I have to admit that 2018 was the one year that I barely looked back at my three words. I’m not quite sure why. I was really excited about those words.
It was a good, but also a weird year. Maybe that is the reason I didn’t revisit them. This weirdness is a sentiment I’ve gotten from a lot of other people, too. Professionally, it was a treading-water kind of year. At a recent local meeting I attend with other small business owners and creatives, a friend of mine said, “2018 was about survival.” It was spot on.
That’s never a good feeling. And because of it, I did no work travel for continuing education and I can really feel the effects. I felt closed off from colleagues and stumped for creativity.
2019 is already starting off in a better direction. I have some hefty goals and I see the landscape of my freelance business changing. With the help of some great support from friends doing similar work, I know these changes are going to be positive and that I’m going to accomplish the goals.
That being said, Fake Food Free may take a bit of the back burner regarding posts. I’m not kidding myself that I’ve been posting regularly anyway, but this could get a bit worse before it gets better.
The main reason for this is that I’m working on my next cookbook, Beer Bread. Working on a cookbook takes every bit of creative energy one has. I can barely gather the energy to figure out something good for dinner, let alone create recipes for the blog. The process is one I enjoy, but it strips you of ideas for other areas of cooking because you are so focused on pouring all you have into the recipe ideas and testing.
My newsletter will go to once every two months, until I get my focus back on the blog. (You can sign up for that at the top of this page!)
Okay, back to those goals. This year, I’ll be hosting my first half-day workshop in Visalia, California covering creativity in styling and food photography. It’s May 9th and I’ll have more details at the beginning of February.
I will also start selling prints of my work. That is coming in April.
So with all of this, what are my three words for 2019?
Focus. Freedom. Flexibility.
Focus. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but this year I intend to focus like I’ve never focused before. I’m easily distracted by social media, household chores, and little details throughout the day. I’ve always turned away from too much ritual and structure because I feel like it cramps my creativity. But I’m starting to realize that instead of cramping my creativity, it is more likely stunting my growth. So this year will be a lot about structure, setting timers for specific tasks, and tracking exactly how much I accomplish during the day.
Freedom. This one has a lot to do with earning money. I listen to a podcast called Letters from a Hopeful Creative. A recent episode was called, Let’s Talk About Money Mindset. It’s a great one. While some people have no problem setting hefty income goals and going for it, others feel conflicted or find hefty goals unachievable. In this episode there is a discussion about what earning money truly is and the one thing that hit home for me is freedom – freedom to live and work on your terms, freedom to help others, and freedom from a lot of stress. So I’ll be focusing a lot on freedom this year (and that is not a bad thing).
Flexibility. I tend to consider myself easy going and flexible. To be honest, a lot of people consider me that way, too. I’ve met new people when I’ve traveled, roomed with near strangers (that soon became friends) at conferences and people have told me how easy going I am. But deep down inside, that’s not how it goes. Changes of plans, the announcement of a new tight deadline, the disorganization of others all send me into a tailspin inside resulting in many stress responses, like neck pain and frustration. So I’ll be working on being more flexible this year and letting many things go when I’m tempted to let them stress me out.
Do you practice My 3 Words? You can learn more about it at Chris Brogan’s blog. I’m so happy I found the process through him so many years ago. I really enjoy looking back and seeing the focus of my year. I’ve been practicing it since 2012.
Past three words:
2018 – Open. Productivity. Free
2017 – Less. Renew. Wander
2016 – Stronger. Do. Reflect.
2015 – Sustain. Reach. Separate.
2014 – Recreate. Plunge. Pause.
2013 – Be. Create. Grow.
2012 – Progress. Learn. Honor.
Since recipes have been few and far between lately. I rounded up a few of my favorites from the blog that are full of healthy ingredients to start off a New Year! Thank you for reading and I wish you all the best in 2019!!
Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free Productions, LLC and Lori Rice unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round-up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.
