My Word of the Year
Prasrabdhi (pronounced pra-shrab-di) means “you can adapt with ease, and you are not easily unsettled by change … [it] is a building block of resilience,” as Willa Blythe Baker writes in her book, “The Wakeful Body.”
She goes on to write that with prasrabdhi:
“You learn how to meet resistance with self-compassion, how to extend beyond the limitations you place upon yourself.”
Previously, I had never heard of this word, but it resonated with me so strongly when I was reading Baker’s book. As soon as I came across her explanation, I knew this new-to-me word was supposed to be my word of the year for 2026.
Words Outside of the Box
The word’s uniqueness as an English-speaker provided a slight hesitation, but there was no other word that matched all that it embodied. Trust me, I looked. So, I’m not settling for a different word and am claiming this one.
In thinking about words, I recalled how the English language has many situations where one word is used for many meanings, as compared to other languages. For example, love in Greek has four words to best describe it. Eros is the word for romantic love, phileo is the word for the love of friendship, storge is the love of family, and agape is unconditional love. So, the fact that there’s not an English equivalent to prasrabdhi works for me.
Your Word of the Year
Having a word of the year since 2014 has given me an opportunity to look at the upcoming 12 months in full. Throughout the year, it will serve as a reminder and provide focus. Of course, I still have goals and aspirations, but this word will be the thread that courses through them all.
For inspiration to help you with selecting your word of the year, here are a few of my past blogs sharing my word and why I chose it: 2025’s word moxie, 2023’s word fly, and 2022’s word connected.