The Power of One Word: A Teacher’s Guide to Building Momentum After Burnout

Are you standing at the edge of a new year wondering which way to go and how far you'll go? In this Teachers in Transition episode, Vanessa Jackson invites teachers, career changers, and dream‑seekers to discover their Word of the Year — a guiding compass that turns hope into directional momentum. Vanessa shares her word of the year and her 26-in-26 goals. This episode helps you find clarity and purpose for 2026, with real stories, practical goal‑setting tools, and a little pop culture wisdom.

🎯 Whether you’re thinking about leaving toxic school environments, redefining your life direction, or simply seeking deeper fulfillment, Vanessa shows you how to turn hope into movement — and movement into lasting change.

📬 Find your guiding word. Build the tools that help you get where you’re going.

📍 Resources Mentioned

🎙 Word of the Year Podcast Reference
👉 Happier with Gretchen Rubin Episode 563 – Need a One‑Word Theme for Next Year?
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-563-need-a-one-word-theme-for-next-year-we/id969519520?i=1000739465433

💡 Word Discovery Tools
• MyIntent Word Finder – pick your guiding word: https://myintent.org/pages/word-finder
• MyIntent “What’s Your Word?” Quiz – guided discovery: https://myintent.org/pages/whatsyourwordquiz

🎥 Pop Culture Inspiration

Moana — How Far I’ll Go (Official DisneyMusicVEVO)
🎥 https://youtu.be/cPAbx5kgCJo

Rush — Wish Them Well
🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF7ihyprGtk (YouTube)

📣 Next Steps

Tell Vanessa your Word for 2026!
1.  Send a voice message or email to Vanessa@TeachersinTransition.com
2.  Schedule a free Discovery Call:

👋 CONNECT WITH VANESSA

• 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
• 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099
• 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar
• 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social
• 📸 Instagram, Threads & TikTok: @teachers.in.transition
• 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition
• 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy

Keywords 

Teacher burnout • teacher career transition • Word of the Year • goal setting • vision + momentum • hope + direction • career coaching • teacher purpose • intentional living • 

 The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout

Transcript

Hi and welcome back to the Teachers in Transition with me - Vanessa Jackson.  I taught Middle school for 25 years, left teaching to work in corporate America in the world of staffing.  And now I work for teachers – I help teachers find a way out of toxic educational environments so they can have the life they deserve.  If you’ve been listening for awhile, welcome back!  And if you are new to the podcast, you are where you belong. I treasure what teachers do for our communities and the world, and I am horrified at how little we are regarded by those that are supposed to be looking out for us. 

The normal rhythm of the podcast is a segment on life as a teacher designed to help you know you’re alone and give you inspiration and a push toward momentum, followed by a hack, and then a segment on career transition and job search. I realize I have been out of that rhythm for the last few weeks as I have been passing out and sharing the 12 Gifts of Christmas. And we’re definitely coming back to our normal rhythm.  But… not today.  Today I am going to share my word of the year and my goals for 2026 while I encourage you to find your Guiding Word of the Year and set your goals.  And if you are listening to this after January 1 (or even WELL even on January 1), you can still do this and still jump in.  January 1 is a bit of an arbitrary date and the guiding word and goals are WAY more important starting on any particular date. 

Because we’re standing at the edge of something. And whether it feels like a cliff or a clean slate, I want to help you find your direction.

Every year around this time, we get that little flicker of hope. You know the one. That quiet voice that says, “This is going to be MY year.” Maybe this is the year I finally get clarity. Or rest. Or momentum. Or peace. Or better finances. Or Lose those 10 pounds.  Or this, or that, or the other things. 

And if you’re a teacher? You get to know that flicker of hope twice.

Once when the school year begins. Fresh bulletin boards, clean classrooms, new lesson plans. The smell of dry erase markers and hope. Even if the last year nearly broke you, there’s still that whisper: Maybe this is THE year.

And then again, here — when the calendar flips and the world counts down from ten. But here’s the thing I’ve learned: hope is precious, but it’s not enough by itself.

Hope is a fuel. It gets the engine going. It reminds you that change is possible. That you’re still alive enough to want something different. In the podcast last week, I talked about why momentum is so much better than motivation because motivation is the quintessential fickle friend. It’s only there when things are already going well. Hope is the spark that keeps momentum rolling.  

But hope without direction? That’s how we end up circling the same block year after year.

That’s why I choose a Word of the Year. I make a thing of it. I’ll make a pretty version of it that I color and pin on the bulletin board above my desk so that I can see it.  It reminds me of my goals and it acts as a sort of teddy bear I can hold on to.

This tradition isn’t mine. I didn’t create it. I learned it from Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft on The Happier Podcast. I’ve been listening to them for years, and every December, they share their word — something that shapes how they show up in the world. I loved the simplicity of it. The clarity.

So I started doing it too.

Some years, my word felt like a spark. Others, like a challenge.  In 2019 when my husband was going to retire out of the military and we were facing a 4000-mile trip back to our home state with no job and no home for either of us I used the word BLOOM. I had the idea that I was going to bloom wherever we planted and whatever that was going to entail. I had a little picture of that little flower growing in a sidewalk that reminded me that it was possible to bloom anywhere. 
 
 I’ve had heath related words in the past.  In 2023 - I don’t even remember what my word for me was that year.   It was a bad year for me – the worst year of my life before or since. So bad. Either way, I was determined to not let a year like that define the rest of my life. I had a lot of trouble looking for a word for 2024, and in the end, my word was the prefix, “RE.”  I had a whole lot of of words that started with RE and the idea was I would allow myself what do-overs were required to get through each day, week, and month. 
 
 And for 2025, my word of the year was Resist.  Among other things, I resisted medical gaslighting, complacency, fear-based procrastination, swallowing my feelings and injustice. My symbol for the year was a Star – to remind me that stars are the epitome of that light that doesn’t let darkness overcome it – in fact, the stars are out only when it’s dark!  I even had a theme song from my favorite band, Rush. It’s actually called Resist.  I’ll link to the lyrics if you’d like to read them AND to the song in case you want to watch that video. 

But this year — 2026 — my word of the year is (pause for drumroll and dramatic effect) Forward.

Forward isn’t about speed. It’s not a hustle mantra. It’s not about pushing through or pretending everything’s fine. Forward is about direction.  Forward acknowledges that when one is going through hard times, one has to keep going. 

It’s about one foot in front of the other, even when the path isn’t clear.  It’s showing up for myself, gently but consistently.

Forward has more than on meaning for me this year.  
 
 One of the harsh realities of losing family is dealing with what they leave behind. I’ve seen a lot of TikTok videos talking about the Millennial inheritance – it’s not just the Millennials.  I am pushing forward to close out things I’ve been working on for over two years.   After pushing back HARD against medical gaslighting I’ve been ignoring about for almost two decades, I finally have surgery in January to deal with the problem – I am going to be moving FORWARD in recovery (also, I’m told the more I walk, the faster I’ll heal, so that’s another forward.) I am sure it’s the only word I’ll be thinking about on those initial post-surgery days. I will talk more about that later, but not today. 
 
 While I absolutely look to history and the past because I want to learn from it, I don’t believe in dwelling in the past. I don’t like to hold a grudge or to fight with friends and family. I believe in moving, well, forward.  So I have 4 quadrants 

1. Move forward in health — rebuild strength, walk the dogs, reclaim movement.

2. Move forward in creativity — play, write, and perform from the heart.

3. Move forward in purpose — to publish, to speak, and to grow Teachers in Transition with clarity ot help more teachers. 

4. Move forward in peace — to close what needs closing, to honor what’s complete, and to open space for what’s next.
 Teachers in Transition is definitely moving forward – there are big things on the horizon that I’ll share as they unfold.  Just know it’s coming. 

 If you’re interested in Gretchen and Elizabeth’s podcast on the topic (and their words for the year), it is their episode 563 and I’ll link to that in the show notes. I really want to know what YOUR word is – what does it mean to you? I’d love to read that if you emailed me or even left me a voice message – the contact information is at the end of the episode and the show notes.  
 
 I’ve chosen my symbol for the year too – it’s a compass.  Maybe that’s a little on the nose, but I’m going with it. When I had the realization that the reason Peggy Carter’s picture was always in the compass that belonged to Steve Rogers/Captain America because she was his True North, it made the compass click as the perfect symbol. For multiple reasons.  
 
 My personal tradition is to get a charm to wear around my neck that represents me work of the year.  It helps keep it forward in my mine (haha!  Forward!) and the previous year’s charm moves over to a charm bracelet.  Being a Texan, I get them from James Avery (this is not a commercial), but it’s a family-owned Texas company dating back to 1954.  I like to support small business wherever I can. 

 And I have goals for 2026. I’ll share most of them with you: 

1.    Recover fully from my surgical procedure — to cleared by surgeon and PT by March 2026.

2.    Work up to being able to walk the dogs around the block at least 3x per week. 

3.    Run a 5K (or 3 miles) by November 2026 — even if I have to walk part of it. 
 (I’ve been carrying this through for the last few years and health things keep getting in the way)

4.    Spend time outside in the porch swing 15-20 minutes at a time 3X a week (more is OK).  When I was on my vacation, sitting at the picnic table that was by our air BnB, I realized how much I liked being outside – it’s so easy to forget when the Texas heat is trying to cook me and there’s all those BUGS. There is also a LOT of mental health benefits to being outside, so yeah I want to capitalize on THAT. 

5.    Finish my duties for my grandmother’s estate as soon as legally possible – preferably by Dec 2026.  It’s been quite the adventure.  If you love the people in your life, one of the ways you can protect them is to make sure your wishes are very clearly spelled out. Other ways you can protect their sanity is to go through your stuff and give things away early – as a bonus you can watch people enjoy those things when they need them.

6.    Take a vacation that’s not for responsibilities or obligations. I feel that one is self-explanatory. 

7.    Take two trips to go visit friends or family that are not local to me.  As someone who is an empty nester, I am hoping to spend time with old friends. 

8.    Re-examine and update my personal will and medical directives. As mentioned a few goals ago, it’s a good idea to revisit yours from time to time to make sure things that things are still how you want them.   I remember giving my Dad a very hard time about updating their wills reminding him that their will had people looking out for them minor children and I was over 40 at the time.  He and mom updated their will and he signed it about a month before he passed away. Now, I can only imagine what it would have cost in legal fees to be hunting down and proving that everyone listed to take care of business in the will had already passed away.   

9.    Establish and protect one weekly “off-grid” ritual. I spend too much time with screens and available to everyone. I need to unplug.  I am hoping for board games or book time. 

10. Refresh/Renovate one room — whether that is new paint, décor, or organization — by end of summer 2026.  My house is older and it needs a lot of little things. I have never cared for the color in the kitchen/breakfast room area – our house is all 80s warm tones, but they wanted to go with gray when they were renovating to sell because that’s been trendy.  OMG… warm gray just looks like a dirty blue.  It doesn’t work for me.  Also, my bathroom needs new tile.  There was no floating membrane so many of the tiles (again when they upgraded to entice buyers) have since cracked as the house settles. 

11. Examine areas of clutter to see what’s stopping me from moving forward.   
 At least one drawer/cubby per week (after my recovery period).  I do have hoarding tendencies (I think they’re genetic) and I’ve had a lot of grief to absorb.  I have memories and I hate to pitch things that might be useful.  I just need to go through things. And one drawer (or cubby or cabinet) a week is not overwhelming.  

12. Implement a daily tidy or “reset” routine for your home. To keep things from getting out of control.  Especially dog fur.  

13. Read or listen (because listening counts!) to 10 books purely for pleasure, not research or work – I did pretty good with this last year, but I ran through several series very quickly.  I want to space them out better this year.  

14. Play piano at least 2x per week, logging practice sessions in my planner for accountability. – I am sure you’ve noticed that several of my goals have been very specific.  We’re teachers, we know the importance of specificity in our goals. without specifics, it’s hard to measure goals and if it’s a goal you care about, tracking it will make you pay more attention to it so that you’re more likely to do it. 

15. Learn 3 new piano pieces – I want to keep my skills sharp. 

16. Perform once — even if it’s informally as a solo recital – maybe a duo recital with hubby! Because deadlines also keep you sharp and it’s fun to do things together.

17. Attend 2 local school board meetings and speak at one.  I have been working hard to make a difference in the lives of teachers, and I want to start to make sure I am doing in my local community too. 

 I am going to skip a few numbers here because they are somet of the the things I have under super-secret wraps for teachers in transition this year. 

21.  Build a press/media kit since I am starting to field more calls as we grow Teachers in Transition. 

22. Grow Teachers in Transition  - I plan to branch out and start to talk with decision makers in districts directly about teacher retention and improving the teaching environment.   
 

23. Add a way for teachers to communicate with other teachers withing the Teachers in Transition landscape.  A safe place to talk about transitioning out of teaching with other teachers – anonymously. 
 

24. Take myself on no less than one work retreat.  Sometimes it is hard to accomplish my bigger goals because my family (and especially my DOGS) think that because I work at home, that I am also available to do all everything else.  As an example, the dogs thing my existence is just to serve as their remote door opener. 

 25. Add one new professional skill – (I’m taking suggestions for that – share your ideas.  I’m kinda thinking I need to up my Canva game, but there are SO many other things)
 
 

26. Find reasons to wear my tiara – because what is life without whimsy? My husband bought me a little tiara at the highland games last spring, and I want to wear it. For no reason. 

 Oof – that’s a lot! But what a wonderful year I will have if I even get SOME of that done. Remember as I talked about last week, even if you don’t get ALL of it done and you just get SOME of it done, it does help keep you moving in a direction that takes you towards your dreams. 
 
 What goals do you have?  Have you written it down? 

This is the part where I usually see people hesitate. They get inspired… and then they get overwhelmed.

And that’s why you need tools in the toolbox..

Because yes, you need hope. And yes, you need a compass of your own. But let’s not pretend we can build a new life with vibes and vision boards alone.

You need tools.

So let’s start with the ones you already have:

• A journal or even just a simple notebook. Not just for feelings — though that’s important — but for ideas, reminders, progress tracking. Page 1 is your list of goals!  Or maybe Page 2.  Maybe Page 1 needs to be the index.  Hmmmm..
• Habit trackers. Paper, digital, post-it on the fridge — whatever works. Remember what ever works for you is the right tool for you, 
• AI tools. Yes, I said it. Let the bot draft your resume or brainstorm career paths. Then tweak it with your humanity.
• Calendar blocks or alarms. Protecting your energy requires planning. A failure to plan is a plan to fail.
   
   

And then there are the tools you might not have used yet:

• Communities. Free groups, paid memberships, masterminds — spaces where your growth is normalized.
•  LinkedIn. Even if it scares you. Even if you don’t know what to say. Start connecting.
• Coaching. I say this not because it’s what I offer, but because it literally changed my life. Having someone witness your goals and walk beside you? It matters.
• Therapy. Especially if your burnout feels like grief or betrayal — because let’s be honest, for many teachers, it is.

You don’t need every tool. But you do need a few. And you need to know it’s okay to ask for help building the life you want.

Here’s where I want to pause and remind you that I invite you into that conversation.

What’s your word for 2026?

Where is your inner compass pointing? What direction is pulling at your sleeve?

I’d love for you to share it with me.

You can send me an email at Vanessa@teachersintransition.com. Or you can send me a voicemail at 512-640-9099.  Tell me your word. And tell me why it matters.  And I will honor that and keep it safe for your.   

Because when we name something, we start to move toward it. When we say it out loud, it gains power.  It starts to create momentum. 

One last thing before we close. Y’all know I love pop culture and movies and I want to offer you a pop culture pep talk. Because there’s some wisdom in Moana and Elle Woods here.

Moana didn’t wait for someone to hand her a map. She had a sense of what mattered — and she moved toward it. As she sang it: 

See the line where the sky meets the sea
 It calls me
 No one knows how far it goes
 If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
 One day I'll know
 If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
 
 

Elle Woods didn’t let anyone else’s expectations define her potential. She followed her gut, used her sparkle as strategy, and proved everyone wrong without ever being ugly about things.

That’s what I want for you.

You don’t need the whole route figured out. You just need a compass pointing towards your True North.

You don’t have to do it alone. You just need support. You don’t have to wait for things to get worse. You’re allowed to want more — right now. So I’m giving you permission to start moving forward.

With hope as your fuel. With your word as your compass. With a toolbox full of what serves you.

And if you want someone to help you sort through that toolbox? That’s literally my life’s work.

Book a free Discovery Call with me at https://teachersintransition.com/calendar. Let’s figure out what your next step might be — and how to take it without losing yourself in the process.

You’ve given enough. Now it’s time to build a life that gives back.
 Here’s to you.
 Here’s to a 2026 where you move in your own direction, at your own speed, and with no apology.

Email me at Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
Leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099
Schedule a free Discovery Session with me: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar
Follow me on Bluesky @beyondteaching.bsky.social
Find me on Threads and Instagram  AND TikTok @teachers.in.transition
And even on X at @EduExitStrategy
Follow on Facebook: just search for Teachers in Transition and look for our blue phoenix.
Or? Join the Teachers in Transition Podcast Club on Facebook