My Word of the Year & How to Hear From God on Yours

Hey Friend!

Do you want to find your word of the year? Or are you unsure if and why you even need one? Finding your word of the year is so much more than just picking a fancy-sounding word. It provides direction and encouragement for you throughout the year. Today I dive into what a word of the year is, why it’s important, and give you three simple steps to learn how to hear from God as you find and refine your word. Read on to be sure you are leaning into the word God has for you this year.

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Discover How to Hear From God and Find Your Word of the Year in 3 Simple Steps

What is a word of the year, and why is it important? 

So what is a word of the year? If you are new to this concept, in essence, it is a single word that encapsulates what you need to do, what you want to be working on, and what you need to improve on. It also might be a word that showcases the overarching goals you have for the year. It’s your go-to word; it’s like an umbrella for everything you will do this year. 

Secondly, why do we have a word of the year? I believe there are so many benefits to this. It provides an anchor for you, encourages you, and helps you make decisions. Because as I mentioned in the last blog, it’s so easy to get distracted and fall away from what you are meant to be doing – things that actually move the needle in your bank account, joy, or kingdom impact God is asking you to focus on. 

This word helps bring you back to home base. What are you supposed to be doing and why?  This word becomes the banner, so to speak, for your entire year. 

My word of the year and how I found it

Let’s talk about my word of the year for a moment because it will help you find yours. My word of the year for 2023 is, focus. There are so many cool words you can pick; you can even go online and look up word-of-the-year ideas. There are so many you can choose from, like, grow, give, ambition, balance, hustle (I hope none of you pick that one!), health, scale, or fearless. You can pick anything! But, the truth is, your word should not, in my opinion, come from a fancy list just because it sounds good. Instead, it should come from the Lord and what you are truly trying to do in the next 12 months. 

For me, I’m NOT trying to do more. I’m not trying to be in more places. I did that last year, in 2022 and what it did was take a lot of valuable company resources, time, and investment, creating confusion. It created this almost chaotic vibe that I’m not here for. 

I am here for doing less, better. I’m here to eliminate everything not serving this company or my team. I’m here to get rid of extra overhead. I just want to streamline. I could have chosen streamline or simplify, but I chose focus because I am a visionary. I’m somebody who loves to lean into new and exciting ways of growth. I love to take action, and sometimes, I put the cart before the horse. And I am putting a stop to that; I want to focus.

So that word is helping me with the two things I mentioned in the last blog post to double this business to a million dollars in annual revenue. Even though the plan is quite simple, I’ve got to not deviate and focus on what I’m meant to be focusing on as the CEO of growth. 

I don’t have a marketing person in this company at this stage, and I would love a marketing assistant who is incredible at copy and launch planning. But, currently, that is me! So I’ve got to stay focused and zoned in on exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, and that word just leaped out at me. It was planted in my heart. I know it was divine and just for me. And I know that it will keep me grounded during the next 12 months. 

How to hear from God and find your word of the year

So now you know what my word is and how I found it; how do you find your word of the year? Well, I’ve got three steps to make it super simple for you to figure out how to hear from God. Don’t let this process be overwhelming, and don’t freak out if you don’t hear your word immediately. It’s okay! You’re gonna get your word. Don’t rush it; it’s meant to be a fun process to help you lean into what God has for you. 

1. Pray about your word of the year

Firstly, I want you to pray. Ask God into this process and ask for Him to show you the right word. Here is an example prayer you can pray with me. 

Lord, I pray for the one core thing I am supposed to be doing in the next 12 months. Lord, help me eliminate all distractions and get super clear on this one focus you have over my business and or my life. And help me to receive this core word that will help me circle back to this thing that you want me to have my eyes on. 

Lord, I trust in you. I love you. I’m excited to walk this journey with you over the next year. And I just pray for my word of the year to be planted in my heart, to be brought forward to me in scripture, shared with me by a friend, and that revelation to be born of what my word is and what my thing is for the next 12 months. 

In Jesus’ name, amen.

2. Journal 

Secondly, I want you to journal. This is a super easy way to learn how to hear from God. Get out a sheet of paper or however you love to journal. I have a favorite prayer couch in my home, which is my happy place. So I wake up before everyone else, and I sit there and pray, I’m quiet, and I get into scripture. I have so many incredibly divine downloads and experiences with the Lord in my morning time. So I encourage you to find what that might look like in your life. 

I sat down with a sheet of paper and just journaled over the number one thing, my top goal for the next year. And this came from a couple of weeks of work, I went to the CEO retreat, and I got super clear on my business strategy for next year. I worked on all the different buckets in my business with my absolute favorite, Horacio Planner; if you don’t have one yet, please remedy that! You can find out more about the Horacio Dream Planners here. Use code Stef20 at checkout!

I sat down with my planner and wrote down the number one thing I wanted to accomplish or was being called to focus on in each area of my life, business, motherhood, spirituality, health, etc.  And as I wrote down that one thing, I kept asking myself, what is the common denominator here? What is the thread between all these main goals and things I’m meant to be focused on, and how will I get there? 

How to hear from God about what to focus on for the year

The word could have easily been simplify or streamline, but it all came down to focus. I’m focused on these two things that will take this business to the next level. I’m focused in my motherhood on being patiently more present and I’m focusing on a few specific things in my marriage, and I’m focusing on one core thing in my spirituality: having my morning time every single day without fail. In my health, I’m focused on a few core habits, which I will be doing every week. And from that, that word, focus, was born. 

Don’t take my word just because it all sounds nice and you want all that for yourself. No! You have a beautiful, exact puzzle that God’s crafting for your next 12 months, and you have to walk through each puzzle piece to get to the big picture. So you’re journaling over that and asking yourself what’s the one thing that gets me there. 

I’ve had lots of different words over the years, based on different phases in my life and business. I’ve had words ranging from overflow to growth to now focus. They were all very different words, but they depended on where I was in my walk and my season of life.

3. Google the word

Finally, once you’ve pared it down to your theme or common denominator, I want you to google that word. As I said, I also could have chosen simplify, streamline, or less. So you want to look it up on google, in a dictionary, or in a thesaurus and see what other variations of this word might suit you better. 

Once you’ve picked the best variation for you, you are done! And once you’re done, jump over to our Facebook community and let us know what your word of the year is and why you chose it. 

Lastly, if growing your own online business is on your heart for this new year, and you haven’t already checked out my free workshop, Podcast to Growth Workshop, you need to! This workshop teaches you how to grow your online business in less than two hours per week as a Christian woman or Christian entrepreneur. It will be the best 40 minutes of your year!

Finding your word of the year is a great way to define your direction for the new year and lean into where God is taking you. Discovering how to hear from God about this is as simple as praying, journaling, finding the common thread, and then googling it to ensure you’ve got the perfect word. Remember, this process isn’t meant to be hard or stressful. Take your time. It’s meant to be fun and a great way to lean into God’s direction for the next 12 months.

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 554 for the full training on My Word of the Year & How to Hear From God on Yours.

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Before you go, be sure to watch the free workshop!

This free workshop is for you if you want to grow an online business in less time.

It will teach you how to explode your audience without the social media hustle, make consistent sales using a podcast, and plan, record, and launch a podcast with ease!

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