3-2-1: Something Fun!
Happy November to you! As we are coming to the end of Fall and about to enter the Holiday Season with Thanksgiving and Christmas in the near future, I have an idea for you to consider that could be really fun and constructive. I call this my 3-2-1 plan, and it’s something simple to integrate into our daily routines – it’s even possible that it could facilitate a noteworthy upgrade in your life!
My 3-2-1 plan is a daily activity that goes like this:
o 3 Gratitudes
o 2 Graces
o 1 Pause
This is what I would suggest for you to consider doing each day through the end of the year, and this is how it goes:
In relation to 3 Gratitudes, during each day, find three things for which you’re thankful. This could be anything ranging from beautiful sunshine, a convenient parking space, an enjoyable conversation, some unexpected help, an encouraging word, warm socks, good news from an offspring, a tasty pumpkin spice latte (or tea that you enjoy), enjoying a good book, taking a walk or some exercise, . . . Truly, I think if we look each day for things that we can be thankful for, it can be super incredible, and we could find ourselves recognizing and smiling at God’s astounding goodness and kindnesses to us! This reminds me of 1 Chronicles 16:34, “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
After finding 3 Gratitudes, move on to 2 Graces. For this, I’d suggest that we watch for opportunities each day to extend grace to others and ourselves. This could be forgiving a person for being rude, helping someone at the grocery store, giving someone space to change lanes with their car, sending someone an encouraging text, putting the grocery carts in the collection corral in the parking lot, picking up some trash on the neighbor’s lawn or by their apartment door, being gentle with yourself in a mistake or failure, sending a snail mail card to a friend, making cookies for a colleague at work, . . . and heaps more! When I extend grace and do kind or thoughtful things, it often feels good in my soul regardless of how the other person responds. In relation to grace, it helps me to remember Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:7, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Having done 3 Gratitudes and 2 Graces, I’d suggest that each day you make 1 pause. In terms of a pause, this could be sitting in a chair for three minutes with no phone (set the timer on your phone), eyes closed, and some deep breaths. A pause could be sitting outside in some sunshine for a few minutes, listening for birds, crickets and the breeze while watching some clouds or birds that might be flying by. A pause could be sitting in your car or on the bus for a few minutes after work, letting go of the tensions and pressures that happened at work. A pause could be sitting down with a big glass of water after working out or cleaning your house or apartment to take some moments to hydrate and put something good into your body. There’s much to be said for the words in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
I think that this daily 3-2-1 plan could be something very powerful in your life and could possibly set you up for some really amazing things for the upcoming year. To help you to remember the 3-2-1 plan, you could put “3 Gratitudes, 2 Graces and 1 Pause” on stickie notes around your home, save it as the home screen on your phone, set a daily reminder on your calendar, agree to do this with a friend, put a reminder by your toothpaste or whatever ways that help you to remember stuff.
This could be a really fun experiment for you and could be the starting point for some wonderful upgrades in your life!