“Tell
me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary
Oliver
Happy New Year!
Mary Oliver has my back. She provided the perfect words to finish up 2018 (see last week’s post) and has the perfect words to begin 2019. I suppose these are the perfect words to begin any year, but they land particularly well with me today.
Even though I’ve been laying out my annual goals for my “one wild and precious life” in my first blog of the year for several years now, I learn a little each time. For example, exactly one year ago (yes, to the day), I wrote this:
“I’ve taken these first few days of the year slowly, working my way back into list making and traditional definitions of productivity after my holiday break. As of yesterday, the decorations are packed away and the pine needles are vacuumed up from the corner where the Christmas tree stood. The dusty holiday energy is cleared, making room for fresh starts.”
And that’s precisely where I find myself today!
I’m sure that I am not alone in needing clarity in my inner and external environments in addition to a period of spaciousness in order for my goals and aspirations for the year ahead to crystallize. I’ve let go of having January 1st as a deadline.
This year I added an additional practice to my process: journaling my envisioned future one year out. Specifically, envisioning myself at the end of 2019, looking back on the year as if all my goals and aspirations had been met.
To give you an example of how this exercise works, one of my goals is to bring mindfulness to as many people as possible (while maintaining work/life harmony), especially through Search Inside Yourself training for companies and organizations and customized group programs. Here’s an excerpt from my journal envisioning exercise related to that goal:
“I am a confident speaker who makes a positive impact on audiences. I have helped hundreds of people wake up to the beauty of the present moment and cultivate skills to live with intention, purpose, and compassion. They are now net producers of positive energy in the world.”
Notice I wrote in the present tense from the standpoint of where I hope to be a year from now and (super important) what I’m feeling. I couldn’t believe how energizing that journaling experience was! I was buzzing with purpose-filled energy, all connections firing. I could feel my entire being gearing up for an epic year.
Give this fun exercise a try and let me know how it goes!
And now for this year’s goals list, in no particular order of priority…
My 2019 Goals
- Deepen authentic connection with my family, friends, followers, and community. This means practicing mindful listening and sharing more of myself, even (especially) in vulnerable territory.
- Introduce mindfulness skills to as many people as possible, especially through Search Inside Yourself training for companies and organizations and customized group programs. (My big dream is to bring this training to the International Monetary Fund, where I used to work. Sharing my vision here to help make it happen!)
- Inspire more people to cultivate a daily meditation habit. THE FIRST 30-DAY MINDFULNESS MEDITATION CHALLENGE OF 2019 BEGINS ON FEBRUARY 1! Learn more and register here.
- Increase collaborations with like-minded, heart-centered mindfulness practitioners, teachers, coaches, and consultants (common denominator = working to boost positive energy in the world).
- Improve my love/hate relationship with social media. Super excited to be attending this year’s Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco, whose theme is ‘Living Wisely in the Digital Age’. (If you’re on Instagram, heads up that I’ll be a lot more active there this year. You can find me at @marthabrett.)
- Grow my photography business, bringing the positive energy of my work into more homes, offices, and especially healthcare settings. (Last year’s healthcare intention landed at Sibley Memorial Hospital’s Integrative Medicine Department. Let’s keep that momentum going!)
- Deepen my personal mindfulness practice by attending a week-long silent meditation retreat. (Though last year’s 10-Day Vipassana silent retreat was challenging on a number of levels, the benefits outweighed the hard parts. I hope to make this an annual practice, but will try a different variety this year.)
- Strengthen my photography skills and add to my collection at damselwingsphotography.com. A specific goal is to learn a technique called “light painting.”
- Maintain work/life harmony. I heard Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn and known for his mindful leadership skills, talk about work/life harmony vs. work/life balance. Our work/life ratio will change over time depending on our life stage and the type of work we’re doing. My intention is to pursue my purpose work in harmony with being present for my family when we have the opportunity to be together. This is another trainable skill that I’ve made some progress on, but will continue to strengthen.
And that’s a wrap!
What about you? Have you already laid out some goals and/or aspirations for 2019? Are you up for trying out the journaling envisioning exercise to get the wheels turning in an intentional direction? I’d love to hear about it!
I’m headed to Belize next week with my family (lucky me!), so I’ll be taking a break from the blog for a bit. In the meantime, make the most of these first steps into the new year! Bring it ON!
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