Reviewing my Word of the Year ... six months in.

In January I chose Wellbeing as my word of the year and here's how I have moved through the first six months aligning with my chosen word. Has it been working?

Welcome to A Simple Living Journal with Debbie Meredith

A very warm welcome to A Simple Living Journal. I am pleased you are here. Make yourself a drink and cosy up in your favourite chair.

My name is Debbie. I live in the heart of England, in a small village in the south of Leicestershire. I am wife to Ant and cat mum to our seven year old black panther Thomas. You can read more HERE.

I have been writing here on Substack since September 2023 sharing snippets of my life as I continue to explore what it means to live slowly and simply. If you are curious and want to learn more why not subscribe today?

Hello my friend.

In January lots of us chose our word of the year, as a focal point by which to live by. I chose "Wellbeing". Today I want to reflect on the last six months and see where I have aligned and where I’ve gone off track. An opportunity to regroup and refocus.

I chose Wellbeing for a number of reasons, but mainly a focus on mental and physical health. In my January newsletter I set the following intentions with wellbeing in mind.

• Be more mindful of my eating and activity habits. Eat more healthily and increase my activity.

• Focus on my mental health. Meditation, bringing nature indoors, rest.

• Declutter my home. Although I have already done a declutter, which has been an integral part of simplifying my life, clutter can return when you take your eye off the ball. There will be more focus on what Beth Kempton calls “Soulful Simplicity” in her book Wabi Sabi.

• Continue publishing weekly content here with more focus on simplifying, seasonal living and living by the moon cycle.

• Spend more time outdoors in nature.

• Be more intentional in my use of digital devices.

Homegrown loveliness 💖

How has it been so far? What’s working and what still needs focus.

Lets take a look at the above list one by one shall we.

• Be more mindful of my eating and activity habits. Eat more healthily and increase my activity.

Honestly I have struggled with this one. Just a few weeks ago I finally made a concerted effort to eat better. It’s often said that a health scare can motivate one to take action. It is certainly the case for me owing to the fact that three close family members have arthritis. My sister, just two years younger than me, with severe mobility issues and both my parents. This frightened me and finally prompted me to do something about it.

On doing some research I discovered certain foods are a key trigger for arthritis so I’ve all but stopped eating the offending foods (processed meat, red meat, red wine, sugary foods and highly processed foods) and I am now filling my plate with healthy alternatives like white meat, fish, berries and vegetables.

Since discovering that water is good for our joints I am consuming a lot more water. My intake, I assumed, was of a healthy balance until I read the following article by

Daria Diaz

. Learning that water is beneficial for our joints, it seemed reason enough to drink more water and reduce tea.

Just Add Water: How to Boost Mobility and Reduce Joint Pain After 55

I am really noticing the difference in how my body feels and a pleasant side effect from eating better and drinking more is that I’ve lost just over 8lb. Go me!! I have got a serious amount of weight to lose so the journey has just begun. My weight battles have been going on for many years but that is a whole other story which I’ll save for another time.

I have yet to increase my activity levels - I’m basically a lazy bum - yes I admit it! You heard it here first folks! I know deep down this is the wrong attitude and I know I need to find something physical that I will enjoy doing. So for the next six months there will be more focus on activity.

Photo by Mor Shani on Unsplash

• Focus on my mental health. Meditation, bringing nature indoors, rest.

I have no trouble resting that’s for sure! But whilst resting I have made a conscious effort to read more. At the last count I’ve read around twenty books so far this year. Mostly novels this time which I find more relaxing in the evenings, to help my brain switch off. I do still enjoy a good self help book, but I am learning to read these earlier in the day whilst my brain is more receptive to new information.

My aim was to try and meditate every day but this hasn’t been as consistent as I would like. I am however doing a focussed breathing session for a couple of minutes every hour or so. I recently learned from

Selina Barker

’s Time to Thrive course that breathing correctly can give us a boost of energy and it really does.

I haven’t focussed too much on bringing nature indoors yet, mainly because I have spent a lot more time outdoors and enjoying nature close up in it’s natural habitat. I will most likely start looking at bringing nature inside when the cooler darker days of Autumn start rolling in.

• Declutter my home.

I did a major declutter a few years ago, so now I am really just fine tuning throughout our home. My biggest area of focus in the earlier part of the year has been my craft room. This room had a major overhaul a few months ago, so it gave me a great opportunity to reduce my stash(s) even further and align my crafts to my values.

• Continue publishing weekly content here with more focus on simplifying, seasonal living and living by the moon cycle.

I have stayed consistent this year with the publishing of weekly newsletters and the introduction of my declutter series. I’ve written lots of nature themed and simple living ones too. They are all here in my archive if you want to revisit some.

• Spend more time outdoors in nature.

This is one of my biggest successes of the year so far. We have done several campervan trips including three immersive woodland off-grid camps. I moved my office to our shed outside now commonly known as “Writers Cottage” thanks to one my lovely readers. And, we’re growing our own veggies and fruit at home. I feel like I’m spending more time outside than in the house, certainly since April anyway. Long may it continue. I’m loving it.

• Be more intentional in my use of digital devices.

Hmmm, this one has been a challenge if I’m totally honest. They don’t make it easy to come away from our phones do they? Just a few short weeks ago I started checking my daily screen time and the figures frightened me, some days over four hours … this usually included reading on the Kindle app. However, still way more than I’m comfortable with.

I have now taken a few measures to reduce my usage. The obvious steps like removing social media and news apps - probably the worst offenders! I’ve also taken the Kindle app off and making better use of my actual Kindle.

I recently found out how to change the display on my phone from colour to monochrome. If you don’t already know how to do this, go to - settings - accessibility - display and text size - colour filters - turn off. This setting is for iPhone, I’m unsure if the same applies to android phones. Turning our phone to monochrome is supposed to make our screen less appealing and interesting. We’ll see how that goes!

So, there you have it. Some successes and some areas for improvement, namely physical activity and reduced phone use.

Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

How has living in alignment with my chosen word of the year affected my overall wellbeing?

I am happy with how the first six months have gone. Clearly I still have areas to focus on but I believe, on the whole, I am living my year aligned with wellbeing.

Spending more time outside and taking my writing outdoors has been a game changer in so many ways. Surrounded by natures tantalising aromas and sounds infuse me with enormous inspiration and motivation and owing to my improved eating habits my physical health is slowly improving too.

Photo by Jaida Stewart on Unsplash

Where will my focus be for the next six months of 2025.

• Find an activity or two that boosts my physical wellbeing.

• Reduce screen time.

• Build more time into the day for meditation and quiet time.

• Continue writing and reading regularly.

• Continue spending as much time outdoors as possible.

• Towards the latter part of the year bring nature indoors as the garden shifts towards preparation for rest.

I hope you have enjoyed our midyear recap of our Word of the Year.

I would love to hear how you are doing with your word of the year.

• What word did you chose?

• How has that helped you live through the year so far?

• What challenges have you faced and what is working for you?

Please do let me know in the comments section.

In case you missed it, I started my declutter series in March. A month by month gentle process of clearing our homes and minds. I would love you to join us on this journey of discovery in Slow and Gentle Decluttering.

Decluttering has been instrumental to us in finding a simple and slower path. Maybe it can for you too. Make sure you are subscribed so that you receive the next in the series on Sunday 27th July where we will be reviewing our decluttering journey so far.

Decluttering has changed my life

If you enjoyed reading this you may also like these -

Creating a Writers Space

How being in Nature can help our Wellbeing

Until next time.

Debbie xx

Check out my bookmarks on Etsy here.