As to Three…
“Today’s column is brought to you by the number Three!”
— Spoken by Big Bird on “Sesame Street”
Children’s Television Workshop
It’s odd. And yet, it’s evenly balanced — on three legs. It’s symmetrical, and strangely comforting. It’s ubiquitous and omnipresent. It’s — Three.
We’ve been accused of being dogmatic about requiring presentations, meetings and discussions to always break into three parts. We plead an emphatic, “NOT GUILTY!” Your Honor… But with this proviso: DO break your diatribe, discussion, presentation, play or meeting into portions! Two, Three or Four will do nicely!
Why? Well, we could call it a rule, but why not recognize that human events have given us the Golden Section, Greek Architecture and the Porsche 911 — some things just work. So, stop complaining, and just go with it! Three Rocks! (But two and four also have a claim on our imagination.)
Herewith, a few examples of the downright insidious way that threes have wormed their way into the affections of the world:
- Bears? Wishes? Little Pigs? Blind Mice?
- Times a Lady?
- Stooges? Musketeers?
- Wise men? Biblical Denials?
- Parts to Plato’s Classical Triad? (The Good, The Beautiful, the True)
- Parts to Classical Argument? (Thesis / Antithesis / Synthesis)
- Famous Greek Philosophers? (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
- Parts to Speeches, Plays, Stories, Life? (Beginning, Middle, End)
- Deities in the Christian Godhead? (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
- Chords in the Twelve Bar Blues?
- Coins in a Fountain? To get ready?
- Corners on a triangle? Components in a classic Neapolitan pizza?
- Fingers on Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Daisy?
- Kinds of Triangles? Scalene, Equilateral, Obtuse
- Witches? (“Charmed?” “Macbeth?”)
- Norns? (Three Norse Female Divine Beings)
- Fates? Graces? Muses?
- Primary Colors? (Red, Blue, Yellow)
- Colors in the American Flag?
- Strikes? Three Strikes to a batter – an “Out:” 4 Balls – a “Walk.”
- A Home Run with three on base is called a “Grand Slam.”
- Three consecutive strikes in bowling are called a “Turkey.”
- In golf, a three under par is an “Albatross.”
- In law, three felonies get you “25 to Life.”
- On a date, Three is a “Crowd.”
- In positive attempts at anything, “Three’s a Charm.”
- Phone numbers and social security numbers are easily remembered when broken into three parts. Not so with 4-part/4-digit credit card numbers…
- Consider also: “Triathlon, Trifecta, Tricycle, Trianon, Triage, Thrice, Trident, Triptych, Trillium.”
Applications
1. For You
When our minds are a jumbled mass of detail, it’s hard to make sense of it all. Pause for a second, breathe and begin to break things down and sort them out into groups. You’ll find the pressure decreases as you “get things sorted.” (With apologies to our British Brethren and friends at Hogwarts…)
2. At Home
Is it just us? Or has the pace, volume and pressure of day to day life amped up so much that it’s becoming harder to breathe, function and connect with others? Especially at home, we benefit with keeping things simple, direct and compassionate. Take the pressure off family members by taking an extra moment before unloading — section off your communication into chunks so people are: 1) Forced to take notice, and 2) Relieved to know the limits of the discussion…
3. At Work
Hey. There’s just too much detail! Who can count to a trillion? But we can count to three — and that allows me comfort in knowing there’s a limit to today’s agenda. Take pity on your colleagues and make it simple and easy to recall and repeat your stuff. Stick to 2, 3 or 4. Wait! How many was that?
Three key segments in a classic “Ready, Set, Go!®” diagram? Pure co-incidence Your Honor!
But your life, career and family can be made more memorable and have-able, if you rely on breaking things down to Three!
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