Hope is a form of planning. It’s a vision of what you’re going to do the next day and the next. So to not be hopeful is to be defeated immediately.
Gloria Steinem
There’s a beautiful tree lined street I love walking down each morning. This time of year though I hold my hand over my head when I hear the ‘tck’ of acorns smacking the sidewalk and bouncing across the street. Rather foolishly I look up to see if squirrels are playing, scoring how many humans can be knocked about with a flying nut. Maybe the nuts also keep score as each vie for a prime piece of real estate to dig in and call home. I think of it as an amazing race- for seeds. The winners who find a viable location fastest, germinate, and, root will be announced in the spring. Stay tuned for the results.
While nature is taking time to prepare for a new year, I like to follow suit by planning and planting for my own new spring growth (aka my dreams and personal goals). After years of leaving dirty underwear in the corner I finally realized it will take far more for my new ‘life’ to spring forth. I used to think it was because I didn’t use an empty jar with wheat until I faced facts that this is real SCIENCE. Seeds and nuts need to be planted for new growth, literally and metaphorically. True, nature’s nuts rely almost solely on luck to root. For us humans, it’s different. Knowing science is real, I forego the reliance on luck, wash my dirty underwear, and, instead use a scientific method-like 5 step process.
- I create a vision for the new year:
I don’t know if this is the easy – or hard part – thinking about what I want this year to produce so to speak. Being specific and attainable is key, and maybe, that also means thinking big but reasonable. After all it’s hard to jump up a mountain.
- This visioning process gives me a chance to focus on what’s important. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what’s really important until you don’t have it.
- When I think of what I want to include I also think ‘what will it bring me’. While I don’t have money or finances in my drawing here, it always come up for me as freedom and knowing that I can care for my health, etc.
- Dreaming big is important, though I know it’s all but impossible as I said to ‘jump up a mountain’. In retrospect I always realize I need to buy the boots first and then start walking before I can jump.
2. I begin the daunting task of taking stock of how my seeds succeeded – or in the past year:
I don’t know about you but when I review my year I sometimes forget to look at the WHOLE year. In the middle of a temporary drought I force myself to acknowledge the riches that sprang forth in previous months.
- Things always look different with a little distance and a little less emotion. Even in the middle of a drought I’ve find seedlings and optimism that have fed and fueled me in unimaginable ways.
- Ups and downs lead to balance, even if it doesn’t seem that way at the moment. As South Africa Peace Corps Volunteer a few years ago, every day was an emotional roller coaster. My daily reaping often left empty-handed. The long view showed my joy and the rich harvest I walked away with.
- Stay focused on the long view, not just the lush, or luster-less crop in front of you. This held true for me years ago and something I remind myself even now.
3. Next, I go deeper and think about why seeds flourished or not:
Okay, so it’s not just that I had some successes and some duds, I have to be honest and think:
- WHY: What was my reason for wanting to reap this particular crop (so to speak). I realize my ‘why’ of surviving vs. thriving also drives my vision and keeps pushing me just enough out of my comfort zone to keep me happy.
- WHERE: Location, location, location – I definitely think where I’m planting my dreams is as important as anything else. That was true when I was consulting, and just as true in my new growth phase. For me, location includes: the type of business, city, street, country.
- WHEN: Timing is everything, cliche as it sounds. I’ve been playing with this blog idea for years, and yet, it’s laid fallow. I’ve finally (I hope!) gotten to the point where it’s ‘If not now, when?’ Timing… there’s really a right time for something to take root – let’s also hope this is finally the right time for people to take real action against climate change.
- Get rid of what’s holding you back: I toss a symbolic stone, leaf, etc, to rid myself of a behavior or emotion that hasn’t worked well for me into a river. For growth, I then find a new symbolic (something) for that behavior I want to bring into my life. This wonderful and cathartic ritual, tashlich, is done during the Jewish High Holidays. For me, tashlich focuses the internal changes that will (hopefully) change my external world. I’ve noticed it takes more than a year and tossing more than just one big rock in a river to get rid of some anger or regret. I think that’s what I like best about this yearly planning, the chance to try again (and again) to get ‘it’ right.
4. Time to get dirty! Once I’ve figured out what worked and didn’t, it’s now time to plan what I need to plant to achieve my vision and then strew some seeds about:
Every step is the hardest it seems. Actually digging in and getting dirty to strew and plant those seeds is big time hard. It means sitting down and (for me) actually writing (and remembering how to use wordpress…). It means I have to leave the warm comfort of my room and go talk to new people (gasp!). It means I have to make (another) change. Even more:
- Sadly not all seeds take root. Or if they do, they may not bloom. It’s like that faltering friendship or the dream job that becomes a nightmare.
- You gotta strew a lot of seeds. I like the way that sounds! So many times I’ve put all my energy and focus on one planting, one job, only to find myself starving emotionally, financially, and spiritually. It sounds dramatic and it felt that way. These days I know to have a Plan A, B, C, D.
- Each seed may have only one chance to bring life and that’s why a lot are needed.
- As you plant those seeds for Plan’s A, B, etc. plant with purpose. Try to keep in mind ‘what it will bring you’ and if it will bring you joy.
- If seeds don’t take root, I change and recycle my vision – or I like to think I do, at least a little. I also (try) to remember that past failure (performance) is no indication of future success. It’s equally hard to remember that past success is no indication for future success…
5. Once the seeds are planted I (try to) make sure they’re nurtured:
Keeping dreams front and center seems like it should be the easiest thing to do, right? But somehow, even with my relatively simple life there’s always something else jostling for my attention. (And I don’t even go on Facebook…). My right brain challenges my goal setting and detailed follow-through so I stay focused by journaling, jotting ideas, drawing, etc. including:
- Having a notebook or two to record my thoughts. I used to write long paragraphs, but now I tend to jot more ideas and use more visuals and LOTS of color. It’s easier for me to keep track of and a lot more fun to revisit on a regular basis which means I review more often.
- And review I do and think and rethink what action I have to take to reap what I (hope to) have sowed. This means reaching out to friends often knowing I’m the wanderer and also reworking my Plans A, B, C, D for followup and forward action.
- I regularly review what I ‘tossed’ during tashlich in step 3, since this is always an intangible emotion and it’s really hard work to change a behavior – even harder, or equally hard, then logging back into wordpress and letting my fingers do my talking.
Last step… Be kind. First and foremost be kind to yourself. It seems to me it’s too easy to be swayed by all that ‘noise’ out there. Noise muting our own voice. Listen to yourself – I know for years I’ve strived to listen more to my own voice and not those of others. If something isn’t working go back to Step 1. Rethink your vision and decide if it’s for instagram, your friends/family, or, if it comes from deep within you. We all have the power to heal the world if we follow our own personal visions and dreams.
Wishing you success and lots of new growth!
Human Nature Concepts 