Make a New Normal

My 3 Words for 2021

The three words to guide the year. Join with others writing #my3words for 2021 and make a resolution that will stick.


This is me letting 2020 go!

Each year I pick three words to focus on. It’s better than a resolution. It’s a way of giving me guidance through the year.

The fact that there are three is intentional. And it works.

But don’t just take my word for it. There’s a whole community of people doing this each year and sharing it under the hashtag: #my3words.

There aren’t a lot of rules other than pick three and don’t get too clever. Keep it simple.

My Previous 3 Words

Here is what I have used the last five years:

2016 – Enjoy. Excite. Evangelize.
2017 – Gather. Lead. Play.
2018 – Decide. Minimize. Poetry.
2019 – Concentrate. Human. Experiment
2020 – Passion. Change. Delight.

Here’s what I did last year.

Of course, 2020 was quite the year. But I’ve got some ideas about this one.

My Three Words for 2021

Slow – I get so overloaded with thoughts and expectations, and all of them have to be done NOW. This words is my antidote. Because the overload makes me feel like I have to go fast (think Facebook’s “go fast and break stuff”), I need to be reminded that it is OK to go slow. Like calming your mind makes the fastball coming at the plate slow down.

Share – As a leader. As a parent and spouse. Don’t just delegate jobs–share responsibility with others to make the magic happen. This one is really tough for me. But it is precisely who I want to be.

Ship If I want 2021 to be an amazing year, I will need to make my amazing ideas into very real things. Which means I need to stop polishing so much. Wasting time making it perfect. Fearing that nobody will show up. Just ship it. Let it out into the world. Make it, Ship it, and Show up.

What are your 3 Words?

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.


What more inspiration? Here is Chris Brogan’s list for 2021

https://chrisbrogan.com/stories/marketing/3words2021/