’m sure there are more but this is a good start.
Here are all the things I want to expand in 2020.
The touchy-feely cause I am that kinda girl:
- My belief in myself.
- My confidence in my abilities to reach my goals.
- My self-love and self-compassion.
- My love and compassion for others.
- My generosity.
- My gratitude.
- And so much more!
The practical things, cause I’m definitely that girl too:
- My business.
- My income.
- My influence.
- My numbers (followers, subscribers, clients, dollars).
- My planning and daily organizational habits.
- My marketing results.
And there’s the creative, because well, yeah, I’m that girl too:
- My daily creative habit.
- My skill.
- My mastery.
- My visibility.
- My classes.
And finally I want to experience an expansion in my daily joy in simply being alive and present in the moment.
What do you want to experience more of in 2020?
A very warm post, Minette! I feel expanded and blissful reading it. Love your drawings. I’m a very touchy feely person also.
Yay! Thank you Lily!
Your work is inspiring
Thank you Urvashi!
I am enjoying your posts. They are positive and creative. Thanks for sharing and including us on your journey
My word is seek. I want to seek clarity and direction.
Thank you Linda! And I love the word SEEK!
What a unique annual theme you have chosen! How are you going to track progress toward the items you want to expand this year?
That is a fantastic question!! I will work on this and get back to you. Some of it feels easy to track – the business stuff and the skill related stuff but the inner expansion… I will sit with this one.
I like your theme. Last year mine was “Relationship.” This year the word of the year is “Curiosity.”
Curiosity is one of my guiding principles
A few days ago I was asked for my word in 2020 also and it too was ‘expansion’. I was not nearly as articulate about my approach as you are however. I love your breakdown of what it means to you. Thanks for sharing.
Love that we have the same word!
The new trend to pick a word for the year seems less daunting than making a New Year’s resolution.
I also learned recently that if you do not feel like the word you have chosen is right for you anymore, you can change it.
I have chosen “Vision” as my word for 20/20.
It seems appropriate and I will try in on to see how it fits.
Blog on.
Yes, I agree! And vision is a great word, curious what it means to you?
I enjoyed this very much! I also choose Expansion and took some time to do this acrostic:
Exhilarating
Xenodochial
Progressive
Amplifying
Nurturing
Sensual
Intensifying
Opening
Nourishing
I love doing acrostics, what a great idea!! You are the 2nd person who also chose expansion as the word. Going to borrow some of your words.