Intentional Strategies and Living on Purpose

The euphoria in the air was all nice and lovely to see as we waltzed into the new year. I loved to see how joyous and motivated people were to begin a new year. It was almost as though they were given clean slates. The reality, however, was that it was the same old thing we are accustomed to doing every year: set goals like it isn't really just another day for the earth. And so I did something different from what I had always done in the previous years...

Nothing.

Surely, I was grateful to have gone through the entire year 2023 and entered the new year as a much better person, and I have my amazing family and friends to celebrate with. It's just that I sort of made myself numb to all the FOMO I perceived around me.

I learned something about setting goals and how we sometimes go about it the wrong way. Identity -> Process -> Goals. That's the order, really. Instead, we go in reverse order: we set the goals, try to find a way to achieve the goals (process), and then expect the identity to just happen. If it is more effective to carry the identity of an avid reader, think like such, and act accordingly, then "the goal to read more books" would likely happen. Insights from James Clear in Atomic Habits explain this.

I am not in any way discrediting the concept of goals or setting them. I am only saying that, in doing so, they really should be realistic, at least. How can I have a terrible sleep routine—which I actually do—and say that "I will be waking up at 5 AM every day henceforth? When, in reality, I still have certain practices that would greatly hinder me. "How does a person who is keen on getting adequate rest approach his sleeping times?" Such a thought is where it should begin.

So what have I been doing all week? I have been taking the time to be more intentional and active in certain aspects of my life. It's a little rough as it is. I don't exactly feel "tight" in it all, yet I consider it a work in progress. I decided to wait for the New Year FOMO to clear out, and then I would strike! And strike is what I am doing. However, there is a need for a plan. I can't keep rummaging through it all for long.

There are certain things that have caused a big ripple on my wave in these few days into the new year already. I have had some responsibilities added to me. My finances have taken a big shift. There is work that I really do not like. And then going through the thoughts of them all has been challenging. The idea now is that, having gone through them all and gotten a pretty good idea of how to proceed, I think it's time I go to the drawing board and plan. I have waited long enough.

It's a bit foggy now, though. But I am looking forward to developing pretty neat and solid strategies to truly become this year. Week one has been an adventure, to say the least. The next week is going to be a little more streamlined. Taking things little by little and proceeding with caution—that's how I intend to go this time.