I almost chose “navel gazing” as my word of the year in 2025.

na·vel-gaz·ing
/ˈnāvəl ɡāziNG/
noun
self-indulgent or excessive contemplation of oneself or a single issue, at the expense of a wider view.
“he lapsed into his customary navel-gazing”
adjective
engaging in or characterized by self-indulgent or excessive contemplation of oneself or a single issue, at the expense of a wider view.
“navel-gazing New Age types”

See Merriam Webster

It’s derogatory and I meant it as a cheeky, self-deprecating commentary on what I wanted to do. I have a strictly milliennial and completely approach to recording myself and my thoughts. I don’t capture B-roll of myself crying in case I need to share my thoughts later and I certainly don’t outline a post if I don’t have a clear goal for the content. So, capturing a little bit more of what I’m up to seemed like a good word of the year. But, it didn’t completely capture my intent.

What is a word of the year?

Many people choose a word of the year to give them focus. It’s a substitute for new years resolutions while also recalibrating. I don’t do it every year but, I’ve enjoyed it a few times in the past. I know one year I chose “focus” — alluding to “do less with more focus”. Most of the time, I write out an actually list for the year of goals or projects and stick to that.

But, this year feels less like a “list” year to me. I have 2 big, fun bucket list items I want to do. But, everything else is going to be freestyle. (or the closest thing to freestyle to me).

Why did I pick My Word of the Year?

I chose “drafts” as my word of the year because I wanted to create more of them. It implies starting a lot of things and doesn’t require finishing them. Which feels very freeing to me at this stage in my career.

draft

noun

ˈdraft  ˈdräft 
5

a

: delineation, representation

a draft for a future skyscraper

b

: scheme, design

c

: a preliminary sketch, outline, or version

the author’s first draft

a draft treaty
My time feels precious and valuable. Creating drafts, especially without a purpose or intent for those drafts, is playful, expressive, and fresh. I likely will only follow through on a few of them. But, some really great ideas will be lurking among the drafts. And that’s the whole point.

Some Word of the Year declarations, I liked:

 

 

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