Business

As I have every year, I’ve picked three words to help guide me in 2014. This is my third year choosing themes instead of resolutions or goals. I’ve been much happier with the results of this practice.

Last year’s words were: Reduce. Balance. Invest. And I did reduce some of the clutter in my life, in particular of the things that were distracting me mentally. I started including more time for fun, family, and friends (for Balance). I didn’t do as well in the Invest portion as I would have liked, but I did more than I had in previous years.

This year’s words: Comfort. Honesty. Growth.

COMFORT. I want to push myself out of my comfort levels and take more risks personally and professionally. I’ve just begun to do this and I’ve seen improvements in my “product.” I’m hoping to do more of this and to see its effects on my life.

HONESTY. I’m going to continue on the path of removing some of the filters that I’ve placed on my voice, my presence online and offline. Some of this is related to taking risks, but some of this is simply a desire to be more transparent.

GROWTH. In a follow-up to last year’s “Invest” I am going to make decisions to create growth in myself in all aspects of my life.

The idea is that all three of these words are going to move me in the direction I want. Wish me luck.

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Related posts:

• 2013: Looking forward and three words — Reduce. Balance. Invest.
• 2012: My 3 Words for 2012 — Simplify. Focus. Create.

Every year I would pick resolutions and goals to help guide me in the upcoming year.
And every year I failed.

This year I picked three words, three themes for the year. I started this last year, copying the idea from other bloggers I read and follow. After years of making resolutions and abandoning them after a few months, I was ready to try something new. I hoped that this would prove to be a better influence in the long run.

I’m not going to lie… I did think that it wouldn’t make much of a difference. I thought that, ultimately, my “words” would off my radar after a few months, the same as my resolutions normally did.

I was wrong.

Last year’s words were: Simplify. Focus. Create. And somehow I managed to stay on track with these themes for most of the year.

This year’s three words are: Reduce. Balance. Invest.

REDUCE: This is exactly what it sounds like — I’m going to reduce the clutter in my life. And I do mean the things I have, the things I do, and the mental and emotional baggage I accumulate.

BALANCE: I am going to start including more time for fun, family, and friends. I need to start going out and actually doing things, living life, instead of reading about it. In addition, it’s hard to write about interesting things if you’re not doing interesting things.

INVEST: I am going to make an effort to invest time and money in myself. This includes the more formal personal and professional development and the more whimsical things that will feed my creativity and spirituality.

And I’m hoping that 2013 is a more productive and successful year.

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UPDATE: I’ve started a Storify board with stories and resources for these themes. Hope you enjoy it.