2011 Goals: What Will Your 3 Words Be?
This year is almost to an end, and it’s the time when we all begin to think about New Year’s resolutions. Do you make them every year? Each year, it seems, people set out with their list of resolutions. We want to be a better person, lose weight, manage our time better; for medical transcriptionists, you might want to become credentialed, get involved in your association more, increase your line counts. And the list goes on and on.
What often happens with these goals is that they work for awhile and then something happens. We have one bad day and decide to give up. The next thing that happens when we give up is we feel like we have failed. And so we spend the rest of the year feeling like we failed at the lofty goals we set for ourselves for the new year.
Last year I stopped doing new year’s resolutions, for many of the reasons above. I learned a new way of looking at the new year from a blogger who I follow, Chris Brogan. He talks about using three words to plan your year. Three words, that’s it, that can simply define what your year will be about. It’s setting a framework for your year and selecting three words that can be applied to the things you do all year. It’s not about setting a resolution with an “end date” on it and hoping you make it.
So here are my three words for 2011: authentic, inspire, and gratitude. Let me tell you a bit how I see those fitting for my new year.
Authentic
“The authentic self is the soul made visible.” Sarah Ban Breathnach
I will be authentic in all I do. It’s a simple matter of, as my husband puts it, “no false faces.” I’ve never had much patience for those who aren’t authentic. When we are authentic, it’s a “what you see is what you get.” It doesn’t mean we will always agree, but it does mean we will interact with integrity and honesty. It means that what you read here will be an authentic representation of our industry, and yes that does mean that it will sometimes also have my thoughts and opinions attached to it. My interactions with others will be done with that same authenticity.
Gratitude
“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach
This last year has been a lesson in gratitude for me. Having gone through a downsizing of my “forever job” and a major move and change in lifestyle, I’ve learned the importance of being grateful for the things I have in life. I am also a believer that when you express that gratitude, you simply bring more of those good things into your life. I want this new year to be one where I am ever mindful of the things I have to be grateful for and a time when I am not lax in expressing that to others. For you see, gratitude unexpressed isn’t gratitude at all!
Inspire
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer
I want to inspire others to see the possibilities in their lives. I also want to be inspired by others. I want to feel that inspiration such that it drives me to create new projects and, as Seth Godin says, “SHIP.” That means new courses coming here for 2011 and some new ideas for business! I’ve been blessed in my life to have some great folks inspiring me in what I have done. If I can pass some of that on to someone else, it will be even better. Each of you who comes here to read are an inspiration to me, pushing me to create good content for you so that you enjoy your time here.
So there you have it, my three words. I plan to post updates on these throughout the year. My challenge to you is to give it some thought and find your own three words for 2011. What will your three words be?
Related posts:
- Goals
- Planning for 2012: My 3 Words
- Three Words Revisited
- Reflections on My Three Words
- Medical Transcription and Setting Goals
Tagged with: Goals • setting goals for the new year • values • writing your life story
Filed under: Goals • Professional Development
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Those are great words, Kathy! Let’s see, here are mine: Abundance, Integrity, and Exuberance. They are along the same lines as yours, really.
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Charmaine, I love those words! Integrity is always at the top of my list. And yes, they are sure close to mine as well!
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I think my 3 words will be:
(1) VALUE: I will value my time and everything I have to offer to others, but I also want to remember that (like Oprah did) I can say “NO” when I need to take time for myself and other things that I value (like my health, my marriage, other relationships–family and friends, and care of my home).
(2) MUTUAL RESPECT (yes, I know that’s 2 words, but I’m counting it as only 1): I will respect others for their opinions (including religious and political), heritages, religious beliefs, lifestyles, etc., and at the same time tactfully make it understood that I expect the same in return, even if it means to agree to disagree. This is the only way that everyone involved in any meaningful discussion can make their views known so that all people can really know each other and appreciate their differences as well as their similarities.
(3) ATTENTION: I know that my mind can be going in 10 directions at one time and that when someone says something to me I might ACT like I’m listening but that many times I’m really too “into whatever I’m thinking or doing” and not (as they say) “in the moment” and not really hearing what the other person wants me to know. Because of this, it is one of my goals to become a better listener, to really pay attention when someone says something to me so that it “sinks in” the first time and I don’t have to ask them to repeat whatever it was (which is an inconvenience, a time waster, and one way in which I indicate to someone that I must not think that they have worthwhile things to say to me). After all, when I say something to someone, I really hope and expect that they hear me, don’t I? (It is one thing to ask someone to clarify what they said if I didn’t truly understand and another thing to ask someone to repeat what they said because I wasn’t listening the first time, right?)
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Sherry, a great three words indeed (and yea, you can count that as one word!). I look forward to us sharing throughout the year how we’re making these a part of life.
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My 3 words are:
Listen-to what others are saying and
Learn-from each new experience that comes along and
Grow-as each situation presents us with a chance to grow or to stay stuck in the same mode as before.
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Linda, I love your list. Growth is such an important thing and by listening and learning, we do have growth!
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Visible: This isn’t new for 2011 because I’ve been working on it for a while and it isn’t a resolution because that word equals a goal we know we will fail to me. I want to stop being invisible over the course of this next year. I am so humiliated by the weight I gained during the stress of the past 2 years. I’m not in our Christmas pictures. I refuse to get a family picture done. In all of our hiking and camping pictures there are almost none of me unless it is just from the neck up so I can make sure my stomach and legs are not seen. This last year I’ve started looking like the stereotypical housewife that is overweight, out of shape, and dressed in the least fashionable attire you can find. That is just not me AT ALL. I worked out for 30 minutes the day my 4th was born! I’ve always been active, I’ve always kept myself fixed up. I used to LOVE running and now I get winded going up the stairs. When did this happen?? How did it happen so fast!? The person I am on the inside is hiding inside something I am disgusted by. All that eating has not solved anything. It hasn’t gotten my husband a job. It didn’t make work come in yesterday. It doesn’t make my special needs child any easier to deal with. Becoming so unfit that I cannot do the things I truly love sure isn’t solving anything. Over this next year, I will be visible in my family pictures again and I won’t feel embarrassed to go in public anymore (it has created an extreme anxiety issue for me). Everything else, all of my other short- and long-term goals, is secondary to this word. In a nut shell, I am going to be me again. Probably TMI, but there it is.
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Sarah, what an awesome thought. Here’s to a year of being visible and I’ll look forward to seeing you in those family pictures some day soon!
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Sarah Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
My other two words should have been “baby” and “steps.” I. Am. So. Sore.
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Okay that gave me my chuckle for the night. Do NOT overdo there, girl!
SIMPLIFY – My ongoing attempt which never ends – to be content with what I have, watch spending, learn the value of simple things, organize, prioritize, to understand my own self-worth as apart from the things I possess.
CREATE – I find that I live my best life when I am creative. I have lots of hobbies – cross-stitch, sewing clothes, quilting, singing, harp playing, piano playing, making greeting cards, taking photographs – but I tend to neglect them for many reasons, some for months at a time. Yet, I am at my happiest when I’m creating. Which leads me to….
FINISH – My greatest weakness is not finishing what I start. I want to quit procrastinating and finish the creative projects I have in my head or have actually begun working on. I have so many interests and maybe a touch of attention deficit disorder that I’m constantly distracted by another idea or project and leave the earlier one to languish and then the cycle repeats itself – leading to ongoing frustration. It took me until my daughter’s 6th anniversary to complete her wedding quilt. I’m haven’t even finished cutting out the pieces for my son’s wedding quilt and he celebrated his 3rd anniversary this summer. I have clothes for myself to sew, and a twin-size quilt for my oldest granddaughter. So many projects and so little time! LOL My procrastination runs rampant – I give equal procrastination time to pleasurable projects (sewing, music, etc.) and disagreeable projects (balancing the checkbook). I have finished many things in the past, so I know it’s possible – and that is my big goal for 2011!
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Kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Carol, those are such great words. I work on simplifying and yet don’t have that one down yet (I like to say I am in a work in progress). Your thing with “finish” reminds me of Seth Godin’s book and the idea of “SHIP” it. I have a bunch of his SHIP IT workbooks just to try to keep myself on track with projects because I have so many. A year ago I thought buying domain names was a good idea and I had so many idea for plans there. A year later, I still have 70+ domain names and yet only about five or six that are really functional. Now I’m simplifying those by letting some of them go this next year. Focus!
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Enjoy my life.
I am not sure it has lofty goal written all over it, but I thought about this for almost a week before writing it down. The past 2 years have been so very hard for our family, emotionally, physically … I find myself worrying constantly, the economic downturn, how to afford health insurance so that I don’t have to work until I am 80 or longer, job stability, husband driving heavy trucks and equipment all over the state to make a living as he also ages … ugggghhhhh.
It dawned on me while thinking of Kathy’s challenge to us that I have not really allowed myself the time in the last years to simply sit on the porch watching dragonflies at dusk anymore. I can’t remember for sure when I last did that in fact.
So, I guess this year I am going to attempt giving up some of these worries, make myself simply enjoy what “is” and endeavor to stop worrying about what “will/may be.”
Nae
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Kathy Reply:
December 31st, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Nae, I LOVE those three words! In these times when we have so much negativity, it’s so easy to forget to stop and enjoy what we do have. I’ll look forward to hearing stories about those dragonflies at dusk.
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My three words for 2011…Confidence, Completion, and Celebration. I want to have confidence in myself and my abilities…not be defeated before I walk in the door! I want to complete everything I start, and complete it before starting something new. I want to celebrate and enjoy my life and my family and not get caught up in day-to-day minutia. Happy New Year! I really enjoy your site!
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Kathy Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Julie, those are great words! I will look forward to seeing how you apply them throughout the year. Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation!
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those are three great words Kathy! thank you for sharing. Gratitude is something I try to think about every day. I am a generally happy person but I was listening to a talk radio guy Dennis Prager a year or so ago (he does an hour a week on happiness); in this particular hour he explained that the more grateful you are for what you have been given the happier you will be. That immediately resonated with me. So “gratitude brings happiness” is something of a mantra for me.
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Kathy Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Thanks for stopping by, Rick! I’ve found that gratitude can absolutely change our lives and try to find at least one thing every day to be grateful for. It definitely works.
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