My Three Words for 2016
So I've been doing Chris Brogan's three words thing since 2012, and I find it is a great way to mark my intentions for the year. Previous years' words have been:
- 2015 - Build, Strong, Focus
- 2014 - Brave, Calm, Connect
- 2013 - Creating, Connecting, Consolidating
- 2012 - Do, Share, Inspire
Remembering that this is just about my intentions for the year, giving me some sort of focus for my actions and goals, I like how these worked for me. In reality, I could have words like Brave and Do every year, but that is not the purpose of this - brave is now a constant requirement for me, especially with launching the book.If you've never tried this sort of process to define your year, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try.
For now, my three words...
Like most other years, a couple of the words just leapt out at me, but I had to work for the last one. When it finally came to me I knew it was the best word I could use, so let's start with that last word:
BE
I think this will become my mantra for 2016, because it encapsulates so much of what I need to do this year. I need to BE in a number of ways:
- Be whatever I need to be - I have so many hats going in my life, and I need to fluidly move between these roles without hesitation or fear.
- Be more - continue to give myself permission to be confident, courageous, etc.
- Be present - then there are the times I need to just BE in the moment with myself, without feeling the need to put on all those other hats (I have a feeling this will be incredibly important).
PUSH
So I did the crazy thing of publishing a book at the end of the year, but I haven't done nearly enough to get it out into the world. I did more than I would have thought possible a year earlier, but there is so much more to do if I want Do Share Inspire to be even marginally successful - and as much as I fear that, I do want others to discover more about themselves from the lessons of My Year of TED.This is about pushing through the constant doubts and fears; the feeling that I can't do whatever task I need to do next. It's about pushing myself and my story into the world, and being willing to own all of it - pushing beyond any remaining comfort zone I have.
PULL
If you read my post on balance, it might not be surprising that this is the final word for the year - like I said, Push and Pull came together, it was Be I struggled with.This year cannot be all about Pushing, I know myself better than that. If My Year of TED taught me anything it's that self-kindness and self-compassion are vital to achieving anything you truly want. So, as important as it will be to Push, it will be just as important to make time to recharge and protect myself - but to not pull back so far that I am no longer pursuing my dreams.What do I mean by protect myself? If you think I am comfortable exposing my thoughts and feelings to the world in this way, you're crazy. If you had any idea how much goes into just writing this blog, you would have to wonder (a) how I'm not still on anti-depressants, and (b) why I still do it - but that's another post entirely.
What about you?
This is my intention for 2016, the year I will conquer the world :-) well maybe the year I will try to truly put myself out into it. What are your intentions for 2016? Will it be a year of family, growth, career, rejuvenation, courage, healing? I'd love to know what your intentions are, even if it isn't in the three word format. Share it with me in the comments section - and whatever it is, I hope you find the strength and courage to make it happen.