If you haven’t heard of the fad of using 3 words to design your year around, then you’re in for a treat. I first heard about this from Chris Brogan in one of his webinars. The way he describes this process as designing a guiding lighthouse that will guide you through the next year.
And that’s what these words do. They are picked to help you make decisions through the year that will help you meet your goals. That means they are personal, multidimensional, and narrow enough to help you focus.
Success happens when people keep trying, not in an instant. Growth happens in the small, consistent movements of life, not in a one of bout of effort.
This is my 3rd year using them to guide the year. I like it because it gives you a sense of balance, makes growth easier because the attack plan is more defined, and in the end gives a sense of achievement because you’re able to stick with it.
And who doesn’t like success?
Here are my three words. They are picked to help me in my personal life and Insanitek.
Neural to remind me build a network, but it also reminds me to dive deeper into my thoughts. To be honest, I miss thinking. I miss quiet times. I crave that again. But, I also know that Insanitek will grow better if I get out there in the world and build a network. On top of this, neural means to feel. I want to feel and observe things in my tiny section of the world more. Very different things, but one word to cover them all.
Blaze reminds me to burn brightly and to ignite passions in others. It also reminds me to show up in the world, whether that is with the blog, videos, socials, or in meat space. You see things better when they are lit up and highlighted.
Systems reminds me to make the day to day things in life more streamlined, but also to write them out so people could understand my logic in decision making. It’s a process that involves more input, so it will also mean using Neural to work with others to make sure the systems we set up here at Insanitek are the best systems we can use right now.
OK, words are one thing. But the plan of attack is another.
You know I’m a fan of putting the work in and showing up in reality, not just daydreaming. So, coming up with ways to keep myself accountable and moving forward on these is a must.
But also a trial. I mean, these are big, time consuming ideas. They are supposed to be since they guide you forward for an entire year. My major hitch is going to be focus. (It always is.)
For Neural I plan on setting aside time to read and write every week, if not every day. I also plan on doing a networking event once a quarter, if not more often as things pop up. And, of course, I want to increase my listening to the community. Both those around my home and work.
For Blaze I want to practice consistently putting content on the ‘net. So far I’ve planned out the blogs I want to write for Q1, but now to carve out the time to actually get it done. I also want to do more speaking with the intention of encouraging others to follow their curious natures and delve more into science.
Lastly, Systems, is going to take a bit of group effort. I need to talk with all of our staff and students to get them on board, having them record things, and give feedback. I need to do the same thing at home with my husband. But in the end AARs with the group and iteration, iteration, iteration will be what gets us through the year.
