How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? If you run a business, are some of your resolutions also business goals?
I’m not great at making resolutions. If we don’t make resolutions, we have less anguish about falling short,
right?
You might know that I follow an alternative New Year’s ritual called "My 3 Words." It’s a practice that sets some themes or guidelines for the year ahead. Rather than setting specific goals, your three words for the year are a framework for making decisions – business, personal, or both.
Last Year’s 3 Words
My three words for 2023 were "downsize," "fail," and "visualize." How did they work out for me?
With "downsize," I wanted to cut some distractions, specifically emails that I hadn’t opened for months.
This was a win. I unsubscribed from a bunch of email lists and was careful about subscribing to new ones. In the process, it reduced the anxiety that unopened emails caused. "Gee, that one looks interesting, but I don’t have time to read it now. Maybe later …"
Fear of Failure
I chose "fail" not because I wanted to fail, but to learn to accept failure as a consequence of trying. After a lifetime of letting fear of failure drive my behavior, I wanted to let it go. At least a little.
This came into play more in the second half of the year when I started a new coaching program. I was encouraged to try some things I was sure wouldn’t work.
But I pushed through the fear … and nothing bad happened. Another win.
Lost Sight of
Visualization
I had hoped that practicing "visualization" would help me with goal-setting and some long-term planning. As a kid, even through my teenage years, I was pretty good at daydreaming and thinking about things I wanted to accomplish.
As an adult, not so much. I struggle to answer questions like, "Where do you want to be a year (or five years) from now?" or "How much money do you want to make?"
Ugh. It hurts my brain to think about it. And so I fell short when it
came to visualization. It’s OK, though, I’m more comfortable with failure.
My 3 Words for 2024 are on my website. If the process resonates with you, give it a try. There’s no deadline. And if you’ve already done them, what are your three words for the year?
The next newsletter arrives Jan. 30. That’s right – January is a three-newsletter month. Woohoo! I used to love it when there were three paydays in a month.
By the 30th, we’ll know this year’s Super Bowl contestants. And by then, we’ll already be five weeks into winter. It’s been a might chilly here the last few days. How are the temps where you are?
As ever, be grateful. Be generous. Be patient. Love.
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Thanks for spending some of your time with me, . I appreciate you.
Mark
P.S. - This newsletter was created entirely by me, a
human. If any parts of my newsletters are generated by artificial intelligence, I’ll disclose it here.
P.P.S. - Some links in this email might be affiliate links, which could generate small commissions for me at no extra cost to you.
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