One of the greatest sins is the unlived life, not to allow yourself to become chief executive of the project you call your life, to have a reverence always for the immensity that is inside of you.
John O’Donohue, Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World
Happy New Year!
It’s taken a few days, but I can finally crystalize my 2020 goals with full clarity of mind. The holiday decorations are packed away, I caught up on the work that I had rescheduled when I had pneumonia in December, and I have allowed my intentions for the coming year to percolate without the competition of year-end tasks.
A year ago Mary Oliver inspired the openings of my year-end report card and year-beginning (goals) blogs. This year the late Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue is guiding me into 2020.
Though I had already learned to give myself permission to write my new year’s goals blog several days after January 1st, O’Donohue’s words, written at the dawn of the new millennium, provide even greater affirmation that calendar dates shouldn’t hold excessive power over us:
For a few cultures, this is not the millennium [new year/decade]. If you could talk to stone and rivers and oceans and even sheep, they would be asking why these humans are getting worked up about the [new year]. The earth and the ocean and the rain and the wind and the trees and the cow and the calves have no idea that we are entering a new [year].
So I take the same approach to calendar dates as to the Pirate Code: “The Code is more what you call guidelines than actual rules.” ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
In other words, every day is the perfect starting point “to become chief executive of the project you call your life.” It’s never too late or too early to step into your intentions!
Where To Start
As I explained in my 2019 report card post, my intention-setting process this year involved re-reading all of my journal entries from 2019. I circled and made a list of what activities (both personal and professional) brought me alive with joyful energy, as this sensation signals that I am in alignment with my purpose on this planet. My 2020 goals are based on this list.
If you do not have a critical mass of journal entries to review, another fun exercise is to journal your envisioned future. I shared an envisioning journaling prompt and process in my first post of 2019, which you can read here.
Whatever process you choose, I encourage you to practice mindful intention-setting as a means to revere and nurture “the immensity that is inside you.” The goals that evolve are more meaningful and soul-nourishing than your run-of-the-mill New Year’s resolutions will ever be.
And now, this year’s goals list, in no particular order of priority…
My 2020 Goals
- Expand the 30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge circle. – Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I want “more” or that our current community isn’t “enough.” It’s simply that this program has evolved into such a beautiful, transformative journey that I want as many people as possible to experience what a sustained period of daily practice feels like with accountability and in community, from the comfort of your own home. In line with this goal (and given many requests), my intention is to schedule a 30-Day program sometime this year that accommodates folks in the Pacific time zone. In the meantime, our first 6:45 am Eastern Time session of the year is just around the corner, beginning on January 20, 2020 (because that date is fun!). Check out the details and register here to join us!
- Weekly Gratitude Note. – Write a note of gratitude once a week this year by hand, mailed in a stamped envelope. I truly savored the process of brainstorming recipients and writing my first note! Neuroscience has shown that gratitude practice rewires your brain for happiness (check out this article). Icing on the cake for me is that this project also infuses my Damselwings notecards with greater meaning. I love putting them to work to boost the global supply of happiness!
- Feature five mindfulness change agents over the course of this year’s blogs. – The mindfulness conferences I attended last year supercharged my optimism about the momentum and impact of the mindfulness movement. It’s easy to get bogged down in the negative news of the day, but positive change is happening all around us. I want to introduce you to some of the inspiring leaders I’ve met on my journey.
- Bring Search Inside Yourself (SIY) to more companies and organizations. – A young man in a recent workshop of mine summed up his personal experience with practicing mindfulness at work (and life): “If you get the mindfulness piece right, the rest falls into place.” More and more companies are recognizing the importance and impact of emotional intelligence and mindfulness training to support leadership development, improve work relationships, boost creativity and innovation, and strengthen the health and wellness of their staff, all of which contributes to the bottom line. Teaching SIY’s highly respected, neuroscience-based curriculum makes my heart sing, which means I’m supposed to do more of it!
- Devote more time to hone my photography craft and market to health and wellness spaces in particular. – I already took a major step into this intention by registering for a week-long intensive photography workshop in New Brunswick, Canada, this August. I have also started the process of creating a marketing video featuring health care providers’ testimonials of the impact of my artwork on their patients and staff. Another concrete step to increase my attention to my photography endeavors is that I will set up a separate Instagram account for Damselwings Photography this year. Stay tuned!
- Attend a silent meditation retreat to deepen my personal mindfulness practice (annual goal). – I registered for a 6-Day program at Insight Meditation Society’s retreat center (founded by Sharon Salzburg) in Barre, MA, beginning on my birthday in early April. Yay!
- Organize my writing. – So much has happened since Blooming into Mindfulness came out four years ago! It’s time to start chewing on new book ideas. The first step is getting my writing organized into one spot. I plan to use Scrivener for this project.
- Strengthen my immune system through better nutrition habits. – I’m already a pretty healthy eater, but I’m learning more and more about how food choices impact inflammation, organ health, and body/mind wellness. Drinking more water is one of my goals in this area. Another is to use my juicer at least twice a week for green juice additions.
- Reduce my plastics use. – I’m currently reading How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World One Plastic Bottle at a Time, by Will McCallum. The plastics statistics are truly sobering. For example, 90% of seabirds have plastics in their stomachs. How could we let this happen? “Every victory against plastic begins with a single person or small group of people deciding that the time to take action is now.” I’m starting NOW! Will you join me?
- Dedicate time to get out the vote this November! – Again, will you join me?
And that’s a wrap!
This ritual of sharing my goals in my first blog post of the year has become a deep source of accountability and transformation for me over the years. Magic has happened each and every time with delightful surprises that I can only attribute to throwing my intentions into the Universe, showing up for the work, and trusting the process. Every day is a new adventure!
What about you? Have you reflected on what makes you feel most alive and given some thought to how to do more of that this year? How will YOU show up more fully as the chief executive of your life? I’d love to hear your mindful intentions for 2020!
Now let’s get this party STARTED!!
