The Three Words for the year is an excercise created by Chris Brogan in 2006 to guide his actions for the year ahead. It somehow took off, and every year since, Chris has shared his Three Words with his readers. I’ve tried it for several years and it has helped me focus on my priorities, guided my efforts and helped me live more intentionally.
The Three Words are not goals or resolutions, which are more specific, but just guideposts to help you move in the right direction. To make an analogy, goals (and new years resolutions) are a like a GPS. Your Three Words are like a compass.
My Three Words for 2023 are: Kaizen, Hobby and People.
Kaizen
Kaizen refers to the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement. In my case it means being more organized (and keeping at it), and taking my minimalist practice to the next level. Why am I focusing on this? Because I tend to fly off the seat of my pants and that has sometimes lead to time wasted and sub optimal results, and while I am pretty good at living with few, essential things there is still some room for improvement in the minimalist front.
Hobby
I chose this word to remind me not to let the money motive get in the way of enjoyment and learning. I recently retired from the corporate world and noticed a tendency to stop doing things that don’t generate me money (perhaps out of fear of not having a regular paycheck). As a result, I was jumping from one thing to another feeling stressed and frustrated. I’ve made the decision to approach every new endevour as a hobby, and not let the fact of not making money from it become an excuse for not doing what I enjoy.
People
As an introvert who focused mostly on work for the past 30 years, I’ve neglected many personal relationships and have grown distant from most of my friends from the past. I’ve made it a point to reconnect with old friends and to go out with them IRL at least once a year. I’ve also decided to be more diligent at keeping in touch with friends who don’t live in my city. So far, everybody I’ve reconnected with has been trully happy that I reached out after so long.
What are your Three Words?
Resources
Chris Brogan’s 3 Words for 2022
How To Do What You Love and Make Good Money. ~Derek Sivers