Rate Your One Word 2025: Reflection, Closure, and What Comes Next
{One Word 2025 December Linkup}
As 2025 comes to a close, pause to take one more look back at your One Word.
Reflection Questions to Help You Look Back
Find a few quiet moments to answer one or several of these questions. Even one insightful response can bring clarity.
- Did my word stay relevant throughout the year? Why or why not?
- How often did I notice my word showing up—in conversations, decisions, or circumstances?
- Did my word surprise me in any way, good or bad?
- How did I change because of this word?
- Am I pleased I chose this word?
- Would I recommend this word to someone else?
Rate Your One Word: 1–5 Stars
On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, how would you rate your One Word for 2025?
- 5 Stars — Deeply meaningful and transformative
- 4 Stars — Helpful and grounding
- 3 Stars — Mixed, but still worthwhile
- 2 Stars — Some connection, but limited impact
- 1 Star — Not the right fit this year
There’s no “right” rating. The value is in paying attention to what actually happened between you and your word.
A Personal Note
One of the reasons I chose RIPPLE for 2025 was to explore the beauty of love moving from one person to another to another.
I hold this hope: that a ripple I set in motion now might one day brush up against a special someone beyond my reach. And that they will receive that love, even if they don’t realize it’s from me.
This is the ripple effect.
I know it’s real.
Will it reach the exact people I long for it to reach?
I may never know.
And if it doesn’t?
At least I have been changed by the sending.
And that is something.
I give 5 stars to Ripple.
Share Your Reflection (or Keep It Private)
You can reflect privately in a journal, talk it through with a friend, share your thoughts in the comments, or link a blog post below. This linkup will remain open through Thursday, January 8.
Every shared post is also highlighted in our One Word Facebook group throughout the month, creating a space to read each other’s words and give encouragement.
Also on Facebook we’re already saying goodbye to our old words through a series of lighthearted polls. We’ll begin revealing our 2026 words on Monday, December 29.
Our first official One Word 2026 linkup will begin on Monday, January 26, and we’ll continue gathering on the 26th of every month throughout 2026.
Question for You
How many stars would you give your One Word 2025? Are you choosing a word for 2026? Share your thoughts in the comments.
If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas for 2026, join here.
Link Up About Your One Word
- My Top 5 Fiction Books of 2025: Stories That Stayed With Me
- Everything Is a Story: How the Narratives We Live By Shape Our Lives
Get Wisdom has been a 4 star experience for me in 2025. I’ve been busier than I’ve really wanted to be, and have felt distracted, so I’ve appreciated the pull back to my pursuit with a monthly post and the help of this community for accountability.
I’m still waiting for my 2026 word to announce itself to me, and, as I have every year, I wonder if it is going to!
4 stars is a great experience, Michele. I’ve enjoyed your posts on wisdom this year. You definitely continue to get it! 🙂 I’ll look forward to when your 2026 word arrives for you.
Your year with “ripple” has had an effect on me. I now look at the interconnectedness of my actions and the world at large.
I love how our words mix with each other. In looking at the word I’ll probably go with in 2026, ‘flexibility’ has come up as a way to practice it. Interconnected for sure!
God is so good!!
I’d have to say SAVOR was a 4 star for me. Though I skipped some months writing about it and linking up, it was on my mind and I reflected a lot. I’ve SAVORED so much this year. And, I’m going to keep SAVOR for 2026 because there’s more on my mind I want to write about it.
How exciting that Savor still has more to give, Paula! I’m glad you switched to it this year. Definitely a good word.
‘Explore’ was a 5 star for me Lisa as it challenged every area of my life, to go deeper than ever before (& I thought I’d excavated most areas quite deeply already!).
I can see it will be with me for a lot longer.
I’m excited for 2026 WOTY as it’s been cropping up already!
blessings, Jennifer
I love that our old words don’t ever really leave us, but continue to work in our lives. I’m excited to have read on your blog what your new words are! It’s shaping up to be another interesting year of exploration with these new words too.
Ripple was a fabulous word Lisa and you were very intentional with it during 2025. My word Listen was a good one for me this past year. I’ve chosen a completely different word for 2026 which I’ll announce on 5 January.
I just read your post and I LOVE your new word, Deb! Such a fun choice.