Envision 2024 & Beyond
A list of prompts for setting intentions.
A surprising number of people hate goals. If you, however, have decided that you’re not a piddler and that you want to design your life, especially around writing, then
do not underestimate goal-setting.
It should not be restricted to the New Year but should become a daily routine of remembering what you want and what you must do to get there. Painter and entrepreneur Jose Trujillo sets outrageous, magnified goals and rewrites them twice a day, morning and night in order to stay focused. At least that’s what he used to do, I’m not sure now.
Once you set your goals, keep them on the down-low. Studies have shown that success releases certain chemicals in our brains, and we set goals because we want to enjoy those volcanic highs. When we speak aloud a goal, these exact chemicals get released, and if we are speaking excessively we can lose enthusiasm and momentum for actually achieving the goal. So be circumspect about how loudly and how often you talk. Talk to yourself. Show up and do the work.
Last Year
I did things differently in 2023. I didn’t set resolutions or goals, I set intentions. Most of them didn’t involve numbers or getting to finish lines. They involved movements toward something. For example—and this doesn't concern writing—I intended to RESTART MY GARDEN, which I have neglected in the long hours I’ve been spending at my desk. So I began to get outside in the vegetable garden a few times a week. My husband Raven did too. We started to get the weeds under control and plant new seeds as soon as a vegetable was done. Then in the fall I hired an amazing gardener to help, and she turned the garden into a work of art. Therefore, when I revisited my goals for 2023 earlier this week, most of them had been accomplished. That was a great feeling.
Prompts for Intention-setting
What is next for me?
What can I do daily?
A year from now, I’d like…
What I need to get this done…
What am I doing that I don't need to be doing?
What am I willing to give up in order to get what I want?
I intend this year to…
Exercise
Set aside the next thirty minutes and flow-write answers to the questions above.
One More Prompt
Even for writing, I’ll never give up _____.
This Evening: Important
Tonight is a Zoom webinar designed for paid subscribers of THE RHIZOSPHERE. Those folks have reserved seating. I have opened it up to the writers in my current writing classes as well. Also, I am inviting others to attend if space is available.
If this is a subject that interests you—if you’ve been thinking of starting a Substack—or if you have one and you want to figure out how to make it successful for you—then be in touch by Direct Message. I’ll send you the link. Remember, a limited number of seats are available, so everything depends on space.
Well, I do set intentions regularly and especially in the first twelve days of the New Year -- a habit inherited from my Oma. Now an Oma myself, I still set intentions and one for this year is just to explore substack along with my regular writing schedule. If at the end of the year I feel a sense of reward, not meaning money, I will continue. I want to share my three little volumes and the one that is with a publisher now with a wider audience than I am able to afford with self publishing.
The QUEEN of writing prompts! These are great! I gave up goal setting several years back, for intention setting. One of my intentions this year is to reclaim my garden that lay fallow all last year & has been claimed by golden rod & dog fennels. I’m completely changing all my gardening endeavors this year, compared to what I’ve been doing the past 6 years...more to come on that in my farm newsletter.