If you look at the history of my life, the stories of my family of origin, the stories of their origin you would correctly assume – we are generally a family of early risers. With gratitude to those who set this path before me, I love the early morning hours of creation and connection and labor. 

And YET. 

Guys. It is hard to get up sometimes. I have this bed that I really love and have perfected the weight and temperature of the blankets. And there is a threshold to waking up when my thoughts get ahead of my feet – and maybe I spend some time hiding in the comfort of my sleeping cave. 

And this darkness, and (this week) the rain, and the cats that join for a snuggle.  Maybe this is my call for a sleep-in. 

And YET. 

I know that when I hover at the waking threshold for overlong, I know that I begin to create a deficit for my work and my relationship with my work later in the day. 

In case you have ever struggled with untangling yourself into the day, I want to tell you about a new thing I’ve found working for me this week. 

Three little words. As I began to burrow deeper into the covers with the sound of rain complicit in my comfort-hiding, I caught myself. What are three words that I want today to be about? 

And I named them. 

And then I pushed back the covers and began the day. 

I returned to those three words several times throughout the day, and they seemed be some sort of accelerator. Or maybe they were the focus mechanism in a camera. 

The words weren’t anything particularly magical. I don’t think one of them is even my list of values. But they gave my story for yesterday some action and intention.

Today (the rain is persisting), I had taken even longer to get myself going. I had even grabbed my phone (I am trying so hard to not do this). And I remembered my experiment from yesterday. Again I asked “what do I want today to be about?”

Again. The words found me and got me out of bed. Today’s words – persist, create, enjoy. 

I suspect that this three little words exercise could work in other places where we get stuck – in conversations, in projects, in prioritizing tasks. 

If you find yourself playing with Three Little Words, I’d love to know what you learn.