At the end of every year, I sit with myself, a messy stack of notes from the past years’ works and things I wanted to remember and then I quietly ask what I want my next year to look like. Not in a dramatic reinvention way. It’s more subtle and steady, in a way that nudges my life forward for the next year. As I said in a past blog I don’t make resolutions. I set intentions. Long story short it’s just a way that I chose to not set myself up for failure and encourage myself to do and be better. Another thing I do is pick words to live the next year by. They’re like emotional anchors to return to when life gets too loud and chaotic. This year my words are accomplish, thrive, healthy, and serenity. Here’s what they mean to me.

Accomplish is about honoring the follow through. Diving back into the creative life it could be easy to let it fall into the to do pie that never gets done. Accomplish isn’t about the hustle culture or squeezing productivity out of every hour. It’s about finishing things that matter even when I forget they matter because I’m overwhelmed. It’s about the satisfaction of completing a creative project that really excited me. It’s about sending the email I’ve been avoiding. It’s about choosing progress over perfection and celebrating the tiny wins instead of waiting for the big ones. Accomplish is my reminder that I’m allowed to take up space with my goals and that momentum is built one small intentional action at a time.

Thrive is choosing expansion over survival mode. For far too long I’ve been excellent at just getting through. Thriving is different for me. Thriving asks me to expand, not just endure. Thriving for me means saying yes to opportunities or things that stretch me and my comfortability. It’s about nurturing my creativity like it’s a living thing. Thriving is surrounding myself with people who invest in me and energize me. Thriving is about letting happiness and pure joy be a metric and not an afterthought. Thriving is the version of me that doesn’t apologize for wanting more. I want more color, more connection, more growth, and more play. It’s the part of me that is done hiding.

Health is important to me this year for a multitude of reasons. As I was diagnosed with lupus and lost a kidney and not square in the middle of a flare up, health is going to be about putting me first. It’s about starting the diet I am dreading but hopefully it will make me feel better. It’s about doing all the extra things like cold plunging, cyro, rehabilitation, vitamin infusions, and whatever else is recommended to me. It’s about making the time to take care of me instead of everyone around me. It’s about prioritizing how I feel instead of others. Health is about finding a way to finally take control of it all.

Serenity is all about protecting my inner peace. If accomplish is the spark, thrive is the flame, health is the fuel, and serenity is the hearth. It’s the grounding force that keeps everything from burning too hot. Serenity for me is about choosing peace over urgency. It’s about creating rituals that calm my nervous system. Serenity is letting go of what I can’t control and it’s remembering that rest is not a reward, it’s a requirement. I don’t have to earn stillness. I can simply choose it when my body wants or needs it.

These 4 words balance each other out and in turn with help to balance me out as best as possible. Accomplish will keep me moving. Thrive will keep me growing. Health will keep me functioning and serenity will keep me grounded. Together they will form a creative ecosystem where I can pursue big dreams without abandoning my wellbeing and where I can rest without losing my momentum. This year I don’t really want to become a new version or me but more an aligned version of me. These words are meant to be my compass. 

XOXO,

Savi Monroe