My 3 Words for 2021
For as long as I’ve known Chris Brogan, every January 1st, I’ve followed along and participated in his ‘My 3 Words’ blog post.
It’s great practice.
It has always served me much better than putting all this pressure on a New Year’s Resolution that I’ll likely break and go on to give up on by the second week in January.
Check it out. It works for me. Maybe it will work for you too.
Last Years Words
Let me start by sharing last years words:
Relentless
135 (This was dumb on so many levels)
Simplicity
Relentless I picked because I felt empty. I was trying to put some fight back into me. I needed to rest, not push harder. I don’t want to call it a ‘fail’ because there were a lot of times I had to fight really hard especially when it came to my health. Although, I do have to acknowledge that my health probably wouldn’t have gotten to that place had I rested in the first place so… Even Stevens?
135 was the dumbest word/number I’ve picked in the 8 years I’ve been doing this. It was my goal weight. It wasn’t about health. It was about my screwed up perception of who I had to be in order to be worthy of love or acceptance. I failed. I gained 20-something pounds and I’m glad because that is not the way to think or go about anything.
Simplicity I think I did well on this one. It’s something I’ve been leaning into more and more since 2016. Simple but significant. Less stuff. Less generalisation. Less meaningless conversations. Less because it brings you so much more. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a minimalist but my life and routine are so simple. I will never stop leaning into this one.
Now onto better days.
My 3 Words for 2021
Self
Lead
Stop
Self.
I put this one first intentionally. Thinking about myself or putting my own needs first is something I struggle with more than the average Chlo. Almost all of my biggest struggles stem from this one problem that I am 100% in control of. Imagine that. In a world where we have little control over anything, the one thing I can control, I neglect.
There are lots of words I thought about here. Heal. Surrender. Me. None of them fit quite like Self. It came up in a conversation with a friend (Thank you friend!) and it struck me like a lightning bolt.
When you strip it all back, Self is at the core.
Focusing on that takes care of all the other side effects I’ve inflicted on myself from years of swallowing a pill made up of false belief. The dosage prescribed was ‘never enough’.
Lead.
I haven’t been a follower for years but I also haven’t been a leader. In fact, more often than not I’ve shied away from that role.
One of the biggest wins for me in 2020 was completely giving up any need to prove myself in business. I had no desire to impress anyone. At all. I truly let go of any need for validation. I’m proud of that.
It took me many years but these days the person that inspires me most and the person I hope to meet in the world is the 100% version of myself. I want to meet her. See what her world looks like. That’s the journey I want to go on. It’s also the journey I hope you go on too.
That means practicing what I preach. One of the most important messages I have tried to share with you over the years is ‘go your own way’. Forge your own path and give others an alternate route to walk down.
Now it’s time for me to step up and do that too.
Stop.
I know how to go. I don’t know how to stop.
I needed a tool to help me when things start to fall apart. I learned this reading Rob Hatch’s book “Attention!”.
I considered ‘breathe’ but in truth, when you’re in the middle of a panic attack or your brain is in meltdown, telling yourself to ‘breathe’ doesn’t always work so well.
‘Stop’ works because it cuts off my train of thought. It forces me to be present. It creates a moment of silence and space between what is going on and how I’m responding to it. It gives me time. It allows me a moment to breathe. It helps set me up for success in the next moment - something else Rob talks about in his book. (You should buy it. The timing is perfect!)
‘Stop’ is a tool I will carry with me everywhere I go this year.
It’s hard to share these words this year…
The uncomfortable part about sharing these words is that it forces me to be vulnerable with you. Sometimes that’s hard, right? I know that you understand that.
There’s also this weird sense of guilt in the pit of my stomach looking at these words and thinking they’re all about me, not the people I’m trying to serve.
That’s exactly why I had to pick them though. The best way I can serve you and actually deliver in a way that brings you the most value is to go back to basics and focus on the foundations first.
What starts with me, ends with you.
I love you and I’m more committed to serving you than I’ve ever been.
Thank you for reading. I hope you share your 3 words with me too if you join in.
Happy New Years!
Much love from my heart to yours.
Chloë -xo
