For the eighth year in a row, I’ve been making my list and checking it more than twice.
Inspired by my high school friend Penny Aguirre, I dole out action verbs each year. At the end of 2023, I gave out 307 for 2024. At the end of 2024, that number jumped to 411. Over the years, I’ve gotten enough feedback to know that some words vanish quickly from memory, while others linger, quietly shaping someone’s year in ways I may never know.
Some verbs are complete misses. Others strike like a flash, offering a sudden insight — a little spark that lights a moment or a decision. And then there are the ones that settle under the surface, appearing unexpectedly, in a conversation, a choice, a small gesture — long after we stop paying conscious attention…