It was the close of the year—wrapping up and recapping with clients, many conversations recalling what went well in 2021 and what we learned, setting the stage for what could be possible in 2022.

I invited everyone to think big—to plan the year in advance, to think about what the next 12 months could hold. The even bigger question being:

“How can we use 2022 to prepare ourselves for 2023?”

Truly, the invitation was to consider how the effort and planning of our goals today stair-stack to the impact we are able to make tomorrow and for many years afterward. Seems obvious but it’s easy for most of us to get stuck in the survival of everyday.

At the close of 2021, as I spoke with clients and friends, family members and people whose names I didn’t know but would also be waiting for their kids to get out of ballet, I noticed a trend.

We were all exhausted.

Yes, some people seemed hopeful but still tired. The year felt like a 365 day race, one in which the option of stopping to rest didn’t seem accessible. It was survival.

That’s not to say that amazing things didn’t happen throughout 2021 but more than anything, it felt like in some ways we were all holding our breath, just trying to make it to the end of the year. Hoping that our weddings, birthday parties, and vacations happened as planned…keeping our fingers crossed that we would stay healthy, our children would go back to school, that some semblance of normal would right itself once again.

And then just like that, it was January 1st, 2022.

 

 

Traditionally, a new year brings with it the sparkly new promise of a fresh start or alternatively, the weightiness of expectations that reside in the setting of resolutions. As the year started, my conversations felt different.

There was hope, but a new variety that hadn’t been seen in 2020 or 2021. It wasn’t as much of the finger-crossing, pie in the sky hope of years past either. Instead it felt like, “Well, we might as well get the show on the road.”

Think about it:

With fear—that attitude is met with breath holding.

With excitement—that perspective is met with resolve.

Here’s the thing: I think we’ve all learned that life can change and that we can’t sit waiting around for it to “go back to normal” (2020) or make plans all the while holding our breath in anticipation of the bottom falling out (2021). Both of those approaches are exhausting and leave us feeling powerless.

This year feels different. Somehow, it feels more real. We are all aware of the risks around us—from the ones that are known to the possibility of being met by ones that are still unknown, yet still we choose to carry on.

That’s what 2022 is to me. It about forging ahead. Not waiting for “normal” or living in fear of making plans or doing things in case they get cancelled or that we get sick.

It’s exhausting to live like that.

I think we’ve all learned to pivot and if we continue to live as if we didn’t just spend the last two years learning lessons, stretching ourselves to change, evolve, or become who these experiences have taught us is possible simply seems foolish.

Consider what the past two years has taught you, consider what kind of life you want to live for yourself. And now, let’s forge ahead.

Let’s consider what’s possible, let’s not forget what we have learned and also, let’s not allow those experiences to hold us back either.

It’s about resilience.

We all have the capacity to be resilient.

To sit inside the life that we’ve lived from birth until the day that you are reading these words, and inside that life, look around, take in the experiences and understand that these lessons have happened for you.

Do something with them.

Sometimes we are afraid, and that’s ok. But it doesn’t mean that each of us lack the capacity to make an impact. That’s what I believe being coached allows you to do. It’s about having a “plus 1” in your corner as you do the darn thing—as you forge ahead and create a life that is uniquely yours.

At Mindrise, we’ve mapped out themes for each month this year. Just like the way we coach our clients, we have created monthly themes to help you to get focused and step further into your purpose. Our theme for January is:

New Beginnings/Goal Setting + Staying Committed

“I am the designer of my destiny”

“I am committed to turning my dreams into my reality”

 

Just what will your 2022 look like?

Click here to schedule your 20 minute Strategy Session now to feel confident on taking action on your goals.