Resolutions are for breaking. We need something that guides us to be better. So this is what I do. I follow three words for the year.
We all know resolutions don’t work. I do this instead.
I pick three words.
Choose 3 Words to Guide Your Year.
It is just three words.
Not four. Not phrases. You don’t need to connect them. Choose three different words.
Then put them everywhere: on your lock screen, your calendar, to-do lists. Wherever you’ll see them. Like taping them to your laptop or your bathroom mirror.
It’s simple. Pick 3 words and use them to guide your year.
- Don’t pick 5 or 10. That’s too many. It won’t work.
- Don’t pick 1. There isn’t enough there.
- Don’t pick phrases. Cut to the chase.
3 words. Here’s how Chris Brogan describes it:
The idea behind there being three words (and not five or seven or one) is that you can create a kind of “triangulation” between three words, such that they can stand alone and work together.
A trinity. It totally makes sense. Words that dance with one another, inform one another, transform one another.
Just make them different.
My Previous 3 Words
Since starting in 2016, I’ve had a couple of different experiences with it.
2016 – Enjoy. Excite. Evangelize.
2017 – Gather. Lead. Play.
2018 – Decide. Minimize. Poetry.
2019 — Concentrate. Human. Experiment
My words in 2016 were perfect. And I used them constantly. My choices for 2017 were similar, but I didn’t prioritize them. And by May, I had pretty well forgotten them. My words for 2018 were important and ongoing. Each year is different.
Want more ideas? See what Chris Brogan has done for 14 years now.
My 3 words for 2020
Last year’s words were OK, but weren’t as punchy and memorable as 2018. I could use that year as a mantra.
But I’m going to try something out this time.
Passion
People who use words like “thought leader” love the word passion (as in “follow your passion”}. And who can blame them? It’s a great word! Actionable, forceful, engaging! It’s the kind of word that says it all. But for me, it is a good reminder to engage with my passion—not as an intellectual exercise (like finding your “true” calling).
It is a measuring stick. How passionate am I about this? Because the things that light me up—that’s where I’m most useful to the world. I’m thinking of it like following a muse.
Change
While this may sound too much like a resolution (or the ultimate resolution!), this is a reminder of an immutable law of creation: entropy. It means that there is no such thing as stasis, of staying the same. It is an illusion. Life grows or dies. There is only change. And at the top of my passion chart is helping people lose the fear of it.
Delight
Our relationship to the present—what lights us up?—is always changing, always of a moment. It could be a song, a painting, a thought experiment. But it is often fleeting. Some chase delight constantly or forget to revel in its glory. But delight is a thing we can do for ourselves and others; a push to make meaning and joy, light things in the midst of a thousand heavy things.
What are your 3 Words?
Don’t forget to visit Christ Brogan’s site for more ideas–chrisbrogan.com.
Do you want to give a try? Think about it, then just get started.
And don’t forget to share them with me and the whole internet using the hashtag #my3words.