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Home » inspiration

Word of the Year Ideas

December 27, 2022 2 Comments

Word of the Year Ideas Featured Image | ChocolateMusings.com
200+ Word of the year ideas to inspire and motivate you | ChocolateMusings.com #wordoftheyear #wty #words #motivation

In this post, you’ll find 200+ Word of the Year Ideas to help ignite your motivation, live intentionally, and set a course for success for the coming year.

Do you set a word or phrase of the year? I never bought into it until I started using a bullet journal and started writing and recording my goals. Once I started recording my goals and tasks and started seeing the bigger picture for my life, it was almost natural to gravitate towards a word of the year.

After all, if Merriam-Webster can choose a word of the year, so can you. By the way, you can always shorten ‘word of the year’ to WOTY or WotY. You might find some interesting hashtags on Instagram, although you might find some inspiring women of the year posts instead.

Originally posted in 2019, revised in 2022.

Table of contents

  • Choose a Word of the Year
  • How to Choose
  • Word of the Year Ideas Words Starting With the Letter A, B, C & D
  • Word of the Year Ideas – E – F – G
  • Word of the Year Ideas H – I – J – K
  • Word of the Year Ideas – L – M – N – O – P – Q
  • Word of the Year Ideas – R – S- T – U – V- W – X – Y – Z
  • Ideas for Displaying Your Word of the Year
  • Once You’ve Chosen Your Word
200+ Word of the year ideas - to get you motivated, focused & ready for the new year | ChocolateMusings.com

Choose a Word of the Year

For those skeptics or who don’t know where to start, I created a list of 200+ potential candidates for your word of the year (Updated & Refreshed November 2022!). This is not a comprehensive list by any means. Instead, it’s a place to start compiling Word of the Year Ideas.

In November 2021, I updated the list to include words like accept, ask, and bold. I also included words like ‘show up,’ which is what I decided to use for my word(s) of the year in 2022.

How to Choose

Read through the list and notate which one(s) jump out to you. Then think about what you want to accomplish next year and choose a word to help you along the way.

If the word doesn’t quite fit, use a variation of the word to make it fit you and your aspirations.

Instead of Word of the Year – Choose Words of the Month or Quarter

If you can’t seem to choose a word of the year, another idea is to choose a word of the quarter or a word of the month. Choose your focus and then strive to follow that focus for that time. Coordinate your goals and habits to correspond with your word of the year/month/quarter.

Maybe you’ve read the 12-Week Year or work month-to-month on projects; if this is the case, you might choose to set a new word of the year every quarter or even choose a word of the month. Do what feels best for you. After all, your word of the year (or month or quarter) should benefit you, not hinder your progress.

Whatever you do, be sure to revisit your goals every once in a while and assess your progress. Often it’s not just a steady progression. Little corrections throughout the month, week, or day help you stay on track.

Word of the Year Ideas
Words Starting With the Letter A, B, C & D

Align your aspirations, be authentic, act and aspire. Whatever your word of the year is, here are 200+ ideas for you to find your focus. Be sure to pin some images so you can come back year after year to choose a new word.

Find your Clarity! Create consistent content, or just find the courage to choose your course for the year. Distinguish this year and dedicate your efforts by defining your word. Discover your potential and get things done through diligent work and dedication. Declare this year your own.

How can you fit your word of the year into a sentence to motivate & inspire you throughout the coming months?

Word of the year Ideas starting with the letter A- Find 200+ word of the year ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Bold & Beautiful Word of the year Ideas starting with the letter B- Find 200+ word of the year ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Find your Clarity! Create Consistent Content or just find the Courage to Choose your word of the year - find 200+ Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Distinguish this year by choosing your word - find 200+ ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Accept
  • Acclaimed
  • Accomplish
  • Act
  • Admirable
  • Adventure
  • Align
  • All
  • All In
  • Always
  • Appreciate
  • Approve
  • Ask
  • Aspire
  • Attention
  • Authentic
  • Balance
  • Be
  • Beam
  • Beautiful
  • Beauty
  • Before
  • Behold
  • Believe
  • Better
  • Bliss
  • Bloom
  • Bold
  • Brave
  • Breathe
  • Brilliant
  • Bubbly
  • Build
  • Calm
  • Capable
  • Care
  • Carefree
  • Careful
  • Caring
  • Celebrate
  • Challenge
  • Champion
  • Change
  • Charming
  • Choice
  • Choose
  • Clarity
  • Class
  • Classic
  • Classy
  • Commendable
  • Commit
  • Complete
  • Confidence
  • Connect
  • Conquer
  • Content
  • Consistent
  • Constant
  • Contribute
  • Courage
  • Create
  • Cultivate
  • Dance
  • Dare
  • Dazzle
  • Decide
  • Declare
  • Dedication
  • Deepen
  • Define
  • Delightful
  • Dependable
  • Determination
  • Devotion
  • Diligent
  • Discover
  • Distinguished
  • Dive
  • Divine
  • Do
  • Done
  • Dream

Word of the Year Ideas – E – F – G

Get energized and embody efficiency with effective and elegant methods. Enlighten yourself and explore ways to excel. Choose your word of the year (200+ words to embody) | ChocolateMusings.com
FOCUS is that your word of the year? Choose from 200+ fantastic options that fit your goals so you can follow through and flourish | ChocolateMusings.com
Gather your thoughts, give time to set your goals, show some gratitude and GO achieve those good things you seek. Set your word of the year and find motivation - Find 200+ Words of the Year Ideas perfect for your aspirations. | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Earnest
  • Effective
  • Efficient
  • Elegant
  • Elevate
  • Embody
  • Embrace
  • Emerge
  • Empathy
  • Empower
  • Energized
  • Enlighten
  • Enough
  • Envision
  • Excel
  • Excellent
  • Excellence
  • Exhale
  • Experience
  • Explore
  • Fabulous
  • Fair
  • Faith
  • Familiar
  • Family
  • Fantastic
  • Favorable
  • Fearless
  • Find
  • Fit
  • Fitting
  • Flexible
  • Flourish
  • Flourishing
  • Fly
  • Focus
  • Follow-through
  • Forgive
  • Form
  • Forward
  • Foster
  • Fortunate
  • Fortune
  • Free
  • Freedom
  • Friends
  • Fun
  • Gather
  • Gift
  • Give
  • Glamorous
  • Glow
  • Go
  • Goals
  • God
  • Good
  • Grace
  • Grant
  • Gratitude
  • Grounded
  • Grow
  • Gumption
  • Guts

Word of the Year Ideas H – I – J – K

Word of the year ideas starting with H-K -Honor yourself, create new habits, generate ideas that illuminate your journey. Find joy and hope, be inspired! Choose your word of the year - find 200+ ideas to help you achieve the things you want to do. | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Habit
  • Happiness
  • Happy
  • Heal
  • Healthy
  • Heart
  • Heavenly
  • Help
  • Holy
  • Honor
  • Hope
  • Horizon
  • Humility
  • Idea
  • Illuminate
  • Imagine
  • Immerse
  • Impressive
  • Improve
  • Independent
  • Innovative
  • Inspire
  • Instruct
  • Intention
  • Intuition
  • Journey
  • Joy
  • Jubilant
  • Kind
  • Kindred
  • Kindle

Word of the Year Ideas – L – M – N – O – P – Q

Listen to your inner thoughts, be mindful of your purpose, master a talent, pursue the moments and goals that make your heart sing. Choose a word of the year to help you excel in your personal and professional life. Find 200+ words of the year ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Create quality, profound goals, that will guide you through the year, put in one hundred percent. Choose your word of the year and make progress. Find 200+ word of the year ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Laugh
  • Lead
  • Learn
  • Legacy
  • Lemonade
  • Less
  • Life
  • Lift
  • Limitless
  • Live
  • Listen
  • Look
  • Love
  • Lovely
  • Make
  • Master
  • Masterful
  • Meaning
  • Merciful
  • Mighty
  • Mindful
  • Moment
  • More
  • Motivated
  • Natural
  • No
  • One
  • One Hundred Percent
  • Open
  • Optimistic
  • Organize
  • Paradise
  • Patience
  • Pause
  • Peace
  • Persist
  • Pilot
  • Pivot
  • Pleasant
  • Please
  • Plentiful
  • Positive
  • Positivity
  • Powerful
  • Present
  • Productive
  • Profound
  • Progress
  • Prosper
  • Pure
  • Purpose
  • Quality
  • Quiet

Word of the Year Ideas – R – S- T – U – V- W – X – Y – Z

Ready for a restart? Rise and Renew - reset your efforts by choosing a word of the year. Reflect on what you want to accomplish and show resilience in the year to come. Find 200+ word of the year ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Show up every day, seek and share your talents. Be strong and steady. Shine, create space. Whatever your word of the year is, I'm sure you'll find success in your efforts. Find your word of the year - get 200 + ideas to motivate you | ChocolateMusings.com
Seeking your word of the year? Find something upbeat and will transform you throughout the year. Try new things, create wonder, be thankful. Whatever your word of the year is - I hope you thrive. Find 200+ word of the year ideas to enhance your vision and to send good vibes throughout the year. | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Ready
  • Reason
  • Reassure
  • Reflect
  • Refresh
  • Regenerate
  • Reliable
  • Renew
  • Return
  • Reset
  • Resilience
  • Respect
  • Rest
  • Restart
  • Restore
  • Rewarding
  • Right
  • Rise
  • Rock
  • Safe
  • Secure
  • See
  • Seek
  • Self
  • Self-Care
  • Serenity
  • Serve
  • Share
  • Shift
  • Shine
  • Show Up
  • Sing
  • Skill
  • Slow
  • Smile
  • Soul
  • Space
  • Sparkle
  • Special
  • Stay
  • Steadfast
  • Steady
  • Strength
  • Strive
  • Strong
  • Success
  • Sunny
  • Sunrise
  • Supply
  • Support
  • Sustain
  • Test
  • Thankful
  • Think
  • Timely
  • Thorough
  • Thrilling
  • Thrive
  • Tranquil
  • Transform
  • Transformation
  • Travel
  • Treasure
  • True
  • Trust
  • Truth
  • Try
  • Unconditional
  • Upbeat
  • Update
  • Uplift
  • Value
  • Vibe
  • Victory
  • Vision
  • Vivacious
  • Voice
  • Welcome
  • Win
  • Wise
  • Whole
  • Willing
  • Write
  • Wonder
  • Work
  • Wow
  • Yes!
  • Zeal
  • Zest

Ideas for Displaying Your Word of the Year

Here are a few ideas to display your word of the year – as a reminder daily for motivation to keep plugging along at your goals.

Write your word on a sticky note and attach it to your mirror. This is a great place for daily reminders for any affirmations you want to repeat to yourself and a perfect place for your word of the year. You could create a framed reference of your word or phrase near a light switch or place an index card on your car’s dashboard.

Since my bullet journal is probably my most used object, I added my word of the year to the cover as a constant reminder of what I wanted to accomplish. So as a way for you to see your word of the year regularly, pay attention to what you use consistently and add your phrase or word near that object.

I advise placing your word in strategic locations around your house so you will see the word, and it can act as a reminder of the goals you want to accomplish. I’d love to hear your ideas and strategies for keeping your word of the year top of mind.

I added my word of the year - consistency - to the cover of my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com

Once You’ve Chosen Your Word

What do you do now that you’ve chosen a word of the year? Write it down! Post it up so you can see it every day. Think about how it makes you feel and what you want to accomplish. After you write the word, create a planner spread or list of things you want to do throughout the year.

Whatever you do, make sure you see that word regularly so you’re reminded of your motivation.

Schedule time to review your progress and adjust your everyday living to align yourself with your goals. I’ll add a note to review my goals on a specific date or in my future log on a particular month so I don’t forget.

At the end of the year, be sure to jot down what you did, how you did it, and pointers for improvement. I’m sure as a result of your persistence and subtle reminders. You’ll see a difference.

Looking for More Inspiration?

Quotes are and forever will be among my favorite things in this world. So I will strive to share more with you. View my list of quote-related blog posts.

200+ Word of the year ideas - to get you motivated, focused & ready for the new year | ChocolateMusings.com

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Inspired, Get Organized & Start Planning, Journal Prompts & Ideas, Quotes & Words to Inspire, Start Planning Here, Words of the Year Tagged: finding inspiration, ideas, inspiration, motivation, word of the year, word of the year ideas, wty

15 Short Quotes About Worrying (and How to Quit)

July 23, 2020 Leave a Comment

  • 15 inspirational quotes to help you quit worrying - perfect to handletter in your planner or bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com #inspriationalquotes #worrying #bulletjournal
  • Quotes for your planner - how to quit worrying | ChocolateMusings.com

There are so many more good quotes on letting go of worry and focusing on what you can control in life. I don’t think this will be the last post on quotes about worrying (and letting go!) for me.

It seems like worrying has become part of my everyday life, and I’d really like to change it. Whenever I decide to change something, I look up some motivational quotes on the subject. Wise words seem to shift my focus, adjust my mood, and set me straight.

Although, before we get into the quotes, I have to preface this post, the main word in these quotes may be “worry,” but the theme is all about getting past the worry and living. Because I feel that while I’m worrying, I’m not truly living.

Quotes About Worry (and Letting Go!)

If you can’t do anything about it, then let it go. Don’t be a prisoner to things you can’t change. – Tony Gaskins

Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. – English Proverb

You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Relax. Worry is infamous for being inaccurate. – Karen Salmansohn

Stop worrying about what can go wrong, and get excited about what can go right! – Unknown

Why worry. If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better. – Walt Disney

Worrying means you suffer twice. – Newt Scamander (JK Rowling)

Worry is a misuse of the imagination. – Unknown

I know worrying works because none of the stuff I worried about ever happened. – Will Rogers

You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow. – Janis Joplin

Learn to let things you cannot control go. – Unknown

The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles. – Unknown

Where focus goes, energy flows. – Unknown

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength. – Unknown

How to Adapt a Quote to Fit You

Mildliner Marker Fan | ChocolateMusings.com #mildliner #midliner #marker

I love the quote, “worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength’. However, it doesn’t quite fit me.

If a quote doesn’t quite fit, modify it for you & your life. I’m not saying tweak one word and then start selling the phrase, but I am saying that you can edit a sentence to appeal to your personal goals.

For instance, you could replace strength with joy, pleasure, peace, quiet, etc. I prefer the word joy instead. So I would write it: worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its joy, which fits my goals and ambitions more than the word strength.

Remember that if a quote doesn’t quite fit what you need or your situation, adapt it! Make the saying yours.

Do You Have More Quotes on Worrying (but Really Letting Things Go)?

Have you come across a good quote on worrying or letting things go? I’d love to hear it. Leave me a comment below!

  • Quotes to include in your planner - inspirational quotes on how to quit worrying | ChocolateMusings.com #inspirationalquotes #worry #plannerquotes
  • 15 Short Quotes on Worrying (and how to quit) perfect for your bullet journal or planner. | Chocolatemusings.com
  • Quotes on worrying (and how to quit) - Short quotes for your bullet journal or planner | ChocolateMusings.com #plannerquotes #quitworrying #quotes

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Get Inspired, Quotes & Words to Inspire Tagged: bullet journal quotes, inspiration, planner quotes, Quotes, quotes to letter, worry, worrying

April Random Holidays: Add Joy to Your Everyday

March 26, 2020 2 Comments

April Random Holidays: Add Joy to Your Everyday

With the world on lock-down right now, I think it would do us all some good to include some random ways to celebrate this April. You’re invited to check out the April Random Holidays I’m featuring below. P.s. There are SO many more fun days out there! So if you want to find more holidays, I have links to all of the sources for April random holidays + all the other months. I’m sure you’ll find something you want to celebrate.

You can also check out the entire list of Random Holidays Archive for each month.

Random Holidays Challenge - Find Reasons to Add Joy to Your Life | ChocolateMusings.com #randomholidays #challenge #findjoy

Why do I Celebrate Random Holidays?

I know I spent a lot of time waiting for joy to come to me, why did it take me so long to realize that I had to go look for it? I had to be the one to add it to my days. So when I came across a few sites celebrating random holidays, I decided to celebrate a few here and there. After a while, I knew I had to share this joy with you.

Just like counting your blessings or writing in a gratitude log helps you see the good things in your life, sometimes it’s necessary to find ways to brighten your days.  I know I feel like I trudge my way through the week just waiting for the weekend. Then the weekend is over far too quickly, and I’m on to the next week, waiting for the following weekend then the next. I don’t want to live my life for the weekend I want to have joy every day!

Not long after we started celebrating random holidays, I noticed my kids started asking when a holiday came up. What’s more, is they started paying attention to the holidays mentioned at school and would be so excited to share how they celebrated with me.

April Random Holidays

There are so many days to choose from, and I collected a few which suit my family & life. You are welcome to select your own and celebrate – you don’t have to use my list! Many of the holidays repeat on the same day of the month every year so you could find yourself with a new yearly tradition.

Happiness Holidays

The pursuit of happiness is a big deal to me. So naturally I have to feature holidays which create snippets of joy. I hope you and your family find some snippets as well.

3rd – World Party Day #WorldPartyDay
6th – Pillow fight day  #PillowFightDay – Repeats on the 1st Saturday.
I’m not sure whether I should classify this as a genuinely random holiday or if I should list it under happiness. I guess it depends on who you fight!
9th – Name Yourself Day #NationalNameYourselfDay #NameYourselfDay
13 – National Scrabble Day #NationalScrabbleDay – in spite of how competitive I am, I love scrabble except when I have a time limit.
16th – High Five Day #HighFiveDay – Repeats the 3rd Thursday of April
16th – Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #WearYourPajamastoWorkDay – what a great excuse to wear my pajamas all day.
23rd – World Book Day #Worldbookday – I think that books are a source of happiness. Do you think so, too?
30th – National Honesty Day #nationalhonestyday – I don’t know of much more that makes me feel happier than having a clear conscience.

Art/Creativity Days

7th – National Handmade Day #NationalHandmadeDay
15th – Rubber Eraser Day #nationalrubbereraserday – finally, the eraser gets some recognition for its contribution to our various art projects. Without an eraser within arm’s reach, I think I’d give up on creating.

Outdoor Holidays

3rd – Find a Rainbow Day #NationalFindARainbowDay – what a great way to look at the positive side.
5th – National Dandelion Day #dandelionday #nationaldandelionday
5th – Read a Road Map Day #NationalReadARoadMapDay – I suppose that you could read a road map inside. But wouldn’t it be better to read it in a convertible with the top down?
6th – California Poppy Day #californiapoppyday #fieldsofgold – I love poppies, but admittedly I’ve never seen a field of poppies.
22nd – Earth Day #EarthDay
23rd – National Picnic Day #nationalpicnicday – after cleaning up the earth for Earth day – celebrate with a picnic!

Indoor Related Holidays

4th – National Walk Around Things Day #WalkAroundThingsDay – despite my best efforts, I tend to celebrate this day every day.
7th – National No Housework Day #NationalNoHouseworkDay – would you agree with me that this is the best day ever? I’m in!
15th – National Laundry Day #nationallaundryday – I guess we are all making up for the no housework day from earlier in the month.

Animal-Related Random Holidays

8th – National Zoo Lover’s Day #nationalzooloversday Our best day at the zoo was on a day that rained so hard, not many people stayed after it started raining and the animals all came out to play.
9th – National Unicorn Day #NationalUnicornDay
10th – National Farm Animals Day #NationalFarmAnimalsDay – Check out this post for some fun farm animal doodle ideas.
11th – National Pet Day #NationalPetDay

Food Holidays

3rd – National Chocolate Mousse Day #ChocolateMousseDay
5th – National Caramel Day #NationalCaramelDay
6th – National Caramel Popcorn Day #caramelpopcornday – following caramel day, add some of that sticky goodness to coat your popcorn.
18th – National Animal Crackers Day #NationalAnimalCrackersDay – what about the pink and white ones? I’ve all but forgotten those tasty treats from my childhood. Now, I think I’ll have to find some for my kids.
22nd – National Jelly Bean Day #NationalJellyBeanDay
26th – National Pretzel Day #nationalpretzelday
30th – National Oatmeal Cookie Day #NationalOatmealCookieDay #OatmealCookieDay (start out by checking out my October’s Random Holiday for my Favorite Cookie Recipe)

April Random Holidays

1st – National One Cent Day – #NationalOneCentDay
6th – National Tartan Day #NationalTartanDay – I had to throw this one in here just for my husband since he has a Scottish line in his genealogy. Do you have anyone in your family with Scottish heritage?
15th – Take a Wild Guess Day #takeawildguessday – on account of this holiday and national laundry day sharing the same date, you should take a wild guess of how many loads of laundry I have stacked up. If you guessed between 4 to 10, you’re likely right.
20th – National Look Alike Day #nationallookalikeday
23rd – Talk like Shakespeare Day #TalkLikeShakespeareDay – Without a doubt, Shakespeare has some amazing one-liner quotes. Find some of my favorite Shakespeare quotes – perfect for your planner.
28th – National Superhero Day #NationalSuperheroDay #SuperheroDay Who is your favorite superhero? Superman tops my list mainly because he can fly.
29th – National Zipper Day #nationalzipperday

Shakespeare Quotes in The Shop

  • Be Great in Act as You Have Been in Thought
    Be Great in Act as You Have Been in Thought
    $10.00
    Add to cart
  • Forever and a day - William Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #love #forever
    (I Will Love You) Forever and a Day
    $10.00
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  • They do not love that do not show their love - William Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #love #quote #showyourlove
    They Do Not Love That Do Not Show Their Love
    $10.00
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  • Quote Ideas for your Planner What's in a name? Romeo & Juliet - Williams Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #quote
    What’s in a Name?
    $10.00
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  • Quote Ideas for your Planner If Music be the Food of Love, Play On - Williams Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #quote
    If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On
    $10.00
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  • The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
    The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
    $10.00
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State Holiday Celebrations

5th – Nebraska Day #NationalNebraskaDay – when we drove through Nebraska, I learned that it has a lot of cornfields, however, share if there is something more I need to know about this large, flat state.
12th – National Colorado Day #NationalColoradoDay
19th – North Dakota Day #NationalNorthDakotaDay
26th – National South Dakota Day #NationalSouthDakotaDay

State Holidays

In celebration of the state’s statehood birthday, each month, the honored state will be on sale! I created 8 variations for each state, and they make lovely wall displays. Print it out, and frame it, and show it off! They make great gifts! All the states are available in my shop!

  • State Outline - South Dakota
    State Outline – South Dakota
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - North Dakota
    State Outline – North Dakota
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - Nebraska
    State Outline – Nebraska
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - Colorado
    State Outline – Colorado
    $10.00
    Select options

Need Some Ideas for Creating Using Random Holidays as Your Inspiration?

That sounds fun. Here are some ways you can be creative!

  • Letter the name of the holiday (want to learn to hand letter? Here’s where to start handlettering.)
  • Write it in funky fonts (check out this post for ideas.)
  • Take a picture (I heard selfies are a thing 😜).
  • Doodle the holiday
  • Paint a picture of the holiday or you celebrating the holiday.
  • Write a blog post or journal entry.
  • Create a planner spread.
  • Create a color palette inspired by the holiday.
  • What imaginary character or Disney Princess would most likely celebrate this holiday?
  • What colors should we choose for this holiday?
  • Make a favorite dish or create a new recipe in honor of the day.
  • If the holiday had a mascot, what would it be?
  • Don’t let my ideas limit you. Find something that inspires you, and create!

If you don’t create anything – spend the time with your family or friends! It’s all about creating a better, more fulfilling life. I believe these silly, random holidays help add a little smile to your face and a bit more laughter to your days. Choose to add joy to your life.

Random Holidays – Google Calendar

After celebrating different holidays for over a year, I decided to create a Google Calendar to see all the holidays I’d love to celebrate. It makes it easy to share creations, words, and ideas on social media and with friends and family. The best part about Google calendars is that you can toggle them on and off when you don’t want to see them.

If you click on the calendar item, it has a link to the source & relevant hashtags! I’m always evolving this calendar – and I will add calendar days or corrections all the time.

Tip: The calendar will show the current month, you can navigate to the month of your choice by using the arrows or dropdown.

If you want to add my calendar to your Google calendar:

  • Go to your Google calendars and click the + next to other calendars
  • Choose ‘add other calendars.’
  • Then click Subscribe to Calendar
  • After that, paste the text below in the “add calendar.”
  • Toggle the schedule on and off when you want to access it – that’s what I do.

chocolatemusings.com_q316ucpnldal611fs2q2nnk7v0@group.calendar.google.com

I won’t list all the random holidays, but just the ones that work with ChocolateMusings.com – so, of course, you’ll see a lot of food, art, creativity & some miscellaneous holidays are thrown in as well.

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

What if you don’t like the holidays I choose? Below are links to the other random holiday sites I found – pick your favorites and celebrate the ones that resonate with you! It’s about breaking out of the monotony and creating your happiness.

Find more to celebrate – I compiled my random holidays from the websites below. There are so many holidays to enjoy! If you find a day you’d like me to feature – leave me a note below!

  • Nationaldaycalendar.com
  • Nationaltoday.com
  • daysoftheyear.com
  • checkiday.com
  • heywhatday.com
  • Timeanddate.com
  • holidayinsights.com
  • wildcalendar.com
  • thereisadayforthat.com

Random Holiday Archives

*Balloons totally optional.

Do you need more reasons to celebrate? I know I do! Find my random holiday archives here, PLUS find more ideas & ways to celebrate random holidays. Browse through all of my hand-picked holidays grouped by month. Give your family a reason to #randomlycelebrate.

By the way, if you’d like to find out more about a holiday, check the links in the random holiday archive. You’ll find all the random holiday sources I used to compile my favorites list. Click on one of the entries in the Random Holidays Calendar for even more details!

By the way, you can add the Google Calendar to your calendar list and always have random holidays at your fingertips – each calendar entry has a direct link to the original source and the social media hashtag recommendation. (Tip: You can toggle on and off the calendar as needed!) Check out the random holiday archives here!

Skip Right to a Month to Start Celebrating:

  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Randomly Celebrate Tagged: #randomlycelebrate, challenge, create, inspiration, interesting holidays, monthly challenge, random holidays, randomly celebrate

Find Your Inspiration (When It’s Lost)

August 8, 2019 Leave a Comment

My Muses: Finding Your Inspiration (Again) | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

Find Your Lost Inspiration

I’m sure at one point in time you’ve lost your inspiration or creative muse. This month, my muses were all about helping you ‘find your inspiration’ because over the summer, I lost my inspiration. It felt like someone turned out the light on my creativity, and I’ve been clamoring to find that switch and turn it back on.

How I Lost My Inspiration

The last few months have been very dark – creatively. Starting with a week’s horrible sickness for my entire family the end of May, followed by the end of school and subsequently, the end of our regular daily routine.

Though I love summer, the chaos that coincides with it wreaks havoc on my inspiration. I usually have an abundance of ideas, too many for me to implement. But this summer, all my ideas dried up, and I felt like I was in a desert searching for water.

Maybe it was that I lost the everyday regimen of school day structure or if it was that the kids were home more (and bickering more) or if work was particularly stressful this summer, but I was in a deep creative funk. I wanted to create, I wanted to draw and write and express myself, but I couldn’t find the motivation or the inspiration to do much of anything.

Ideas to Try – Where I Started

Knowing how to recover or get out of a funk is probably the most valued advice I could give or receive. Unfortunately, I have not found the ultimate answer to that puzzle, yet. When I figure it out, I will share it with you. However, there were several things I tried & found, so I’m sharing those with you today.

But what I did do, was let myself have time. Once I was ready, and I felt like I wasn’t forcing creativity, I started watching some Skillshare teachers and seeking inspiration.

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

— J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In my case, I could amend this fantastic quote by Dumbledor to say, “inspiration can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

My Muses: Finding Your Inspiration Dumbledor quote  - Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

This month I’ve tried to focus on getting back into routine and creating order in my life. I laid out my planner using time blocks so I can organize my time.

Adding a section in my planner called “One Big Goal” – helped me focus on one big purpose for the month. I find that I lose my creativity if I let myself get too distracted and try to do everything at once.

All these efforts have helped restore my creativity, bit by bit.

Here are a few other things that helped me find my inspiration, again

I hope these things will help you find your inspiration, too!

Inspiration Muse #1

Kindle Paperwhite

One of my goals is to read a book per month (or more!). I love physical books, but don’t like taking them around with me. Reading on my phone became problematic because:

  1. It took too much battery
  2. I couldn’t see it in the daylight
  3. Other apps distract me
  4. Reading on the tablet was also problematic because of the battery usage (I never had any juice left to create after using it to read!).

My boss gave me a Kindle Paperwhite for my birthday (thank you to my boss and thanks to husband for giving them that idea). And I LOVE it. It eliminates distraction while reading – no alerts or dings, pop-ups like my phone. The battery lasts like the energizer bunny. Reading in daylight is like reading a book – there’s no glare.

You can read in the bath. Yes, you read that right. It even recommended it on the packaging.

To explain how much I adore this new device, I’m going to channel Dr. Seuss:

You can read on a train, on a plane in a car or at a bar. On a bus? No distraction, only focus. Read outside or in a box, while you take off your socks. Even read in the bath (there’s no aftermath!). The backlight at night is simply a delight! Don’t forget that the device is very light.

-Me

Ok, I’ll stop. I’m excited to read all the Kindle books I’ve collected over the years and borrow many more from my library. If I connect Bluetooth to it, I can listen to my Audible books, too. If you can’t tell, I’m a fan.

You bet I have all of these books queued up!

Inspiration Muse #2

Number Stickers

My creation out of necessity. Because I hated writing numbers over and over again, and when I do, I ALWAYS get out of sequence. But I wanted to use time blocking in my planner, which requires writing the numbers again and again. I created them to fit precisely with a 5mm grid on matte sticker paper. 14 to a sheet – it covers two weeks.

I cut down the sticker to use only the hours in the day that I’m awake – but you could use it any way you want – to track sleep, to plan out your hourly activities or a typical day.

I also have a 1-31 number sticker that I used to create a monthly log. Find them both in my shop!

  • 1-31 Number Line for Planners & Bullet Journals | ChocolateMusings.com #planner #plannerstickers
    Every Day (1-31) Stickers for Planners & Bullet Journals
    $3.75
    Add to cart
  • 24-Hour time block stickers for bullet journals and planners | ChocolateMusings.com #timeblock #productivity
    24-Hour Time Block Number Stickers for Planners & Bullet Journals
    $3.75
    Add to cart

Inspiration Muse #3

Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning community where there are literally hundreds of classes taught by many individuals on a variety of subjects. I found it over a year ago, and LOVE it. I just counted and I’ve watched more than 125 classes (some more than once). There’s more than just painting, art and lettering. There are SO many choices. It is one of my most favorite places online.

Try for free – watch as many classes as you like. If you’re new or already subscribe to Skillshare, find me over there – @ChocolateMusingsCreates

Some of my favorite classes:

Liz Kohler Brown – Create Cuttings on your iPad – if you have ProcreateApp on an iPad, she is THE artist to follow. She teaches so many courses and I have learned so much.
Kolbie Blume – Beginner’s Galaxy – I recently found her and simply adore her watercolor classes.
Kiki B – Drawing Consistent Letters with Basic Supplies – Taught by one of my friends (we met lettering – ok, we’ve never actually met, but nonetheless she’s my friend). Want to learn how to create letters from scratch? This is an insanely useful class.
Lisa Long – 3D lettering in procreate – making letters look 3D and simply amazing.
Cat Coquillette – Modern Watercolor Techniques – Seriously inspiring! I’ve learned so much from her.
Yasmina Creates – her Doodle Magic class, Thumbnail Sketching, Anyone Can Watercolor, You Can Draw Anything!

Skillshare inspires me when my creativity flows freely, what’s more, is that it encourages creativity when there is but little more than a small trickle or drip of my inspiration.

Here are some of My Favorite Skillshare Projects

Every single one of these projects (plus all the others I’ve done) has inspired some other thing down the line. It’s ok to experiment, it’s ok to find something new to try. Don’t limit yourself.

In Summary: To Find Your Inspiration & Reignite your Creativity – Try Some of These Things:

  • Give yourself time
  • Don’t force it
  • Follow a daily schedule
  • Change your daily schedule
  • Create a time to focus
  • Eliminate distractions
  • Choose one thing
  • Solve a problem (like my number stickers solved a problem for me)
  • Learn something new that has an assignment at the end – so you feel compelled to create

I hope my muses have inspired you in some way. I’d love to know what muses you turn to, and which ones provide the most inspiration.

9 Ideas to Find Your Inspiration (when it's lost) | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Inspired, My Muses (My Favorites & Inspiration) Tagged: creativity, inspiration, my muses, planner quotes, quote, Quotes

My 5 Favorite Flower Drawing & Reference Books

April 22, 2019 4 Comments

Favorite Flower Drawing and Reference Books (and why) + Video Flip Through | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #flower #howtodrawflowers

My top 5 Favorite Flower Drawing & Reference Books

When the weather gets warmer, and the pollen gets yellow (you know what I mean if you’ve visited the south US in the spring), I start doodling and drawing more flowers. I should probably do that more in the winter (because it makes me happy), but winter is so…blah. I even started a Pinterest board just for leaves on tree branches. Today, I wanted to show you the flower drawing & reference books I keep close at hand.

Similar to why I love to bullet journal, I love a physical book as a reference when I draw. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t fear mindlessly scrolling away and losing my reference or that I can hold the book in my hand or perhaps I’m just old school.

It doesn’t matter the reason why I have floral reference books, and I thought I would show you some of the books I use as my flower drawing references. And what’s more, is I thought you might find it useful even if you tuck it away for reference later on in your artistic journey. To help a little more, I created a comparison guide for the flower drawing books & references. If you have your own reference books, this table is a great way to show the differences in the books.

Comparison Guide for Flower drawing and reference books | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdarawing #floral #botanical

Book Overview

We want to move to a new house in the next year or so. Don’t tell my husband, but I want a big library with reference books galore. But I won’t buy them until we’ve moved to a new house and all the books have their own home. I ultimately intend on keeping them sorted by type and not by the author. All of my flower books in one section, all of my dragon books in another. (FYI: I have one dragon book.)

Some of the books are more beginner friendly. Others have more information and photos plus line illustrations. They range from Peggy Deans’ Botanical Line Drawing to a book that I found on Amazon that shipped from England and took two months to find me.

Botanical Line Drawing
How to Draw Modern Florals
Wild Flowers by Colour
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers
An Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers

I made a quick video featuring each of these books – you can watch the video below or head over to my YouTube channel to check it out.

Additional Floral-Related Resources

For some other fantastic resources – check out the series books by National Audubon Society Field Guides.  I want to get the ones on birds and rocks & gems. They have amazing photography and line drawings too. I’m not at all intrigued by the amphibians and reptiles. I don’t like snakes one bit.

I happened on an astounding resource of wildflowers here. There are so many more books I want to leaf through and hold in my hands. But I do want to be picky when it comes to resources. I need my flower drawing books to add something or give me a new perspective. Come to think of it, I need all my books to add something or provide a new perspective.

This list is not a comprehensive list. There are so many more ‘how to’ books ‘how to’ books and reference books for florals. What I’d love to know from you is which ones (if any) have you tried and what you thought!

Where to Start with Flower Drawing Books?

If you want to start drawing flowers but feel overwhelmed, start with a step-by-step guide. The Botanical Line Drawing & How to Draw Modern Florals books are great for starting. You’ll learn many petals and shapes. You could draw from them for ages.

Botanical Line Drawing By Peggy Dean

  • Great for beginners
  • Line drawing only
  • 200 + Flower & Nature Illustration
  • Organized by type
  • Use the hashtag on Instagram #botanicallinedrawing when drawing items from Peggy’s book

I listed ‘organized by type as a half-circle on my comparison because there are a couple of sections in her book: leaves, flowers, cacti & succulents & more nature.

One thing I didn’t expect from The Botanical Line Drawing book is that none of the flowers were labeled. You don’t need a name to draw it, but I would like to know the name. Because using #unknownflowername isn’t as fun as #trillium or even #pennywort on Instagram.  It’s a personal preference, and it hasn’t stopped me from referring to her fantastic book over and over again and immensely improving my floral drawings.

I’m very excited about her new book! Guide to Nature Drawing & Watercolor.

  • Flower drawing and references - Botanical Line Drawing | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral #howtodraw
  • Flower drawing and references - Botanical Line Drawing | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral #howtodraw

How to Draw Modern Florals by Alli Koch

Create beautiful and realistic-looking flowers. There is plenty of line work inside the petals and leaves that you can choose to add or leave out when drawing your own modern florals.

  • 20+ Detailed Outline drawings (you’ll see the width of the stems and more detail of the flowers)
  • Flower names – each one is labeled with their common flower name
  • Beginner friendly – with step by step drawings & instructions, you can start small & work into more complex drawings
  • Flower drawing and references - How to Draw Modern Florals | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral #howtodraw

Need Line Drawings AND Reference Photos?

I like to look at pictures and line drawings. I use the photographs for real-world reference, colors, and imperfections.  But I also like line drawings so I can see the form and lines of the flower. That’s why I like Wild Flowers by Colour, Field Guide to Wildflowers and the Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers. But these books don’t show step-by-step instructions on how to draw flowers.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers

One thing I really like about this book’s pictures is that each picture shows the general shape of the flower – so you can see how they grow together and the general shape of the petals. I use this book to cross-reference different flowers I find on Pinterest to make sure I’m calling it by the right name.

  • Broken into flower family classifications
  • Real-life photos
  • Some illustrated drawings (does not have each one illustrated)
  • Common & Scientific names
  • Flower drawing and references - Audubon Field Guide to Wildflowers | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral
  • Flower drawing and references - Audubon Field Guide to Wildflowers | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral

An Illustrated Guide To Garden Flowers

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find many more on Amazon. If you see it, grab it – it’s my favorite. With both photos & illustrated line drawings of each flower, it is a wonderful reference book. It’s geared to those who want to raise flowers, but it makes a wonderful flower drawing reference book.

  • Scientific & Common Names
  • Illustrations
  • Real-life photos
  • Multiple sections in addition to flower type, it has sections of annuals & perennials & bulbs.
  • Flower drawing and references - Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral #howtodraw
  • Flower drawing and references - Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral #howtodraw

Majorie Blammey’s Wildflowers by Colour

I cannot remember who first referenced this book, but I thought it was amazing when I first saw it. By chance, I found it for a very decent price on Amazon from a private seller and had to wait impatiently for it to ship from the UK. There are no real-life photos, but instead, each flower is a color illustration.

  • Common names
  • Classified by color then by type
  • Color line illustration
  • Flower drawing and references - Wildflowers by Colour | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral
  • Flower drawing and references - Wildflowers by Colour | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral
  • Flower drawing and references - Wildflowers by Colour | ChocolateMusings.com #flowerdrawing #flower #floral

Tip:  I found many other books at my local library, and my library lets me renew three times before having to return them.

The thing with drawing books of any kind, even if they are step-by-step and you feel like you’ve graduated beyond that skill or if you need super simple instructions, you can still find value in a reference book. I love going back through the books I own. I always end up learning something new or seeing something I’d forgotten.

What if You’re Practicing Kon Marie and Just Got Rid of Your Books or Don’t Want Any More Books?

First of all, if you threw out a bunch of books because you just Kon Marie’d your house (yes, I made it a verb), good for you. I’m working on decluttering, too. Flower drawing books aren’t ‘clutter’ to me if you’re wondering. But if you’re strictly digital and want nothing to do with buying books, follow me on Pinterest! I keep several boards with inspiration. Feel free to pin any images you’d like as a reference.

If you’re interested in drawing flowers, let me know what resources you enjoy (or ones you’ve found), I’d love to check them out.

4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Get Inspired, Journaling & Art Book Reviews, My Muses (My Favorites & Inspiration), Product & Book Reviews Tagged: floral, flower drawing, flower drawing for beginners, get inspired, how to, how to draw flowers, inspiration

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About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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