Life Lesson: Word of the Year

I was talking with a friend and colleague of mine recently who told me that she chooses a word each year that represents the growth she hopes to realize over the coming 12 months. Though I’ve learned that this is a common practice with many people, it was the first time I’d heard of it. And I love it!

The idea of giving a gentle focus to our intentions for the year seems like a beautiful way to simultaneously take stock of where we are and define a direction for the future. It’s also a deft way of programming our brains.

The RAS

There’s a part of our brain called the Reticular Activating System (or RAS) whose function is to filter out what’s not important and filter in what is. It’s said that we receive millions of pieces of information every second. If we had to consciously sort through all that information we wouldn’t stand a chance. I know my brain would crash like an overloaded computer. But with the RAS online we’re able to traverse this world in meaningful and effective ways.

You can think of the RAS as being a bit like a radio. There are all sorts of radio signals coming at us from many directions all the time. By tuning it in to the frequency we want, the radio has the ability to sort through all those signals and translate one particular frequency into sound we can use. Likewise, the RAS sorts through all the information being thrown at us and draws our attention only to what is deemed important.

A common example of an experience of this is when you buy a car. Suddenly you start seeing that car everywhere as if the number of those cars has miraculously multiplied. In reality there aren’t more of those cars out there than were there before. But your RAS now sees them as important and consequently filters them in. You become aware of all the opportunities you have to interact with that car.

That’s what choosing a word for the year does. It programs your brain to be on the lookout for all the ways the idea represented by your word can come into your life. Simply the act of choosing that word programs your mind. Every time you reaffirm your choice of that word the programming becomes stronger.

This year I’ve chosen the word “receptive.” I want to become increasingly receptive to all the opportunities the universe presents me with. For me this means reducing my resistance to what is and embracing whatever comes my way.

What’s your word for the year?
Let me know in the comments below.

© 2019, Paul Boehnke