One, One, One

One of my friends dropped a pretty fun wisdom bomb on me yesterday. As we discussed the piece titled "Is this the year?" he shared a concept that stuck with me. He calls it the "one, one, one." Each year, he'll discern what he wants to focus on in the year to come. Focusing on too many things is never productive, so this is where his concept comes to life. He only focuses on:

• One new skill

• One new habit

• One new hobby

No more, no less.

First, the skill. Find a skill you don't yet possess, and endeavor to develop it through the year. It could be a skill related to your work, your desired work, or even something personal. Determine what steps need to be taken to progress. It doesn't matter how good you get, but rather focus on the act of moving forward.....period. If you start at 0% and end the year at 50%, that's still a win. It's about the journey, not the destination.

Next, habit. Figure out what habit would improve your life, then commit to injecting the necessary discipline, consistency, and willpower to manufacture a sustainable habit. This is more about grit and determination than knowledge, skill, or insight. The goal is that by the time the year is over, it's a locked-in given in your life.

Lastly, hobby. I love this one! Instead of continuing to fall into the exact same interests we've had for years (or decades), pick something foreign and just engage with it. This is actually the hardest one for me, as I rarely justify the time for hobbies.....and get stuck in my old interests. The goal isn't to find your newest love as much as it's about the openness to try. This new hobby might become your next passion, or not. And if not, perhaps it's the springboard to what does become THE thing.

While I didn't necessarily think about this broad one, one, one concept before today, I can see glimmers of it as I reflect on 2024. I developed two tangible skills during the year. The first was writing. Sure, I've been writing for much longer, and this blog existed for 12 months before the start of the year, but 2024 was the year I learned how to write. How to think, communicate, and engage. I also learned the art of teaching businesses how to dig deep into their margins and truly understand their operations at a meaningful level. Again, something I already knew, but 2024 took it to whole new levels.

For habits, I leaned hard into intermittent fasting (7PM-12PM). I've now been doing it for about 18 months, and I'm not going back. It's transformed my life and how I live it, and I'm grateful it's now part of my day-to-day life.

As I previously mentioned, hobbies are a hard one for me. I can't put my finger on any new hobbies in 2024, but I'll be thinking about it as 2025 unfolds.

One, one, one. Does this bring to life any ideas, thoughts, or goals?

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