It seems I’m happiest when I am working on an active challenge of some kind. I came across a LinkedIn post by an internet friend where he described partaking in Chris Brogan’s #my3words challenge. I had already spent some time choosing a single word for 2026, but after reading Chris’s post, I decided having 3 concepts available to me when making a decision would be more helpful. You should go read it if you could use that kind of helpful direction!
So, here are my 3 words:
- Less – There are several ways this hits for me this year. In one sense, I am ready to let go of some coping behaviors (doomscrolling, comfort eating, borrowing worry). I’m also reaching a point in my personal space where I’m just organizing clutter (I sense a purge coming soon). This will be a good filter word.
- Allow – Initially, I think this is about allowing people to be who they are (not that I could stop them!), and relaxing into the space it gives us to coexist. Allow also applies to me cutting myself some slack. I want to allow “what is” and stop automatically resisting it.
- Speak – If there’s one thing that 2025 taught me is that I have an obligation to participate in the world, in my community, in my circle of influence. I don’t know how many of Heather Cox Richardson’s videos I’ve watched where she implores us to speak up, speak out, get creative, and make our voices heard. “We the People” is powered by us. I have forever felt I should be writing, but I have let fear, perfectionism, and a whole host of other excuses (and a desire to “stay under the radar”) keep me from communicating.
I really enjoyed my 2025 haiku challenge, but near the end I got a bit burnt out. I’m not sure if this will be a topic to write about often. I guess that’s where I will see if “speak” kicks in!
Have you picked 3 words for the year to guide you? Let me know in the comments!