My 3 Words for 2018

Each year I pick three words to act as my inner compass towards the direction I want to take. These words that become part of my value system and character building aids that inform the actions I take.

How Do You Do It?

• Pick three words that you can use to guide you forward to success in the coming year.
• Pick words that apply to your goals, and more so, that apply to how you might make choices.
• Pick words that apply to more than one dimension of your life.

Why THREE Words?

“We choose three words so that you can use them for triangulation. One word seems to fade away from our memory too quickly. Two words sets our brain up to think of “this or that” kinds of logic. Three words gives us a way to think about the situations in our lives from many dimensions."

Your words are prompts to filter or guide certain actions are you go through the year. The act as major themes and actionable statements that can either stand alone or work together in understanding what you need to do for personal or professional growth.

My Past 3 Words Choices

• 2015 — Write. Explore. Connect.
• 2016 — Create. Share. Communicate.
• 2017  — Intention. Resiliency. Substance.

Reflection

Reflecting on the words I set for 2017, the one I resonated with a lot was substance. I focused a lot more on community and cultivating deeper relationships with people. My intention for the year was guiding by being in service of others. However, unintentionally certain personal habits which are important to me were not as consistent and fell through as I spread myself too thin. My resiliency was consistently tested throughout the year. I was dealing with fatigue on an emotional level more so than a physical level and learned about the importance of having emotional availability for deeper relationships in your life.

My 3 Words for 2018

A consistent feeling I have is that I haven't been taking enough risks. Of course, this is all relative, but for me, I operate taking very calculated risks minimizing downsides as much as possible, which is good but can get me into very predictable and narrow pattern of decisions. I should remember to leave room for spontaneous decisions and uncover irrational fears that prevent me from taking on opportunities I am fully capable of.

Decide -  Act swiftly, and wait no longer than is necessary. Not acting should be made as a decision. Allow time and patience for the results of decisions to play their course.

Risk - Have skin in the game for healthy feedback loops on decisions and opinions. Take risks when sufficiently reasonable. Commitment brings focus, free time and reduces risk attributed to fragmentation. Look for more asymmetries in life whether there are minimal downsides and larger upside and thus more capacity for risk.

Note - Capture and take note of as many notable experiences as I can. Get out of my head and onto the paper. Highlight and annotate fluidly. Absorb lessons and perspectives shared from people I interact with, read about or listen to. Take note to look back so you can better look forward.

Share Your Words!

What would your 3 words be?

You can comment down below, tweet me @juvoni.

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