Last December as the new year approached, we had a discussion here about our three words for 2011. Now it’s September, 9 months later, school is starting for many, new things are happening, and it seemed a good time to revisit those three words.

For me personally, the last few weeks have been a bit strange. There’s a lot happening, life is pretty busy, and yet there are days when I feel like I’m swimming in quicksand and not really getting much done. It’s times like that for me that make me start to feel like there’s no progress. I also find that when that happens, it’s time to step back and take a look at where I am and where I’m going. It helps focus on what is happening instead of what isn’t. Here are my choices of three words and my comments on those three words today.

Authentic

I’ve always been a “what you see is what you get” kind of person. Sometimes that creates problems. There are times when people just don’t want to hear reality, or at least my reality. :) And you know what? That’s okay too. Every person has a choice about what’s right for them and it’s not all about me in that case. What is about me is that it’s important for me to do what I say I’ll do and be that authentic person. Even in some of our discussions here, sometimes they aren’t what people want to see or hear, but part of me being that authentic person is to bring those things up so we can talk about important issues in our industry.

Gratitude

This is the word where it’s hard to know where to begin. All in all, my life is blessed. I have a wonderful husband (even when he sometimes irritates me) who really does the things he believes will make me happy. I’m grateful that he’s so patient about that because my past relationship wasn’t that way and so it’s been a lot for me to learn.

I’m grateful for this community. You are really good about poking the box with me and we’ve done a lot of that. I love those discussions that tackle issues. I love that people are willing to bring their thoughts and ideas and share them, and that the community allows for that interaction without harshness. Thank you for that.

Opportunities: I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far this year and for the ones I believe will come. From the creation of the sites for MTs to being able to offer some pretty exciting training, it’s all good. I believe it will just continue to get better.

Inspire

I have surely been inspired this year, and that’s because of each of you. From those who simply sign up for the mailing list, those who choose to add to the discussions by leaving comments, many of you who email me privately with your thoughts, and yes those who have signed up for courses we offer. It’s what drives me to continue to create new and exciting things that will really make a difference for people in our industry. The other part of that word was that I hoped to inspire others. Many of you have taken that big step to take training in the new technologies, to study for your credential, and even to take that step of adding your first comment here. I’m fortunate to have been a small part of inspiring some of you to do those things. Thank you.

So there’s my three words update. How about you? How are you doing with your three words this year? I’m looking forward to your updates!