What 3 Words Will Help You Succeed in 2025?

This is my twelfth year of using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words” planning exercise to enable my annual goals. Like most processes, the more I follow the steps, the better the results.

Chris’ approach is a simple and effective way of activating the mindsets, routines, and behaviours required to reach your goals. It also helps you avoid everyday distractions that halts progress. Here are the three steps to follow:

1.  Identify how you must think, act and behave to achieve your goals.
2.  Select three words that capture the essence of these enablers that will remind you of them.
3.  Place these words where you will see them daily (e.g., phone screen, monitor, mirror).

After years of practicing Chris’ goal-achievement process, prioritizing three goals and choosing a word for each works best for me. My words for 2024 were Mentor, Refine and Chef.

Mentor signified helping people achieve their goals or manage their challenges. Although I have been doing this casually for years, it wasn’t a goal I worked toward; I helped when asked but didn’t look for opportunities to do so. This year, my radar scanned for people in need who might benefit from my experience and skills. I helped more individuals in more ways, which demonstrated the difference that focus makes.

I realized that not everyone wants help, either because they are managing well independently or have support from others. Another learning was that commitment levels to goals are variable. I assisted someone who had finished his master’s degree and was looking for his first role in his field of study. He was interested, and I sprung into action. I created a plan, advocated on his behalf, and provided coaching through the application and interview stages. After six weeks, I realized I was working harder on his goal than he was. I stopped driving, waiting for him to take the wheel. He didn’t.

Refine was a prompt to fine-tune my daily routines. They include my diet, exercise, media consumption and nighttime wind-down. I had fun experimenting and tweaking my habits. For example, my best nighttime routine is working out at 9:30 pm, drinking herbal tea and reading before bed, and lights out at 11:30 pm. A bonus from this goal is that optimizing my life has become a habit.

Chef was about learning how to cook. I could prepare meals, but not varied or tasty ones. My goal was to create a repertoire of ten good meals. I started my quest by interviewing friends about how they learned to cook. Most said trial and error. My friend John sent me “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman to kickstart my explorations. Instagram was my go-to source for recipes because videos accompanied most. I tried 32 recipes, with many passing the “Would we have it again” test judged by my wife and me. 

We also signed up for the Chef’s Plate/Hello Fresh meal kit service in July. Following the recipes was harder than I thought because it required ingredient organizing and multiple dish coordination. Now, it is fun to think of what we will eat tonight, and I get excited about kitchen-related gadgets. I am proudest of achieving this goal because I had avoided it for many years. I felt like I was getting my driver’s license decades after turning sixteen.

2025 is a big one for me. The three words I have selected to achieve my goals are Daily, Sleep and Savour.

Daily is about reaping the benefits of consistent effort. Specifically, it will support my commitment to writing ten minutes every day on my next book. I aim to complete the first draft by December 31, and I know from my first two books that writing must be my number one priority and every day counts. I will not sleep until I complete this daily task, which would compromise my second goal.

Sleep is about improving the quality and length of my rest. I track my sleep scores nightly on my Garmin watch, which are rarely good. I didn’t know there were so many ways to have a poor night’s sleep. Most mornings, I read reports informing me of my poor REM or deep sleep or that my sleep was imbalanced. In 2025, I will focus on managing my inputs to improve my outputs. Daily data will help me notch my score up from my current average of 69.

Savour is a reminder to enjoy every day to the fullest, even the challenging parts. Time is flying, and I want to live fully. Earlier in my career, there were times when I thought, “If only this difficult project could be over.” Now, I realize that the toughest times gave me the most growth (and the best stories). My goal is to live in the moment and appreciate what I am doing, no matter how difficult.

Over the holidays, I reviewed my past word selections, noting my successes, failures and learnings. It’s time to add to the lists by focusing on the present, thinking, and doing things to drive my success in 2025.

The My Three Words exercise has helped me achieve my goals by staying focused and resisting distractions. If that sounds good, what three words will help you achieve your goals in 2025?

Best wishes for a successful year!

Phil

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