Word Of The Year – 2023 edition! #WOTY Strength #JusJoJan

01 Jan 2023 44 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: , , , , , ,

Another new year has arrived.

Hello, 2023. And wishing you all a Happy New Year, too!

I keep it a teeny bit subdued, as everything I get excited about something at the start, things have a tendency to nosedive…

There have been tremendous highs, like my publishing contract and the rerelease of Marriage Unarranged, and the positive outcome of the OFSTED inspection at school, but there have been horrendous lows, too. We’ve lost loved ones, and handled some more personal issues that I pray no one else ever has to handle, themselves…

And, as you are aware, I have chosen a word to accompany that year over the last few years, as I haven’t set resolutions..

  • 2019 – it was SELF. And I am happy to say I have been pretty good at keeping that self-care up since then, too!
  • 2020 – BELIEVE. Well, let’s all agree that 2020 was a kinda unbelievable year, all in all, with the pandemic and BLM… However, I did believe. And my beliefs meant that 2020 was the year I finally became a published author!
  • 2021 – I chose the word HOPE. I think we all needed hope to pull us through what I found to be a tougher year than 2020 in many ways. I travelled through it, exhausted and worried about everyone and everything around me. But I did keep that hope alive, within.
  • 2022 – my choice was CREATE. I’d like to think that I managed a bit of all that I had hoped to achieve!

So, last year I centred my Word Of The Year aspirations on these four things.

  • Create harmony in my household (with two teens, that will be a challenge!)

Now, that has been quite a biggie. I’ll be the first to admit that this hasn’t been easy, but it has taken a whole load of communication and understanding, education and listening, I think we have got there, just about. I can’t be specific here, but we have had a HELL of a year in some respects, and it has been tough trying to stay upbeat, all the time, but I feel like we are leaving 2022 with a fresh, better understanding of how to handle certain situations, and I’d like to think 2023 will echo that and continue on an upwards trajectory.

  • Create new dishes in my kitchen ( I just want to get cooking again!)

I may have started this one a little later in the year, but I am happy to say that I have got my cooking mojo back over the last couple of months. I have perfected old recipes and am trying out new ones, learning how to adapt recipes to suit the palates in this household, because goodness knows, there are a whole load of different preferences and tastes floating a

  • Create new traditions in our new house (New house, new traditions!)

We now have our own ways to celebrate special days that involve us and our household, i instead of always rushing off to the rest of the family. That is not to say that we don’t do that. It is as much of an important part of our special times as before, but we now make sure we do things in our own home, too.

  • Create new adventures for others to read (That’s the biggie!)

Well, I definitely achieved that one! Book two Straight As A Jalebi is with the publisher, already, and is due for a release in 2023!

So, which word do I add to my list for 2023?

I thought long and hard and came up with this:

Strength

  • Build my strength up physically, as I know that will help me as I enter that middle-aged time of life.
  • Have the strength to face all the ups and downs that will come because that is life.
  • Be strong for my family and have the strength to fight for what is right for them, not the rest of the world.
  • Build my community around me, be it my physical friends and family or my online ones, as there is strength in numbers.
  • Ensure I keep the strength in myself so that I never lose myself under the demands of my life.

And with this post, off I go to start that new year, filled with Self, Belief, Hope, creation and STRENGTH!

This post is also part of #JusJoJan

44 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. Innerdialects
    Jan 02, 2024 @ 07:01:57

    Love love love this Word, ’23_♥️ “Strength”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. niasunset
    Jan 09, 2023 @ 19:25:50

    Happy New Year dear Ritu, Thank you, Love, nia

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. You Can Always Start Now
    Jan 05, 2023 @ 16:32:17

    After thinking and questioning what I wanted to focus on. Challenges and projects I ended up with strong for my word of the year. As figure to accomplish some of it I will have to be.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more
    Jan 02, 2023 @ 16:02:52

    A Happy New Year to you and yours as well, Sis! I hope the new year will fullfill all your wishes, and bringing us new entertainment offered by you, and oracle Sonu! 😉 xx Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Jennie
    Jan 02, 2023 @ 15:13:41

    Oh, I like that word, Ritu! Strength is perfect. Mine is Hope.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Book Club Mom
    Jan 02, 2023 @ 01:15:04

    It’s a great word,although I think you’re already a strong woman! Happy New Year, Ritu!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Image Earth Travel
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 23:35:41

    What a list! Happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. willowdot21
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 20:29:24

    Well done Sis I know you can do all of this 💜💜💜💜

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. cindy knoke
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 18:22:15

    Happy New Year Ritu! 3️⃣1️⃣🕛1️⃣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Rae Longest
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 17:46:53

    GREAT CHOICE, HON. My word for 2022 was gratitude, and I have been taught to be grateful even for the bad things, big and small. 2023’s word is hospitality. II hope I can stay healthy and strong enough to offer it both at my home and at Rae’s Reads, my book hub.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. scr4pl80
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 16:26:07

    Happy New Year, Ritu. Strength is a very good word. I have also used Believe and Create in the past. This year I am choosing Delight. Hopefully our words serve us well!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Colleen M. Chesebro
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 16:00:45

    This is such an uplifting word: strength! And if anyone has it, you do, Sis. Here’s to another year of writing, poetry, and health. Write ON! 🥳

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Darlene
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 14:38:37

    Strenghth is a very good word. We all have more of it then we realize. Writing it down and announcing it, will only make it stronger. xo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Trackback: Word Of The Year – 2023 edition! #WOTY Strength #JusJoJan – New2Writing

  15. Keith
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 13:19:14

    Best wishes Ritu. Thanks for sharing your “words” of wisdom. Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. pensitivity101
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 13:11:20

    Happy New Year Ritu.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. beth
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 12:17:05

    what a great word to choose, so inspirational

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. Destiny
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 10:03:43

    Inspiring and encouraging… Lovely Ritu 🤍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. vermavkv
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 10:00:49

    Happy new year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Carol anne
    Jan 01, 2023 @ 09:30:51

    thats a great word for 2023 Ritu! xo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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