Three words.  Three word to help focus my goals and intentions for 2013.

Health

I Can

Risk

I chose these three words to align with Live.Do.Grow, but also because they work interdependently. I have to have my health to believe that I can.  I have to believe that I can to take risks.  I have to take risks to take the next steps to both my health and in achieving “I can.”

Why I chose health as one of my words

Living life as a cancer survivor makes you realize a few things. It reminds me that life is precious and not to be taken for granted. It reminds me every day of the strength to fight anything. It reminds me of the battle that I beat. On the other hand, being a survivor does not imply good health just because. Quite the contrary. From weight to blood pressure to stress, my body is anything but healthy right now. Achey, riddled with heart burn and indigestion, I have taken my health for granted.  And although I know better than to think that I can control unknowns like cancer, I also know that I am inviting new risk factors each day that I continue to be passive about my health.

Why I chose “I can” as one of my words

Believing that “I can” is not something that comes easily to me. In fact, despite being so good at fostering self sufficiency and even confidence in others, I am down right bad at doing it for myself.  The truth is that I should believe, but instead the little voices in my head tell me the opposite and in the end, I fall prey to the insecurity. Someone asked me recently where it was that I felt the most confident and successful, and oddly enough, that place was in the classroom or presenting to a group of parents or teachers on some education related topic. I say oddly enough because I have of course, left that career. The question for me to figure out is how to translate those skills, my areas of expertise and of confidence, to a new space. The only way to do this, to find my way as a motivational speaker or columnist, is to dream big and believe.

Why I chose risk as one of my words

Ah risk. Being a risk taker. So not me. I am not the person in a packed room that goes up to people and introduces herself. I am not usually the one that easily steps out of my comfort zone to try something new. Except that I am in certain situations. I took the risk to leave teaching without any second thoughts (those have all come after the fact).  I took risks to share my belief and philosophy during discussions and debates. I took the risk to separate and later divorce my first husband. But in many ways, saying I can, and truly believing it…is a risk. A risk that I will find myself six months from now, or two years form now, having failed. Having spun my wheels. So while risk may be a tad redundant with #ICAn, I believe that  they go hand in hand. Dreaming big and believing that I can are just part of the equation. Sitting at my desk all day and dreaming about my goals are lovely, but they are not actionable.  To take a risk means actually doing the work, even if it means falling flat on my face.

How I know these are the right three words for me

“You seem angrier.”

“Are you so insecure that just the mention of an idea drives you to fly off the handle?”

While the wording may not be exact, these words were spoken to me….recently. As in, people that I care about, and that care about me, said them to me. Call them wake up calls, or reality checks. Whatever they are, they were both true statements.

There is a very linear correlation between my recent behaviors to my healthy and lack of physical strength.  Fitness and strength have always played a SIGNIFICANT role in every other aspect of my life. My mood, my level of confidence, my ability to take on challenges are all interrelated.

This is not about feeling sorry for oneself or for setting pie in the sky goals that are unattainable. Choosing three words to focus my intentions will help me work towards realistic, attainable, and measurable goals. Will every single one of them come true? Maybe. And maybe not. But that is the reality of goal setting. You work hard to make goals happen and then you reflect on why there were successful or why they were not.

What about you? What three words would you choose to map out your goals and intentions for the new year?

Just.Be.Enough. is re-launching today with an expanded team and exciting focus for 2013! Read more about the journey to three words over at Just.Be.Enough.

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