Last night I dreamed that I was out in my yard and my neighbors were playing reggae, live and loud. They saw me, and Bob Marley (my neighbor) invited me to come over and dance! I started to head over but realized I didn’t have my iPhone on me, and I simply had to get some pictures/video of this, so I ran back in the house for my iPhone. As I was heading back out I realized I couldn’t see, so I went back inside for my glasses.

While inside getting my glasses I was surrounded by a group of people who wanted to talk about some money owed them by someone else (not me.) I tried to get away but they were actually quite nice and just wanted to be heard, so I stayed. Then I got pulled into going out to eat but we ended up waiting in a car because apparently we were at the wrong restaurant.

All the while I just wanted to go back and dance.

Moral of the dream: when the neighbor asks you to come over and dance, just go over and dance.

Last year I came up with three words to help me define and progress through my year (you can read about them here, and about the idea itself from the man who came up with it, Chris Brogan, here.)

I’ve gone back and forth on whether to choose three words for this year, but once I realized that last year’s words did in fact make a difference, I figured I’ve nothing to lose and possibly so much to gain.

Last year I chose the words drop, deepen, and frame. When I felt overwhelmed I’d glance over at the white board next to me and choose the one that fit the problem best. Was this something that I wasn’t going to see much if any benefit from (income, joy, whatever)? Drop it. Was it something I found myself returning to, wanting to learn more about, having fun with? Deepen my knowledge of or participation in it. Maybe I just needed to find some focus? Look for or create boundaries or a framework.

I think I’ll keep those three words in place- but add three more.

So without further wordage or ado- my three words for 2012:

Joy
If it’s not joyful, then why am I doing it? That’s a legit question with some legit answers but in this one life, I want joy to come first. Joy in creating, joy in community, joy in family, joy in giving back, joy in being entertained…

Grace
I’m a natural born cynic. I’ve both embraced and fought against this aspect of my personality over the years, but being cynical is hard work. Stepping back with grace is easier. And nicer.

Strength
It took me nearly half a century to figure out that doing something over and over can pay back more than it takes away. Not everything I do needs to be fresh and new. For me this was a hard fought lesson to learn! I’m not just talking about physical strength, although that’s certainly part of it. Strength entails practice, and practice allows growth.

Joy, Grace, and Strength to you and yours this year!