For the last 11 New Years running, Chris Brogan has chosen 3 words to guide his actions and decisions during the coming year. I find that MUCH MORE palatable (and less disappointing) than declaring resolutions, so I’ve decided to choose (and make public) my 3 words for 2016, as well.
I was tempted to choose “Just Do It” as my three words, but I agree with Chris that a 3-word phrase doesn’t cover as much ground as 3 individual words. Plus, “just do it” really only has one power word in it: do. The other two…well, they’re placeholders I don’t really need.
The three words I’ve chosen are packed six-ways-’til-Sunday with meaning for me this year. Here they are:
Plan
This year, I plan to have a plan for everything I do. Some of you may fall out of your chair to read this, but some of these plans might actually be written. I know!
I also chose “plan” because it’s both a noun AND a verb. Love that. In fact, all three of my words are both nouns and verbs. So, really, I feel like I get double the bang for my word bucks this year.
Trust
I am a fairly trusting person to begin with. Yet some of my plans for the year will test my ability to trust…trust myself, trust others, trust the process, trust the outcome.
So I made trust one of my three words to remind me that trust (the noun) is required in all things and that I can trust (the verb) and then verify to build my trust muscle. (Did I just use it as an adjective, too?! Bonus!)
Act
When I act, I create results. Plan? Yes. Plan, then act. Trust? Absolutely. Trust before, while and after I act. But I create no results if I don’t act. So I must act. Because I want results. For you. For me.
Sometimes I might have to act like I know what I’m doing if (when?) my plan goes sideways, and trust that whatever the result, I will have learned something that I can include when I plan my next move.
See how nicely my words play with each other?
2016 = Plan + Trust + Act
