My 3 Words - 2024 Edition
Five years into my 3 Words exercise, I’m making a shift in style. It’s a bit of a word-nerd shift, and it’s deliberate (teaser). I like to start the year by choosing 3 Words that will help keep me focused on larger goals, both personal and professional.
I pack a lot into these 3 Words, and I expect a lot from them throughout the year. For 2024, I chose BE words instead of action words. It’s about what I aim to be for both myself and for others, not just actions I need to take.
I will be:
Creative
Deliberate
Influential
I’ll give a bit more detail on these 3. And I write this for me, kinda like a journal that I can come back to. Feel free to read on or just get to work on your own 3 Words plan. Note, there is a short 3 Words origin story at the end of this brief post.
Creative
This word embraces ideas and their execution. It’s about “creating” and not just being “creative.” While I truly believe we are all more creative than we realize, the term can be intimidating. But it should be empowering. Whether your creation is a sales plan or a bathroom remodel or a painting or a communication strategy, “creative” is the condition of accomplishing new stuff. For 2024, I will focus on the entirety of that condition, with an emphasis on completion. A creative idea is good, and a creative accomplishment is better.
Deliberate
I’m all for experimentation, and I believe I can try new things with serious intent. I want to consider the consequences of my creative activities. Being deliberate means, to me, being intentional, purposeful, not hurried. I like word origins, and this one comes from the Latin “deliberatus” meaning “to consider.” Think of Libra, the constellation and astrological sign of the scales, like scales of justice or balance. I’ll work for that balance while continuing on a creative path.
Influential
As I get older, I have the good fortune of encountering a lot of young people. (Is this correlation or causation?) And I believe I have things to offer, both in my past experience and in my ongoing work. If I’m creative and deliberate, I should be positively influential too. Want a cool word-origin story? Go look up the Latin “influentia” and then consider “influenza.” Hey, just being honest here. I’m taking the positive track with this, while striving for impact, influence. And not just with coworkers, some of whom are just beginning careers in communication. I’m working on my Grampa influence plan also.
Here’s a 3 Words History
“Choose any three words you feel will guide you forward,” advised Chris Brogan, the author and speaker who shared his 3 Words process with me years ago. Brogan says to think of your 3 Words as “lighthouses” that can direct you daily.
I continue to benefit from the 3 Words activity. This year, I look at it differently. I’m thinking more – personally and professionally – about how I need to exist in the world, with and for others. And those “others” include coworkers, neighbors and community members, and my three grandchildren.
This is a personal thing, and I will display the words in my home office as a daily reminder. I also publish and share this story for accountability. And I will repost it again in about months.
Consider your own 3 Words practice. Pick action words or nouns or adjectives – whatever is meaningful to you. And when you do, let me know, please. I’d love to support your 3 Words journey. Post it on LinkedIn with #my3words.