Keeping it Real

What's your word?

WRITTEN BY BLAIR FJESETH

For so many years, I struggled with New Year’s resolutions. We would set them as a family and quickly fail, falling into old ways.

Things changed when I met a wonderful woman, a parent of four, who told me she picked one word each year to incorporate into her daily life. This was her way of setting one intention for the year that was always at the front of her mind. I liked the idea; it seemed more simplistic and achievable in the long term.

My first attempt at an intention word was “organize,” and I have to say it changed my life. I organized things like the house, my iPhone folders and my calendar for better productivity, but I also organized my mind, priorities and, therefore, my life. This new approach was simple yet achievable and had a more significant impact than vowing to go to the gym three days a week.

As we head into 2024, I am torn between two intention word choices: “boundaries” and “resourcefulness.”

But what fun is a journey if you are going it alone? I posed this challenge to my children and, while they are a bit young, we spent an evening discussing setting intentions and the meaning of words. I pulled up the thesaurus on my phone to help find words they might like. I shared how “organize” changed me and announced my new word for 2024: “tenacity,” which was not originally on my list, but after reading more about power words, it felt like a good choice for what I know is coming in 2024.

My 5-year-old shouted “No!” when I asked her first what her word might be. No surprise there. She can be as salty as the sea. I proposed the word “learn” to her as she was learning new things every day and would be going to kindergarten in 2024.

She all but shouted, “NO!”

When I pivoted my attention to my eldest child, my eyes pleading for him to help me out here, he looked at me and said, “I’ll do it if you give me three words.”

With a huff, I shrugged and said, “Fine, whatever you want,” feeling defeated and preparing for what I thought would be some potty word or joke.

Then I heard him say, “Be on top.”

Asking him what he meant and how he planned to live by this phrase, he talked about wanting to be the best at everything: school, sports, being a brother and good son. We discussed how to achieve this goal: reading more, practicing more and being more helpful at home. He said he was up for the challenge and, after all, he is my oldest and a hyper-competitive kid.

I will chalk that up to a win.

My 8-year-old was about to wiggle out of his seat, exclaiming, “I’ve got mine, I’ve got mine.”

On his turn, he chose the word “fun.” I thought he was joking, but then he spoke about wanting to be less serious about the small stuff and incorporate fun into everything he does. He has always been my worrywart, so the thoughtfulness behind his word choice was really moving.

My 5-year-old, who finally came around to the idea, sat in contemplation and then declared her word would be “earth,” which is not surprising as our entire world revolves around her. She reasoned that she loves the earth and wants to care for it. This was no doubt influenced by the Earth Awareness week they just had at pre-k.

Our words: Fun, Be on Top, Earth, and Tenacity.

Our mission is to integrate these notions into our everyday life and make proactive changes to our day-to-day.

I plan to print and post the words strategically throughout the house and in school notebooks as a constant reminder of our 2024 intentions.

I will check back in on the progress and see if, for the first time, we as a family can stick to our New Year’s goals.

I would love to hear your New Year’s resolutions, traditions or intention words at info@mtparent. com.

Blair Fjeseth is a working professional and proud Montana mom. You can reach her at blairparker.inc@gmail.com. Follow her Instagram @ blair_mt for more adventures.