It’s the beginning of a new decade and I can feel a tsunami of wants, desires, and dreams roiling just beneath the surface. So I’m taking Chris Brogan’s advice: Pick 3 words for 2010.
“I’ve practiced something I call “my 3 words,” where I come up with three words that I use as guidance for how I should conduct my efforts in the year to come. I set goals around these three words. I build deadlines and projects around these words. They don’t have to mean anything to you, but the process might prove interesting to you, especially if you’ve found goal-setting difficult in the past.”
I stepped away for a while and gave myself time to unearth them from the coffers of my subconscious, where, no doubt, they’ve been slumbering for who knows how long. Slowly, over the course of the morning, they popped into my mind, one at a time, like the burst of flavour on your tongue when you bite into a juicy fruit gum.
So, without further ado, here are my 3 words for 2010: Freedom, Unique, Authentic.
Where to go from here? Well, I can erect a few signposts to help me on my journey. Here’s one:
Gifts to myself:
- sing when I feel like it, without giggling behind my hand and muttering, “oh…dear” immediately afterward.
- laugh more often, especially for no reason. In other words, take life less seriously.
- be grateful for every breath I take, every delicious moment on this earth.
- write every day, without editing, judgment, or walls. Allow the creative process to unfold willy-nilly, unburdened by the voice that stifles.
- play with my voice; i.e., the spoken word, as well as the written one. Allow my authentic voice to ring out, loud and clear. Take a page from Edith Bouvier Beale, who played with her uniqueness and therefore remained a child forever. (I’ll take the best parts of her and throw away the weird stuff.)
So, that’s it for now. Maybe I won’t take life so darned seriously in this brand spanking new decade. And maybe I’ll be more open to whatever crops up for me. Resistance is futile, anyway, so I might as well throw my arms wide and enjoy the ride.
Photo: robinsan
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