My Three Words for 2015
Welcome to 2015!
Many people are making New Year’s resolutions that will, unfortunately, fall by the wayside as soon as life picks back up to full speed.
I don’t set resolutions at the start of each year. Instead I set a number of achievable and push goals, each with a next action associated with them.
For example, one of my 2015 personal goals is to donate 20,000 meals to Feeding America. To expand on this goal so that it is achievable, my next action is to set up an automatic charge through our corporate match system.
To ensure that I achieve this goal I have calculated what our monthly contribution needs to be plus the corporate match that Citrix provides. I then logged a task in Todoist to remind me on January 2nd to set up the recurring charge.
By setting the recurring charge I know that, unless something drastic happens, by the end of 2015 we will have met our goal of donating 20,000 meals.
Along with setting achievable and push goals, for the last several years I have used Chris Brogan's three words framework that help guide the year.
Over the last two weeks I have been brainstorming the three words that I would select for 2015 while also reviewing the three words I have selected in previous years.
While reading my three words for 2013 I chuckled something I said in that post:
“Inevitably there will be a number of unforeseen moments, some high and some low, that will impact us over the coming year.”
To say that what happened to us during the second half of 2014 was unforeseen would be an understatement!
I was definitely thrown off of my game with everything that has happened to us during 2014, with my three words and goals being deprioritized to focus on my recovery.
As I look forward to 2015 with the knowns and unknowns of what lay ahead for us I have chosen the following three words:
Determined
2015 will be met with the same level of determination I have always had throughout my life but with a heightened awareness of it.
I am determined to not let the chemotherapy treatments crush me. The treatment may slow me down or impact my abilities at times but it will not prevent me from enjoying my life, making gains in the gym or performing at the level that I want.
With having to de-prioritize much of the 2nd half of 2014, I am determined to stay focused on what I want to achieve in 2015.
Invest
I will be taking more time to invest in the relationships that need to be cultivated.
I will be taking more time to invest in my health.
Some may laugh at this because I have been very consistent in the investment into my health throughout the years however with chemotherapy starting in March this will become ever more important. I want to harden my body even more to fight off the negative effects of chemotherapy.
I plan on investing more of my time and finances to those who need it the most. As mentioned above, we will be donating 20,000 meals this coming year to Feeding America. Instead of spreading our funds around to several charities, we will be honing and increasing our investment to make a larger impact.
When it comes to the investment in time, I will make better use of the time that Citrix provides to invest in our communities. This has always been shaky for me. Some years I use the time and other years, such as 2014, the year comes to an end without me using that time.
Finally, I am voraciously studying about investing for our future. We have been fortunate enough to invest in a 401k since joining Citrix but I want to go deeper with our investments.
I am reading "Money Master the Game” (aff link) by Tony Robbins and have been talking with friends who invest in the stock market to understand their strategies (or sometimes lack thereof).
Challenge
Admittedly I had another word chosen until I read C.C. Chapman’s three words and hijacked this one from him.
This coming year will be a series of challenges for us that we will meet head on.
Within the next few weeks we will be moving approximately 50 miles south of where we have been for the last 3.5 years to be closer to both of our offices.
The move will bring about challenges for both of us, most notably living in a new neighborhood which will mean new routines and exploring the area.
It will also mean an adjustment in my schedule from working remotely full-time to being in my office a few days a week. I haven’t regularly been in an office for 4 years so that will be a challenge for me but one that I am looking forward to.
We will have the challenge of starting chemotherapy in March. That will continue for a year and I’m sure there will be many challenges associated with that and my ongoing recovery. It’s hard and it’s scary but we will continue taking it one step at a time.
I will be challenging myself physically by competing in the Spartan Sprint at AT&T Park come this July. I am nervous about running this race because I registered for it before knowing that I would be starting chemotherapy which may leave me fatigued leading into the race.
I want to challenge myself by entering either a 5k or 10k race this coming year. I have never entered a race before. A 5k would be relatively easy for me since I can and do actively run 3 miles but by entering a 10k that will force me to work my endurance up to 6+ miles.
I am focusing more of my time on mobility and functional movement which presents a whole host of challenges. I have been strong for many years but adding in mobility is hard. Building more functional muscle instead of pure raw strength will be a challenge that will require new movements and focus areas (possibly including trying CrossFit, yet another challenge).
Finally I want to keep challenging myself in other areas such as writing. I have never written as consistently as I have since starting this daily journal. It’s not always easy. Some days the words don’t flow as fluidly as other days. But, I have challenged myself to keep it up and have done so for the last 144 days.
So there you have it, my three words for 2015: Determined, Invest, Challenge.
In previous years my three words have been:
2014 - Experiences, Invest, Focus
2013 - Learn, Create, Attack
2012 - Consistency, Balance, Ship
2011 - Consistency, Growth, Create
You can see some similarities over the years but I have found that coming into this year I have been more honed in on what 2015 will realistically look like.
Your Turn
As usual, it is now your turn.
What are YOUR three words for 2015? Share them below in the comments and, if you’ve published them, share the link.
Image Credit: Anthony Quintano