A few weeks ago, I received an email from Chris Brogan with the subject line “Get Ready for The Three Words Experience.” I quickly scanned the content (December was soooo busy!) and latched on to a paragraph that read:
At the beginning of every year since 2006, I’ve been challenging people to come up with their Three Words, a method for building your year’s intentions and focus around three words that mean something to you.
Challenging. Intentions. Focus. I like those words. I decided I wanted to participate in the 2015 Three Words Experience. So I swiped left on my phone to be reminded of this email closer to the new year.
At the time, I didn’t know what my three words would be, and I quickly forgot about it as holiday activities consumed my life—in a good way. After Christmas, I started my annual ritual of reflecting on the past year and planning for the year ahead. I cleaned out my file cabinets. I wrote down recommitments. And I kept coming back to three words for how I wanted to experience 2015:
Less is more.
It’s such a cliché, but it’s the truth. In so many ways.
I want less meaningless obligations, so I can have more time for spontaneous, meaningful action. I want to spend less money to have more freedom. I want to work less and play more.
Less is more also ties in to many of my recommitments for 2015:
- Spending less time on email & social media and more time on my most important things.
- Buying less (only what I need), which ties into…
- Wasting less for a more healthy planet.
- Having less places to be to provide room for natural movement (e.g. biking to work).
- Doing less and being more through mindfulness practices, both formal and informal.
Even though I have a new, brilliant idea every few days, I’m going to apply the less is more principle to projects in 2015. I’ve narrowed it down to four (maybe five, still deciding…):
- Book launch of Her Lost Year.
- Parenting book club focused on raising emotionally healthy children.
- My daughter’s high school graduation.
- Moving my daughter to college.
- To be announced.
Finally, I want to arrange my life around these non-negotiables, not the other way around:
- Contemplative practice
- Moving in nature
- Enough sleep
- Eating real food
- Writing
- Reading
- Making music
In The Art of Non-Conformity, which I’m currently reading for free on my Kindle, Chris Guillebeau reminds us that life is short. Here’s the truth: I’m about to turn forty-one. I’m pretty much done with doing more just to please others or to make people like me. I’m ready to be even more intentional and focus on the things that matter to me and my family.
I’m ready for a year of less is more! How about you? What are your intentions for 2015?
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