Word for the Year 2026, or maybe just for this afternoon

 Every year in September, I try to get a “word” for the upcoming year. I always thought it would be lovely to announce a word at the start of God's New Year. Whether my hearing is dull, or I’m not fervent enough, or God is too busy giving words to TV preachers, I don’t know. Still, I usually receive the word months later — usually in January, or March, or (last year) June. But this time, I got a word! In time for September! 

Now I don’t know if it’s a just-for-me word, or a just-for-Q4-of-2025 word, or an honest-to-goodness Word for 2026. I’m open to your feedback on that (positive affirmation in the comments, negative rebukes or exorcisms by private message). Anyway, the word I got was…(drumroll, please):

Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost is an economic term that means “the potential benefits that are foregone if a decision is made in favor of a particular option.” For instance, if I withdraw $100 from my retirement savings to buy a new dress, the real cost of that dress is not $100. It’s $100 PLUS whatever interest that $100 would have earned over the 20+ years that I have before retirement (more than double the original amount, in most cases). 

Another example is how I spend my time. I’ve just started my business and, as a solopreneur, I need to network to sell my services. I could spend a lot of time networking with other solopreneur consultants, and it would be great fun and a source of camaraderie. But those folks are not potential clients. That time is not spent developing my product offerings or networking with potential clients. While it’s scarier to go to spaces where my potential clients are, and while it’s lonelier to stay home and work on product development, those are the spaces I need to spend my time to make this venture yield results. 

This also applies to where I put my efforts. I spent a SOLID MONTH setting up my office and my LLC. I could spend two months learning how to build a website. Those things are necessary, but if I’m going to have an impact in the business world, if I’m going to  make work less painful for my clients, I need to “do the stuff!” Every minute I spend watching YouTube videos on how to set up a website is a minute I'm not writing keynotes or designing workshops. 

So, I’m curious to see how you think of this word. Is it a word for the year, a word for many, or is it just me? Either way, I need to stop posting now and do the stuff!