At the beginning of each year, our Change Matrix staff selects a word that embodies how we plan to approach the next 12 months. These words not only set our intentions but also help guide how we approach our work and personal lives. What’s your word for 2024?
Alina | Aloha: I love the dual meaning of goodbye and hello mixed in there with love and peace. As of this week, it is the last year of my twenties, so I’m saying goodbye to that decade but with lots of love and peace. I did good there, but a lot is coming in my new year, so I’m going with it.
Brandy | Peace and Harmony
Cachet | Grace: I’m still learning and may not do everything exactly how I intend to so I want to give myself grace. I want to give others grace because they’re also still learning life.
Chyenne | Celebrate: I want to celebrate not just the big events like holidays and birthdays but all the small moments because life is made of all those small moments and time is fleeting. So, why reserve celebration for just a few times a year?
Cindy | Joy: I want to acknowledge joy, unlike the past few years when I have just been dragging along trying to get to the next thing without recognizing all those small times in life when joy really happens. Cultivating joy, recognizing joy, and trying to enjoy the moment when it is there that’s my goal for the year.
Evelyn | Order: I feel like it’s a season of order, spiritually. That means getting order within my family and my mental health.
Ghia | Flourish: It gives an image of growth. I think about beautiful greenery, prosperity, and all things good.
Jen | Kintsugi: It is a Japanese word that came to me before I broke a bone while facilitating a workshop about being non-judgemental about your art making. The literal meaning of kintsugi is golden joinery, a practice of repairing broken pottery with metals like gold, silver, or platinum. It treats the repair as something of reverence and not something to be disguised. Now that I have broken my leg, I thought it was fitting, and I’m looking at broken versus unbroken and thoughts around strength.
Jenny | Mystical: It is for embracing innovation and creativity.
Lauren | Hygge: It is a Danish word that refers to making yourself cozy for the winter and doing nourishing things. I will do that this winter and take it into the whole year by just doing what serves me best, finding the balance of joy, doing things that need to get done as an adult, and feeling content.
Liz | Hope: 2023 was not an easy year for many reasons. Right now, I am feeling so aware that 2024 is big for us at CM, big for us in this country, and big for the world. There are so many things to be nervous about, and a critical election is coming. I could choose to succumb to fear and despair, or I can choose to approach 2024 with hope. I hope for peace. I hope for healing. I also hope for joy, innovation, love, and learning. Hope is a big word and just what I need right now.
London | Joy: It’s something I’m missing and need more of, so my goal is to spark more joy in my life, especially at home.
Manny | Growth: Joining Change Matrix is new to me, so I want to continue growing professionally. I recently moved, and there are many exciting new opportunities here, as well as many hobbies I want to develop.
Nancy | Create: I’m feeling more grounded, and I want to create more opportunities to do things, be creative, and tap into my creative outlets that have been on hiatus. I also want to create more opportunities to spend quality time with the people I love and who bring me joy. I want to create many opportunities and things to enjoy my life in the moment and this year.
Neda | Intentional: I want to be intentional about the people I let into my life and the people I pour energy over, and I want to make sure they’re the people who give the same back to me.
Rachele | Connect: I want to intentionally connect with my family members, old friends, and people I haven’t been in touch with for a long time. It will be an opportunity to reminisce about relationships and bring some of those relationships into the present.
Ryza | Perseverance: I’m transparent about my mental health struggles. Last year was brought for my family and me so this year I want to keep pushing myself. Even though stuff happens, that’s okay, and I’m still here.
Sandra | Release: I feel that I have some beliefs and expectations that are not serving me, and I need to let them go.
Shelby | Now: It’s for taking care of the little things now, taking care of myself now, and getting rid of the overwhelm. It’s for doing things in the moment as needed.
