Abide: A Word for the Year Focused on Presence, Faith, and Growth

Every year I (Jason) pick a word that I focus on. This year my word is "Abide"

Abide is a deceptively quiet word with a long shadow. At its core, abide means to remain, to dwell, to stay with—not out of passivity, but out of trust. It resists the modern itch to optimize, escape, or constantly upgrade. Abiding says: this place, this moment, this relationship is worth inhabiting fully.

In psychology, abiding looks like tolerance for discomfort—the ability to stay present without fleeing into distraction. In philosophy, it echoes the Stoic idea of endurance with attention. In faith, especially Christian faith, it’s relational rather than transactional: not “do more,” but “stay connected.”

Here’s how I am applying the word abide to my focused goal areas:

Faith: Spiritually, abide is the difference between visiting God and living with God. It’s prayer that lingers rather than rushes. Reading Scripture slowly, rather than consumed quickly. Faith becomes less about spiritual productivity and more about attachment. Abiding trusts that transformation happens through proximity, not pressure. Think roots, not fireworks.

Family: Abiding in family means choosing presence over performance. Staying emotionally available even when it’s awkward, boring, or tense. It’s sitting at the table a little longer. Listening without rushing to fix. Allowing seasons to be what they are—raising kids, caring for aging parents—without wishing them away. Families don’t deepen through intensity; they deepen through duration.

Work: At work, abiding means committing to craft over constant motion. Doing fewer things better. Staying with a problem long enough for real insight instead of hopping to the next task for a dopamine hit. It also means abiding by values when shortcuts are available—letting integrity compound quietly over time. Staying focused, purposeful, and on task. It doesn't mean to stop growing. It means changing the engine that drives the growth.

Personal (inner life): Personally, to abide is to stop abandoning yourself. It means staying with your own emotions instead of numbing or outrunning them. Letting thoughts settle. Accepting that growth often looks like maintenance. Abiding allows identity to stabilize—you’re not reinventing yourself every season, you’re becoming more yourself.

Finance: Financially, abide is almost a superpower. It looks like patience, consistency, and resisting panic. Long-term investing, living within margins, letting compounding do its invisible work. Abiding rejects the fantasy of quick wins and trusts boring faithfulness. Money grows the same way character does: quietly, over time.

Fitness: In fitness, abiding means showing up regularly rather than heroically. Walking when you don’t feel like training. Lifting with good form instead of ego. Letting the body adapt at its own pace. The healthiest bodies aren’t built by bursts of intensity—they’re built by staying in the habit long enough for it to change you.

Across all of this, to abide teaches a single lesson: depth comes from staying. Staying in conversations. Staying in values. Staying in seasons that don’t sparkle. In a world trained to flee discomfort and chase novelty, abiding is a quiet, countercultural strength. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t rush. It just remains—and over time, it transforms everything it touches.

My focus and prayer this year is to practice the word "abide" and to apply it to major areas in my life. I am hopeful to create more mindfulness in all areas of life, to connect more, and to be more present. Join me on this journey in 2026!

----Jason Brown.