Choose a Word for 2026

Dr. Kirk Iodice • January 11, 2026

Choose Your Word For 2026!

Picking a word for the year can be your daily compass to keep you on track with your resolutions, habits and mindset. When challenges arise, the word serves as an anchor, helping you maintain your priorities and goals. Whether you are someone who makes resolutions or not, here are a few words for a healthy and purposeful 2026!

Joy: Find joy in something small every day. Maybe your favorite song came on the radio during your drive to work or your coffee was strong and hot this morning! Find joy in your delicious lunch, the fresh air walking to your car or watching your child play.

Bedtime: We all know that sleep is an essential component of wellness. Going to bed at the same time every night and waking at the same time every day helps us get the quality sleep we need.

Fartleck: If nothing else, it is going to be fun to tell your friends you are fartlecking this year!! Fartleck is a Swedish word that means “speed play”. Fartleck is a fun, unstructured way to kick up your exercise intensity. If you are normally a walker, try jogging for a block and then walk again. Joggers can try sprinting to the next tree or increasing their speed up a hill. Farleck is a flexible form of interval training where you speed up the pace when your feel good and slow down when you need recovery. There is no wrong way to do this exercise! Fartleck training improves aerobic endurance, speed and mental toughness.

Vegetables: Fill half of your plate with vegetables at every meal. Salad, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and kale are great choices. Roasting broccoli or cauliflower with a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper is a delicious side. Pinterest has some great recipes for roasted vegetables if you need some ideas.

Balance Training: Simple balance exercises can significantly improve your stability. This is important to prevent falls as you age and helps improve performance in sports and recreational activities. Standing on one leg, toe strengthening exercises or yoga would be good foundational exercises to add in this year.

Breathe: Box-breathing or 4-7-8 breathing exercises done daily can help relieve stress, improve sleep, boost mood and enhance focus.

Cold Therapy: Deliberate cold exposure can be used to safely stress the body to improve attention, mood, cognitive focus, boost metabolism and reduce inflammation. You do not have to buy a fancy cold-plunge tank; filling a bathtub with chilly water can be just as effective. Sit in the tub for 2-3 minutes several times a week.

Gratitude: Notice the positive and then appreciate it. Writing down three things you are thankful for each day is a very powerful tool. We have to first notice the positive before we can be thankful for it. Gratitude journaling helps to reset your thinking so you become better at spotting the positives. Once you realize that positives are possible, it helps you cultivate optimism for the future.

Walk: Go for a 15-minute walk after meals to help reduce blood sugar.

Flow: The state of concentration you get in when you are fully immersed in a task and you have no thought for your past or future; you are totally present. Take time for an activity where you find flow. It can be knitting, yoga, rock-climbing, playing an instrument, tennis or cooking. So much of our lives are spent worrying about the past or the future or feeling self-conscious or anxious. Flow lets our brains take a break from all of that. Regularly experiencing flow can protect us from anxiety and depression and make us more resilient. To find flow, pick something you like doing and want do more and then practice the activity!

Advanced Healthcare & Sports Injury wishes you a happy and healthy 2026 full of joy, quality sleep, exercise, nutritious food and flow! Please contact our office for help maintaining your goals and wellness in the New Year.

Choose a Word for 2026

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