“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”—Allen Saunders
Aloha Lovelies,
Pleasant surprises happened in 2021. I didn’t set a goal to “make them happen.” These changes—they were major— emerged on their own.
Which has me wondering, do I need or even want to set goals in 2022?
Pleasant Surprises 2021
Three significant and rather spontaneous happenings especially standout in my mind.
1. Writing on Medium
Out of the blue, my long-time blogging colleague, Evelyn Lim, asked me if I’d like to start a Medium publication with her a few other friends. At the time, Medium was not within the realm of my conscious awareness.
This led me to explore Medium. I readily shifted the focus of my writing to the platform. The benefits have been immense:
My articles reach thousands of new readers.
Writing for editors has challenged me to become a better writer; a challenge I enjoy
I’m paid for writing after publishing hundreds of thousands of words for free over the last decade.
I felt stagnant with my writing. Medium perked me up and made me feel eager to write again.
I’ve saved money and simplified by eliminating services I don’t need or changing to lower cost ones.
I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. Medium is great, but it’s not easy street. You have to be prolific to build your presence on Medium. I sometimes feel I’m on a writing treadmill, but mostly it feels rewarding.
I see Medium as a fun and grand experiment. I’ll give it a year and then see if it’s still right for me.
2. Spiritual Deepening
I’ve been badly burnt by an abusive spiritual teacher. I wasn’t sure I could ever trust another spiritual teacher again. At the same time, the spiritual teachings are very important to me. Even though it’s been a rocky road and I’m not the perfect meditator, I feel spiritual evolution is the purpose of my life.
I’ve read most of Adyashanti’s books in recent years, but I never felt a strong connection with him when I’ve watched his video teachings on YouTube. I was unexpectedly led back to his video teachings this year by a spiritual friend. Something clicked.
I went from spinning my wheels spiritually to finding my way again.
That doesn’t mean I’ll given my whole heart without reservation. I will more likely follow the traditional and sage advice to examine a teacher for many years before making a full commitment. I feel encouraged however because Adyashanti says never to give your spiritual authority to anyone else.
3. Enneagram Heaven
I’ve read several books on the Enneagram of Personality but was at a standstill with it for months. It suddenly occurred to me to see if my favorite Enneagram teacher, Beatrice Chestnut, has a website. That lead me to the Chestnut Pais Enneagram Academy and falling in love with Uranio Paes’ teachings too.
I signed up for the Online Learning Community where I have access to more than a hundred teachings videos on the Enneagram. I’m in Enneagram heaven.
The Enneagram is a way to understand your personality, its weaknesses and strengths. It’s also a system for going beyond personality and aligning with the true self—a perfect complement to my spiritual practice.
These are my favorite Enneagram books (affiliate links)
The Complete Enneagram, 27 Paths to Greather Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut
The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up, Find Your Path, Face Your Shadow, Discover Your True Self by Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes
You can listen to their free podcast, Enneagram 2.0 with Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes, here.
What to Do in 2022?
Do I set goals for 2022 or just let life unfold?
If you’ve been reading me for a while, you know I’m an avid daily—weekly—monthly planner. I like to use my time wisely and not waste away the days, although I’m keen on allocating time for relaxation too.
Some years, I’ve set elaborate goals in eight or more areas of my life. But I’ve found that approach unwieldy. Some years I’ve chosen a “word of the year.” That can be beautiful, but it’s not especially comprehensive.
In 2022, I’m inclined to set loose directions to allow space for the Universe to surprise me with whatever it considers best. I’m at a point in my life where I want to deepen rather than expand. So these loose directions might look like:
Healing: Via trauma therapy and Enneagram work
Service: Via my writing
Deepening Spiritually: Via study (reading, listening, watching), meditation, and inquiry
I might set mini-goals when I feel inclined to do so. For example, earlier this week, I set a goal to lose five pounds by the end of 2021. That seems doable.
I might use these “directions” to plan in 12-week increments as recommended in The 12-Week Year (affiliate link). 12-week planning is more focused, the timeframe is more predictable, and it allows you to zoom in on a small number of priorities.
But even if I do, I want to keep it loose. I want to leave space for the Universe to surprise me.
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Until Next Time
My current way of relating to goals is not necessarily the best way for everyone. But it matches up perfectly to where I am in my life. Whatever system you choose for the coming year, I hope it works well for you.
Just don’t forget to leave some space for beautiful surprises.
And if you think I’m a little crazy to be reflecting on 2022 goal setting in November 2021, remember you can still set mini goals for the remainder of 2021 like I did.
I may be thinking ahead, but I still plan to live each day consciously and fully for the remainder of 2021.
Thank you for reading!
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Until next time, stay safe, be happy. Sending you all my love and best wishes.
xo Sandra
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