the rule of 3’s
As Life gives you lessons, you reflect them. Without the emotional charge. Without the biases. Without the cluttered thoughts.
This is called Wisdom.
This is the compass and flow of my writing process.
Learn and teach, learn and teach, repeat and repeat and repeat.
Today, through the literal redesign and renewal of my web site (ma baby), I learned the power of “The Rule of 3’s.”
It’s pretty simple: keep it to 3.
As someone who likes to explain things down to the root, write essays as blogs, and whose language has been criticized as “flowery” and “superfluous,” this rule didn’t stick with me.
UNTIL NOW.
The Rule of 3 is absolutely genius.
In working with my web developer, I recognized how much crisper and more potent my words were when they came in threes. When photos came in threes. Heck, I come from a family of three children.
As the clarity of my message showed up on the page…as we deleted and deleted, simplified and simplified, the remembrance of the joy, effectiveness, and awesome of 3’s and simplicity as a rule was re-awaken in me.
I remembered that I’ve been using the rule of 3’s in my career for years:
Teaching yoga flows in clusters of 3 poses
Programming circuits in clusters of 3 exercises
Encouraging clients to adopt mottos with just 3 words, so it would be memorable and stick
I remembered, too, that I’ve been using the essence of the rule of 3’s: simplicity, in my life for years:
Empowering clients to come up a short list of foods that make them thrive
Showing clients that better results (lower body fat, greater muscle growth, better endurance) can come from shorter workouts
Nudging clients to narrow down their core why—for everything they do in and out of the coaching realm, to less than 3…if achievable, just 1 main reason
Illuminating the top 3 ways a client wants to feel, and using this as the North Star for their programming
I remembered even further back, as a basketball player and dancer, how I would remember things in 3’s:
I remembered my crossovers in sequences of 3 moves
I remembered my tap dances in clusters of 3, 8'-counts or 32-counts
I remembered my pre-free throw routine as muscle memory only when it included 3 or fewer dribbles
What’s the big lesson here?
TO SIMPLIFY.
I used to think that saying more would make my message more powerful.
I used to think that doing more would make me more successful.
I used to think that feeling more would make me more emotionally intelligent.
I used to think that analyzing more would give me more clarity.
These are not always the case.
Sometimes, less is more.
I encourage you to ask yourself: How can I—in my training and in your life, simplify your choices and your actions?
The bow of this question will may guide the arrow of your energy with more accuracy and power.
You may feel more power in your moves.
You may move with more piercing clarity and intention.
You may think less (more energy for all of the other systems of your body-mind).
You may connect more deeply and presently with others and yourself.
You just may even attract what you want with more lightning speed.
Happy Friday and fit weekend.
