Everything That Matters Comes in Threes
Why a stable life is built on relationships, work, and health
A few months ago, I worked on a project with my younger sister. She was responsible for one part of the work, and when she sent me her report, it was full of spelling and grammar errors.
“Did you review your work three times?” I asked.
“Why three times?” she replied.
At first, I thought she was joking. Then I realised she was genuinely confused.
So I told her a story about when I first learned the value of reviewing work three times.
In my second year at the University of Dar es Salaam, I joined KPMG Tanzania, one of the Big Four auditing firms in the country and the world. On my first day, my supervisor assigned me a mentor: Mr Jeromini.
He welcomed me to the team and said something I have never forgotten:
“In every task, whether in audit or in life, review your work at least three times. No one does a good job the first time. The first review is to organise your work. The second is to catch the obvious errors. The third is to find the less obvious mistakes.”
My younger sister smiled and went away to review her work three times. She immediately saw the value in it.
But her question stayed with me. Why three?
The more I thought about it, the more I realised how often the number three appears in the things that matter most.
Life itself moves in three stages: beginning, middle, and end.
Living things follow the same pattern: birth, life, and death.
Even non-living things seem to pass through their own version of the same cycle: formation, existence, and destruction.
And once you start paying attention, you begin to see this pattern everywhere:
Past, present, future.
Mind, body, spirit.
Thought, action, outcome.
Discipline, consistency, results.
Individual, family, society.
Ready, steady, go.
One of the most fascinating examples is found in mathematics and engineering. There are many shapes in mathematics, but the triangle is one of the strongest and most stable. Engineers and builders rely on triangular structures because a triangle holds its form under pressure. It has three sides, and those three sides create strength.
That made me think of life.
We all seek strength.
We all seek stability.
And our lives unfold between birth and death.
Both ideas point back to the same number: three.
It seems to me that a stable and sustainable life is built on three pillars:
Relationships.
Work.
Health.
These three pillars connect like a triangle. When one weakens, the whole structure is affected. If your life feels unstable, there is a good chance that one of these pillars is out of place.
Relationships can be broken down into family and relatives, romantic partners, and friends. Any one of these can shape or shake a person’s life. Divorce, heartbreak, betrayal, or family conflict can spill over into both health and work.
Work can also be broken into three parts: the work you do for money, the work you do for passion, and the work you do for growth. It is rare to find all three fully aligned. Most people have one or two, but not all three. That is why so many people feel restless in their work. And unstable work often affects both relationships and health.
Health, too, comes in three dimensions: body, mind, and spirit. If the body is weak, movement becomes difficult. If the mind is unhealthy, judgment becomes distorted. If the spirit is neglected, life can begin to feel empty, even when other things appear to be working.
So we have identified three essential parts of a stable life: relationships, work, and health.
The next task is to explore each of them more deeply, and to uncover the practical wisdom and lived experience that can help us strengthen them.
If your life feels unstable, look for what is missing in your three.
And do not accept my conclusion too quickly. Pause and ask yourself:
Is it true?
Is it useful?
Is it aligned?
In the coming articles, we will explore each of these pillars in greater detail.
Think Deeply. Live Deliberately.
Watushule