A few years back, Chris Brogan introduced me to the concept of My Three Words through his blog. Since I’m notoriously bad at making and keeping New Year’s resolutions, I thought I’d give My Three Words a try instead. Three years and a lot of changes for the better later, I still believe in and use this to help me focus on what I want to accomplish in the coming year.
This year was a little harder than the past two when I sat down to choose my three words. They didn’t come to me easily. In fact, it’s only been within the past couple of days that the words that best define the areas I want to work on have solidified in my head. But now that they’ve gelled, they feel right – at least for me.
Risk. Take chances and create opportunities in both my personal and professional life. Do this in spite of being unsure, afraid, or even just plain lazy on occasion. Push myself beyond my previous (often self-imposed) limits. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll jump into things blindly, although sometimes you’ve just got to take the leap of faith and trust yourself to come out of it flying instead of crashing.
Present. As in, be present. Like many of us, I often allow digital distractions to take away from the moment – which not only robs myself and whomever I’m with of my full and undivided attention, but also cheapens the value of the connection we’re trying to make or the work we’re trying to do. I’m making a choice, every time my attention starts to wander, of whether I should allow the interruption (Is it an emergency? Is it relevant to, or new information about, the discussion or work I’m doing?) or not.
Live. Like the two words preceding this one, it’s all about making a choice – and then working hard to keep making it – to change how I live my life. It includes things like keep eating healthier; be more ‘in the moment;’ make new connections and keep the ones that mean the most to me alive and well. It also includes not being a spectator in my own life.
Enough about me. Let’s turn this around to you. What are your three words? I’d love to hear what they are, and why you chose them. And no, it’s not too late to choose them if you haven’t already. The year is just getting started.