Three Words for 2019
Goal Setting Words for 2019:
"Expert" and "Support"
"The process of setting intentions and joyfully reflecting on them is how, over time, we transform extrinsic into intrinsic motivations, and thereby sustain the energy and purpose to live true to our best aspirations."
Thupten Jinpa, Two Exercises for Turning Intention into Motivation.Starting in 2014, I began picking three words to remind me of my goals for the year. Chris Brogan gave me the idea. Here are his words for 2019 with some tips on choosing the words.
Here he describes the word-choosing process as part of a broader planning process based on the following steps:
- The Big Story
- Vision
- Goals
- Plans and Milestones
- Daily Calendar
Brogan says:
You could argue which goes first, a vision or a big story. I’d accept either. But to me, a vision is a story told in goals, so I put it below the big story. The big story is that which we want to believe about our life and our goals and our plan. The vision is how you lay that out into something you can do. Goals are a way of knowing that you’re headed in the direction of your vision and your story. Plans and milestones are what make up goals, and if this doesn’t land on the calendar, you don’t have anything.
The three words are a shorthand representation of your bigger story. It’s kind of like how an icon isn’t the software program. It’s just a way for you to mentally access all the work you’re doing. Make sense?
To my surprise, I started picking yearly words even before Brogan did. My coach, Christine Kane, had encouraged us to pick one word. Here is her tool for finding the right word.
In 2014, I picked: Robin, launch, and wealth. Click on the link for an explanation of why I chose those words.
In 2015, I picked: Well-being, manifestation, and love.
In 2016, I must have completely forgotten about the goal-setting exercise in the midst of my hectic transition to Qatar.
In 2017, it took me awhile to decide on the words that resonated that year. But, I settled on "not even afraid" after I heard it first in French. It recognized my desire to be politically active in a post-Trump world. Brogan would argue that I wasted one word (even) by picking a phrase.
In 2018, the words were very easy to find: "good to go." Again, Brogun would say I wasted two words. I have a bigger criticism. The words were not ambitious, even if still aspirational. I still had to keep doing what was working.
But, they did not reflect how the year unfolded. So, I recommend a six-month review. You may need to change or update the words.
In 2018, I ended up writing five book chapters that apply dispute resolution theory to the blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. The year-long project was exciting and exhausting. But, in the end, it will help establish me as an English-language expert on the topic.
In 2019, I am expecting to serve as editor for a book on the legal consequences of the blockade. It will give my colleagues a publication opportunity while enhancing my expertise. I can support them in their professional growth. It will be another long, demanding project, in which I will spend over a year herding my colleagues towards a published book.
At the same time, while I stayed in the gym and kept up with my swimming and weight lifting, my fitness level in January 2019 is not what I had expected it would be in January 2018. Too many hours sitting at my desk reading or writing. Accordingly, I recognize I need more support to reach my fitness and health goals.
So, I am picking two words: Expert and Support.
Expert tells me what I believe about my life. It also shows how I expect my work to change or improve the world in the coming year through my leadership. It will be about the books that manifest in 2019 and 2020, along with the related conference presentations and media coverage.
Support will remind me of two things. First, my support for friends, colleagues, and students. But, also the need to find support for my own well-being. I've already started that process when I felt overwhelmed in December. I hired a personal assistant. I also asked my housekeeper to come every week to reset my apartment. And, I once again got weekly massages.
Even so, I need more support from my exercise buddy, my doctors at Al Ahli hospital, and my menopause coach, Dr. Anna Garrett. I also need to think through my evening routine to find ways better ways to spend my evenings. Dinner at the vegetarian restaurant with a friend? Yoga at the nearby center? Walks in the neighborhood while the weather is nice? Grounding in the salt water at the beach?
In June, I will see if these words still work for me.
What words work for you in the coming year?
In 2014, I picked: Robin, launch, and wealth. Click on the link for an explanation of why I chose those words.
In 2015, I picked: Well-being, manifestation, and love.
In 2016, I must have completely forgotten about the goal-setting exercise in the midst of my hectic transition to Qatar.
In 2017, it took me awhile to decide on the words that resonated that year. But, I settled on "not even afraid" after I heard it first in French. It recognized my desire to be politically active in a post-Trump world. Brogan would argue that I wasted one word (even) by picking a phrase.
In 2018, the words were very easy to find: "good to go." Again, Brogun would say I wasted two words. I have a bigger criticism. The words were not ambitious, even if still aspirational. I still had to keep doing what was working.
But, they did not reflect how the year unfolded. So, I recommend a six-month review. You may need to change or update the words.
In 2018, I ended up writing five book chapters that apply dispute resolution theory to the blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. The year-long project was exciting and exhausting. But, in the end, it will help establish me as an English-language expert on the topic.
In 2019, I am expecting to serve as editor for a book on the legal consequences of the blockade. It will give my colleagues a publication opportunity while enhancing my expertise. I can support them in their professional growth. It will be another long, demanding project, in which I will spend over a year herding my colleagues towards a published book.
At the same time, while I stayed in the gym and kept up with my swimming and weight lifting, my fitness level in January 2019 is not what I had expected it would be in January 2018. Too many hours sitting at my desk reading or writing. Accordingly, I recognize I need more support to reach my fitness and health goals.
So, I am picking two words: Expert and Support.
Expert tells me what I believe about my life. It also shows how I expect my work to change or improve the world in the coming year through my leadership. It will be about the books that manifest in 2019 and 2020, along with the related conference presentations and media coverage.
Support will remind me of two things. First, my support for friends, colleagues, and students. But, also the need to find support for my own well-being. I've already started that process when I felt overwhelmed in December. I hired a personal assistant. I also asked my housekeeper to come every week to reset my apartment. And, I once again got weekly massages.
Even so, I need more support from my exercise buddy, my doctors at Al Ahli hospital, and my menopause coach, Dr. Anna Garrett. I also need to think through my evening routine to find ways better ways to spend my evenings. Dinner at the vegetarian restaurant with a friend? Yoga at the nearby center? Walks in the neighborhood while the weather is nice? Grounding in the salt water at the beach?
In June, I will see if these words still work for me.
What words work for you in the coming year?
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