1.10.23 // Word of the Year: SURRENDER

SURRENDER.
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Starting in 2015, @nick_kleiner and I have picked a "word of the year" towards the end of each December.
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It started on a snowy morning in Washington, D.C., with both of us huddled over our coffees wondering what the next year would bring, and discussing the restrictive nature of "new years resolutions".
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On that morning, we decided to choose words instead of resolutions because we didn't want rigid goals, we didn't want numbers, and we didn't want to create unhealthy expectations in the coming months.
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The rules: the word could be anything, but it stays throughout the year. It could be inspirational, grounding, or motivational, it could be a noun, a verb, or an adjective. There were no limits...
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2016 was the year of courage.
2017 there wasn't a word.
2018 was the year of truth.
2019 was the year of growth.
2020 was the year of freedom.
2021 was the year of trust.
2022 was the year of bold.
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And 2023?
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2023 is the year of SURRENDER.
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The irony of picking this word is not lost on me. Even more so, I picked this word in late October before I knew how 2022 would end and how 2023 would start. This was the first time Nick and I had picked words that early, but the timing I believe happened for a reason.
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BOLD was about pushing into unknowns and stepping into situations I historically would have feared. And in 2022 I was bold. Although, in retrospect, I wonder if I was too bold, too brash, and too blinded by the motivation to experience boldness to see truth...
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​SURRENDER is about letting go of assumptions, "shoulds", and hidden expectations, and it is about feeling passionately, trusting the flow, responding not reacting, and intuiting deeply.
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​SURRENDER is letting go in the river of life instead of clinging to "safe heaven boulders" or trying to swim to the side. It is about letting life unfold and welcoming each new rapid with love and trust and embracing calm waters with quiet admiration and appreciation.
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SURRENDER is about opening my tightly-gripped-closed-fist, and accepting with honor what is meant for me.
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2023, I think I'm finally ready for you, I'm ready to SURRENDER.