With the New Year here, you may be thinking about the resolutions you want to make. Setting goals is beneficial, yet you might also feel the weight of figuring out how to achieve them. Trying to achieve the same goals year after year without results can be disheartening.
Instead, how about choosing one word—a virtue—that supports your vision for the new year? This word can be a steady guide and source of inspiration for what’s to come.
When you choose a virtue, you set the tone of being rather than having and doing. For example, “I want to lose weight” (having) and “I need to exercise to get there” (doing) are different from saying, “I am a determined person.” When you believe you are determined, your actions are driven by that belief. You become more inclined to do the things that help you have the result you desire.
Choose a Virtue Based on What You Want
To select your virtue, ask yourself what you most want this year. Reflect on the virtues that resonate with you, and choose one that feels meaningful and aligned with your desires. For example, if you want to paint, write, or start a new business, you might choose “creativity” to help you feel inspired and stay the course. If your focus is on helping others, “kindness” or “compassion” may be the right fit. Perhaps you hope to mend a relationship through “forgiveness.”
Are you drawn to any of these virtues below? If not, you can explore our complete list of virtues.
- Acceptance
- Authenticity
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Confidence
- Contentment
- Courage
- Creativity
- Determination
- Discipline
- Encouragement
- Faith
- Forgiveness
- Generosity
- Gratitude
- Hope
- Integrity
- Joyfulness
- Kindness
- Love
- Patience
- Peace
- Perseverance
- Purposefulness
- Service
- Trust
How to Keep the Virtue Present All Year
Once you have chosen your virtue, below are a few simple ways to keep it present in your thoughts throughout the year.
- Write down your virtue and place it around your home, office, and car. Seeing it regularly serves as a gentle reminder to live by it each day. Post-it notes are a great way to do this.
- Journal about your virtue. Write about how you envision the virtue playing out for you this year. You might jot down ways to practice it and then write about your experiences in a journal. Journaling has many benefits, one of which is gaining insight into how your chosen virtue is shaping your life.
- Create powerful affirmations centered on the virtue and read them often, such as:
- “I am strong, courageous, and worthy of all good things.” (Courage)
- “I intend to live this day to the fullest and practice gratitude.” (Gratitude)
- “I love and accept myself for who I am.” (Acceptance)
- Today, I am aware of my desires and intend to pursue them. (Purposefulness)
- Take one daily or weekly action. If you choose “peace,” for example, perhaps you can begin a daily meditation practice. Set small, supportive goals that help integrate the virtue into your life. Then, take specific daily, weekly, and monthly actions. And don’t forget to journal about your progress along the way.
In Summary
By year’s end, looking back through your journal can be a meaningful way to relive positive experiences connected to your chosen virtue. As you practice it, you will also strengthen its presence in your life.
Remember, the new year holds a promise of hope, growth, revelations, transformations, second chances, love, friendship, and countless other possibilities. With a virtue as your guiding light, you can shape your life with this one-word intention as the universe responds in its glorious ways!
What virtue are you choosing to focus on in 2026? Share your virtue with us below. We’d love to hear from you!
If you’d like to dive deeper into the twelve virtues that help you create your best life, this excerpt is from
Your 12 Inner Strengths: A Guide to Your Best Life Through the Power of Virtues by Stacey Thompson.
You can purchase the paperback or ebook on Amazon.
Also available through other online retailers.
I love this idea. For 2022, my virtue is “Creativity.” I retired in the Spring of 2021, and since then have been focusing on my artistic side. For this year, I’d like to continue to learn the nuances of watercolor painting and enhance my drawing skills.
So glad that you love the idea Camille! I wish you the best in your focus on “Creativity” and what a great way to express it, through painting and drawing. Enjoy your retirement!
Good morning friends! I just saw this inspiring post and would like to commend the team.
For 2021 I’d like to work on 2 virtues, thus Discipline and Perseverance especially in prayer and the study of God’s Word.
With the guidelines you’ve proposed I believe I can achieve the goals I have set myself this year for growth in my spiritual journey.
Thanks and may your generosity in guiding others yield abundant fruits of the needed support in all your endeavours. God bless you!
Sr. Benedicta Abena Dede Mante, OLA
I’m choosing patience as my virtue for the year
Hi Justine, Great! Thank you for sharing your chosen virtue. You may find that journaling about patience throughout the year will help to manifest it in your life even further plus track your successes. Best of luck!
Thank you for your thoughtfulness inviting us to start the new year off with the mind/soul set of being, instead of doing and having. My virtues for the year is purposefulness. Since enthusiasm is also a strength virtue of mine, I can be pulled off purpose by shining object syndrome. As chair of the board for the Virtues Project International Association and author of “The Heart of Education: Bringing Joy, Meaning and Purpose Back to Teaching and Learning”, I am committed to remaining purposeful and open to staying focused on my life’s purpose. Wishing you all a year filled with joy, meaning and purpose. With love and gratitude, Dara
Dara – so glad you enjoyed the post, and what a great virtue to choose, purposefulness. In fact, I might switch mine now as I was going to choose creativity but feel purposefulness rings more true for me this year. Please let us know how you do in the new year with the virtue you chose. Your book sounds so interesting! I wish you a lot of luck with it! Wishing you too all the best in the new year and may you always be guided by your life purpose. Stacey
I’m choosing kindness as my virtue for the year! Thank you for this and may you enjoy peace and prosperity in 2013!
Thank you for letting us know the virtue you chose Upasaka. I wish you luck, and your year will surely be fulfilling! Let us know how you do. You can submit a Virtues Story on the site about how you practiced kindness. All my best to you in 2013!