Word of the Year: Delighted

You know how garden organizations pick a “Flower of the Year” and interior designers choose a “Color of the Year”?  Well this year, I’ve selected a Word of the Year:  Delighted.

As the calendar turns over into 2026, I’m reflecting on things that went my way and issues I had last year that caused either delay or distress. I probably had more of these episodes than I would have liked, but this year, I’ve resolved to further design my life in such a way that is in alignment with our Wellthology framework.  

Did you know we all have the power to disrupt how we feel if what we’re handed is not good?  Easier said than done, though, right?

What we think and speak creates our world. It’s just true. And what and with whom we surround ourselves plays into that as well. We have the power to choose all these things.

“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.  Proverbs 23:7

If how we’re spending most of our time is only causing grief and stress in our lives, we have the power to change it, but we need to know how.   There are tools we have to make incremental but continual changes that over time will help us become the future super-hero we’ve always wanted to be.  

We can become a new and improved version of ourselves.  Someone who is resilient and who bounces back in the face of adversity.  Someone we like all the time.  And just by the way…  when we like ourselves, other people tend to like us too.

Here’s a tip from the Wellthology Collective & Journal that may help with this:   When you catch yourself in a negative thought about someone or something, the first thing to do is assess that thought.  How does it make you feel?  Lousy?  Probably.  

You’ll want to ask yourself “Of all the thoughts I could be having right now, is this really the thought I want to be having?  Is it serving me, stressing me out even more just thinking about it, and/or draining me of energy?”

And after answering that question, you can replace that thought with something that makes you “Delighted”.  

By stopping the thought that isn’t serving you in its tracks you can replace it with a thought that builds you up, encourages you, and helps you to create a new reality in that moment and in the future.  

You are the architect of your life.

Is there something negative you ponder, or camp out on, on a regular basis?  Start there.  Because those thoughts are the easiest ones to recognize.  Every time it pops back into your brain, intercept it and immediately create thoughts of sunshine, gardens, decadent desserts and happy connections with friends.  By doing this, you’re re-wiring your brain for a new and happier inner landscape.  A new network that will stay with you and keep building every time you deliberately switch things around to the lighter side of life.  

In our crazy and busy world, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to do this.

And if the subject of that toxic thought is a person, swiftly forgive.  By forgiving, it releases you from the discomfort of their behavior and puts you back in charge of yourself.  It doesn’t, however, excuse their behavior, so boundaries and caution with that person may be necessary for future interactions.  Even if you were made a target by this person, forgive.  Seventy times seven is what Jesus says about how many times we are to forgive someone (which basically means, as many times as we have to).

So for this year, let’s pursue delight.  Let’s replace the old, stale thoughts with things that are lovely, good, pure, true, and honest.  And be grateful for the progress we make every time we rewire our brains for good things.  That’s the pattern we want to get stuck in. 

Delighted.  It’s going to be a great year.

xoxo

P.S.  For those of you who were wondering, Flower Magazine just released their Flower of the Year – see it here.  Flower Magazine 2026 Flower of the Year.  And the Pantone Color of the Year is called “Cloud Dancer” (which is basically white – it looks like something you’d put on the walls in your house) – lol!  See their selection here:  Cloud Dancer