With the arrival of each new year, I like to choose a word or phrase to focus on to help guide me as I think about what I want to accomplish in the months ahead. When I reflect on where I was at this time last year — filled with unknowns and uncertainties about my future — I realize that the words I chose provided incredible guidance for my future.

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In 2020, I chose “believe,” “show me” and later added “positive change” as my guiding words. These words were intended to spur me on to believe: to believe in myself, in things working out for the best and in things happening as they are meant to happen. And while I could have never predicted what 2020 would bring to us all, my words provided invaluable guidance as I navigated the year, allowing me to be receptive to change.

This past year, I’ve experienced tremendous loss, but I’ve also had great personal and professional happiness bestowed upon me. Over these past 12 months, I published my first book, I got engaged and married, and have taken a new job. I credit my words of the year for so much of the growth I’ve been able to achieve over the past year and am grateful for how they led me to embrace positive change and find a way to make meaningful contributions to those around me.

Though 2020 has left so many of us with great trepidation about the future, , I’ve decided to make “thrive” my word for 2021. I’ve chosen this word because it embodies how I want to feel this upcoming year. I want to give myself permission to feel excited about the future and I want it to serve as a reminder that no matter where I’m planted, I’ll find a way to bloom.

So, while 2020 has been about surviving, I hope you’ll join me in making 2021 about thriving!

What will your word of the year for 2021 be? I’d love to know! I’m Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook.