Glitter and Goals
Yesterday, on Sunday Morning, I heard the host begin, “On this last Sunday of 2018...”
Today, as it happens, is the last Monday of 2018--and the day I’ve been looking forward to since the beginning of the month. Each December I take a holiday (typically a week and then some) to visit family and, finally, reflect on the past year.
Last year, in the midst of my musings, I stumbled across the “Life Balance Wheel,” a tool I’ve adapted for my own year end review.
Wrapping my head around the previous year is a creative activity and oh-so satisfying. I spend a good bit of time (as gauged by about 2 cups of coffee, give or take) on this process.
Each category (up from my original 6 categories to a bonafide 10) on the wheel has it’s own highlights and challenges over the course of the year. The more I think of these, the more I seem to remember. I also--bear with me--jot down each month, from January through December, and create a brief timeline of events. It gives me a sense of the way my attention ebbs and flows in each category throughout the year.
In 2018, it feels like things were pretty balanced. (#hindsightis20/20) Although, in various moments I definitely didn’t feel like there was balance. There were some unanticipated challenges, ventures that felt all-consuming and moments of disconnect with people I love as well as with my own sense of purpose.
Goal setting, in it’s most traditional sense, is relatively uncomfortable for me. Like most things, I’ve found a way to make it work for me. The trick, I’ve found, is to set intentions that can absorb life--not ensnare us in rigid plans.
At the start of this year I had determined to live life as a verb--to drive my own sentences. At the close of it, I feel like I’ve embodied that intention. I met a lot of my benchmarks (both financially and professionally), discarded goals that ceased to have meaning or serve a purpose (within the categories of health and leisure) and allowed plans to evolve (especially on the home front).
Tomorrow we begin a new year, but each day we have the opportunity to create shifts in our direction. Our goals and intentions will grow with us, sometimes in unexpected (and hopefully delightful) ways. I think that’s the fun of it.