10 years ago I decided that making a New Years resolution was basically setting myself up for failure. I would start a new year with good intentions, but the resolve to move from intention to action was rarely there.
And then I came across Chris Brogan’s “My Three Words” idea. Essentially, instead of choosing a resolution you choose three words that will guide your actions for the year.
These three words can serve as intentions instead of promises. And as long as you keep your intention alive, you’re being true to your word.
You can learn more about choosing your Three Words on Chris’s blog.
One of the best tips I can give you on incorporating your three words into your life is to place a reminder of those words somewhere accessible. I incorporated my 2020 three words into my daily planner by writing them in the morning at the top of each page.
My three words for 2020 were Track, Abundance, Fun.
Those three words helped me decide to donate part of my earnings to the Navajo Nation relief funds last year, and hire more help for my business (Abundance). They also helped me feel guilt-free when I chose to take time off from Introvertology, and also when I decided to create a series of Facebook Live videos where I taste-tested lactose-free eggnog (Fun). And, they helped me start an exercising accountability text chain with a few of my siblings (Track).
And even though it’s now 2021, those words are still guiding me. As I’m writing this we’re well into January. Even though I only just picked my three words of 2021, that’s ok. Abundance is my guide, not scarcity, not panic, not guilt.
For 2021, I’ve chosen the words:
Simplify
Flow
Continue
Simplify: 2020 was pretty chaotic. This year I want to focus on a few simple funnels (a funnel is a model of how a customer goes from interested to buying). Simplifying aspects of my business will let me have space to pursue my new ideas… I always have new ideas.
Flow: I hope to continuing with last year’s concepts of abundance and fun by focusing on Flow in 2021. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
In 2021 I hope to create more moments of flow, more moments where I feel attuned (in a positive and hopeful and helpful way) to the world instead of disengaging from the world..
Continue: Continue doesn’t mean finish. It also doesn’t mean start. It means to keep going. This year, I intend to continue. Starting comes easy to me, but finishing, well, in the past I put a lot of pressure on myself to finish (Finish was one of my first Three Words back in, I believe, 2011). So this year, I’ll continue.
When I chose this word I was thinking about the process of creating content, and how hard it is to start a piece of content with the intention to create something finished and polished and “sharable.” This year, I’d like to experiment with creating podcast episodes and blog posts that aren’t finished, and instead see content as a continuation. I’m continuing and contributing to the wealth of human knowledge. What I create doesn’t have to be perfect and doesn’t have to feel finished. It will merely be a continuation of my aim to help introverts and the people who live and work with them.
Now over to you. I’d love to know what your three words will be in 2021!
