From Shine to Flourish to Rooted: The Quiet Arc of Becoming
I’ve chosen a word of the year for several years now. Not as a resolution, but as a way of listening more closely to what life is asking of me.
When I look back, I can see that these words weren’t random. They formed an arc. One that mirrors healing, growth, and ultimately, belonging.
2024: Shine
In 2024, my word was Shine.
At the time, I was emerging from burnout. Soul sucking burnout. You know the kind. The kind that dulls your edges slowly and convinces you that being smaller is safer.
Choosing to shine was not about ambition or visibility for visibility’s sake. It was about permission. GIving myself permission.
Permission to:
- stop dimming myself for the comfort of others
- reclaim my voice, intuition, and creativity
- remember that my light, my shine, was not something to manage or apologize for
Shine was an act of self-reclamation.
It was the work of turning my light up from a flicker to a flame.
2025: Flourish
In 2025, my word became Flourish.
This was the year I tested what I had reclaimed. Could I grow? Not just when conditions were supportive, but when they were uncertain?
When I chose this word I had no idea what uncertainty and chaos was in store for me later in the year.
The year included a layoff. Oof. This was tough.
But, the year also included meaningful success, deep learning, and authoring a chapter in a best-selling book.
Flourish didn’t mean everything was easy. It meant I trusted my capacity to grow anyway.
Flourish taught me:
- that resilience doesn’t require being tough or hard
- that success and disruption can coexist
- that growth is possible even in imperfect soil
It was the year I learned I could thrive in motion.
2026: Rooted
Now, as I enter 2026, my word is Rooted.
Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s phrase, “rooted in the soil of my own being,” this word feels like a return inward. Back home.
After shining.
After flourishing.
After proving to myself what I can do.
Rooted asks a different question:
Can I belong fully to myself, right where I am?
Rooted is about:
- mindfulness and presence
- self-acceptance without performance
- living in the present moment
It’s about standing on ground that doesn’t shift with achievement or external validation.
The Arc
When I look at these three words together, I see the movement clearly:
- Shine — reclaiming visibility and self-expression
- Flourish — trusting growth and capacity under pressure
- Rooted — inhabiting wholeness and inner belonging
This is the arc from recovery → confidence → home.
Rooted is not a retreat from ambition or impact. It is what makes them sustainable. It is what allows action to arise from clarity rather than urgency. It is leadership that comes from presence rather than proving.
In 2026, I am choosing to live rooted:
- in my body
- in my values
- in my relationships
- in this moment
And trusting that from deep roots, the right growth will emerge. Naturally.