Since 2006, I’ve promoted a kind of planning exercise for every year based around the idea that I call #my3words. It came to me when I realized that having one words as a way to set my intentions for the year was quite limited. Instead, I wanted at least three “points” by which I might be able to consider the challenges that come along.

Every year after that, I’ve invited others around me to share their #my3words experiences and tens of thousands of people have gone through the process. It’s a very lightweight way to evaluate any decisions that might come up in the year ahead, and as such, you might find it useful.

I’ll share my own personal 3 words at the bottom of this post, after the section showing past years.

How the Process Works

Select three meaningful words with which to guide any decisions you may need to make in the coming year. The words should point to who you intend to be, what you want to focus on, and how you want to perceive the work of the year ahead. It sounds like a lot, but my first year, the words were “Ask. Do. Share,” and those were very powerful for me. It was one of my best years ever.

The words work well if they help you decide and guide yourself towards your intentions. Not your goals, exactly, but intentions. So, if your goal is to lose 30 pounds, maybe your intention is to eat better foods. Maybe you’ll use a word like “temple” to point out that your body is a temple. Or that you’re building towards something important.

The very very very key word is “Decision.” You’re looking for words that answer questions for you. “Oh, what should I do? I just got a job offer from a crazy new opportunity, but I feel so safe here at work.” If your word is “Adventure,” then maybe this is your year.

Each year’s words must be new to that year. People often want to reuse last year’s words that worked well, and then the following year, they report to me that it dropped off and they regret choosing it. A word reused tends to turn invisible. I don’t know. Just does.

Tips and Words to Avoid

I’ve had almost 20 years of experience doing this process, and as such, many people have shared with me what’s worked, what hasn’t, and we’ve worked together to discover which methods or processes have yielded the best reward as gathered up by hundreds of reports back from people practicing #my3words with us.

Words work better if they can help you make decisions with them. For instance, in 2010, I knew that I wanted to work on the idea of promoting “owners” instead of other words to represent how small and solo business owners needed to ACT like owners. Thus, having the word “Owners” reminded me to write to the people I serve as such, frame things as such, answer any requests and decision points with whether an owner serves.  

Simple words work better than complicated ones. On the years where I chose “clever” words, they were harder to utilize in the ways I wanted. For instance, one year, I had “Walt” for Walt Disney, to signify his creativity, his drive, the way his legacy lives on. It just never quite stuck. 

Phrases never work. If you make your three words “do the thing” or whatever, the “the” in that is a wasted word. It also is really only one thought.

 “Focus” is an ineffective word. It’s kind of the word that overlays the real word you need. The thing is, focus is a result, not a way to decide. So instead, if you want to get that book written, a word like “500” might be more powerful, as in, “Write 500 words every day on your book.” Should I go out drinking with my friends? (Decision point) 500. Ah, no. I should write my 500 words.

I prefer verbs, but as of 2024, I’ve got more nouns. Who knew? 

Ask yourself, “Are these words higher up than the actual work it’ll take me to stay on track?” For instance, if you have something like “Peace” for inner peace, what actual work or effort can and will you make to get there? I taught a few people this past year about “shenpa,” a word in my buddhist practice that talks about getting hooked on things we’d rather avoid. (You’ll have to read the piece to get it.) To find peace, one might want to practice observing and better handling shenpa moments. So, in this example, “shenpa” is better than “peace,” which is a RESULT of the actual word. 

Previous #my3words Entries

• 2006 – Ask. Do. Share (amazing year)
• 2007 – Seek. Frame. Build. Bridge (yes, that was 4. It also was a less successful year.)
• 2008 – Believe. Loops.Farm
• 2009 – Equip. Armies. Needles
• 2010 – Ecosystems. Owners. Kings (amazing year)
• 2011 – Reinvest. Package. Flow
• 2012 – Temple. Untangle. Practice
• 2013 – Walt. Ender. Monchu
• 2014 – Lifestyle. Monchu. Black.
• 2015 – Plan. Leverage. Fabric. (Barely remember these)
• 2016 – Home. Shine. Win. (Even worse)
• 2017 – Move.Voice.Game (Not my best)
• 2018 – Ritual. Execute. Value (Great Year)
• 2019 – Station. Stacks. Movement. (Got there eventually)
• 2020 – Push. Structurequence. Package (Tricky year – COVID)
• 2021 – Showrunner, Monk, Options (Amazing year)
• 2022 – Scout, Co-Create, Pluses (One of my favorite, but only 2 of the three)
• 2023 – Master, Pleasure, Gather (one of my best years yet)
• 2024- Fusion, Apps, Pulse (pretty good year)
• 2025 – Gambit, @Home , Event (rough year, perfect words)

My 3 Words for 2026

Package – Make effort to wrap everything I’m doing together into discrete and obvious package so that it’s much easier to talk about, far easier to sell. In general, dress everything I do better in its presentation mode.

Depth – Stop skimming the surface of many things and go deep on a few things. When I’m a bit adrift, I look in all directions. This is my reminder to go deep and improve the value of what I create, instead of sprinkling little bits of me everywhere.

Foundation – This year is a build year for me, in many ways. So my effort today is to establish and build and develop a foundation upon which to grow the years after. I’ll need this reminder often. It also cues some of my physical health activities.

I’d love to hear your 3 words. Post them in the comments, or just use the hashtag #my3words wherever you prefer to share.