Why sum up everything you’re hoping to accomplish in the next year by using just one word? Based on my own previous experiences, the longer a list of resolutions becomes, the more intimidating it is and the less likely I am to work on it.
We all have our own ways of resetting as a new year begins. In 2013, I had been writing a blog for a year, trying to get traction and reading other like-minded blogs for inspiration. I came across another blogger’s post about a one-word resolution. It seemed simple, easy to remember and most importantly, it seemed doable. I adopted the idea, and it’s become a tradition ever since.
In fact, the entire Endurance Learning team has been offering one word resolutions for the past several years. If you find an ounce of inspiration in here, we’ve done our jobs. If you come up with your own one-word resolution, drop me a line – I’d love to hear what it is!
Here are the Endurance Learning team’s one-word resolutions:
Brian Washburn: Savor
As I mentioned in the introduction, I’ve been doing this for 12 years. Most of the words I’ve chosen include a sort of drive or are related to somehow pushing myself. I’ve dedicated myself to words such as focus, uncomfortable, ruthless, beyond, risk, and execution.
In 2025, I’m choosing the word “savor”. While I will continue to push myself and my colleagues to offer our best for our clients, I want to be sure to take a step back to appreciate what I accomplish, what we accomplish, and not miss the moment because I’m too busy looking ahead to the next moment. With a senior in high school at home for a few more months, my word for this year certainly resonates on a personal level too, as I hope to savor every last moment before my oldest child flies off into the next stage of their life.
Lauren Wescott: Dream
Have you ever heard the song I’ve Got a Dream in Disney’s Tangled movie? The other night while belting out this song with my kids, I said to my husband jokingly, “I used to have dreams”. However, my joke quickly got me thinking that I’m actually at the point in my life where I need some new dreams. It seems that in the past year or so, without really realizing it, I passed from one “phase of life” into another. My kids are now both officially school-aged (3rd grade and 1st grade) and many of the dreams that I previously had for myself and our family were relevant to my earlier years and have already been accomplished. For some reason, I haven’t yet paused and taken the time to figure out what my dreams are for the next phase of life. So, in 2025, I’m choosing the word “dream”. I want this to be a year where I take some time and space to dream up some new dreams for the next 5, 10, and 25 years of my life.
Lindsay Garcia: Engage
My 2024 one-word resolution was “growth” which I fully embraced this year, achieving balance in my personal and professional life. I am coming into 2025 feeling more stable and confident in my various roles and now know it is time for me to press the “engage” button.I plan to focus on my strengths and the areas in which I can improve in my role at Endurance Learning and in my personal life. I want to engage in new ways to be creative and innovative in my career, while being proactive and present within my work team. In my personal life, I will continue to be involved in my daughter’s education and milestones as well as encourage her interests and passions (she’s really into building and constructing new things; future architect or inventor, perhaps?!). I want to engage and connect with my family in new ways, creating traditions and routines to help us thrive in 2025.
Hannah Radant: Re-imagine
My goal is to re-imagine how I approach work and life, exploring new ways to grow, contribute, and thrive. At work, this means finding creative ways to learn, add value to the team, and discover how I can gain value from others to support my own growth. I want to rethink what productivity means—not just checking off tasks, but creating meaningful impact. Given the flexibility of remote work, I also want to re-imagine how I can embrace this freedom to pursue more adventures, take time off, and make the most of both my professional and personal life.
Alexandra Flores: Strength
This year, my one-word resolution is strength. I wish to cultivate resilience against adversity and adaptability in every aspect of my life. I want to approach challenges with a positive mindset, embracing change as an opportunity for growth rather than maybe something to fear. In my professional life, I aim to stay focused and determined, setting clear goals and pursuing them with confidence. In my personal life, I want to nurture meaningful relationships with family and friends,allowing myself to be present and supportive in their lives while also caring for my own well-being.
Rachel Niles: Bold
As we ring in the new year and turn a page, instead of feeling old I’m going to choose bold. I’m someone who tends to overthink things and I can see now how deeply that mindset limits me from moving forward. Robert Frost said “Freedom lies in being bold.” Really taking that to heart feels like the liberating kick in the butt I need to flourish in my role at Endurance Learning next year.
Erin Clarke: Intentional
My word last year was “enjoy” and my goal was to take time to slow down, be present, and to find things I enjoy. Now that I have spent some time doing that, my focus this year will be on being “intentional”. I want to be intentional with my time – making time for my new found hobby of cross-stitching (it’s ok, you can chuckle at that one), and also making time to spend one-on-one time with my husband and each of my three kiddos. I want to be intentional with my work – it’s important to me to be effective in what I do and to continue to develop relationships and grow our business. And finally, I want to be intentional with my energy – this will require me to be focused on my fitness goals (funny thing – when I move my body regularly, I have more energy!), and to prioritize the important things first so those things get the best version of me. I am excited to see what 2025 will bring and to stretch myself to be more intentional with my time, work and energy.
Tim Waxenfelter: Harvest
Two years ago a colleague loved teasing me about the forest of plants in my office and changed my word to “plant”. I was inspired and challenged to make it work. Last year, was “nurture”. I’m not done yet. This year I “harvest”. As a team we have planted so may seeds and nurtured so many people, processes, and products. Now, it is time to harvest the results. Not just for me or for my team. We have spent years planting and nurturing Soapbox and our Train-the-Trainer program. Now it is time for more customers to experience the bounty of these efforts.
