Here’s To 2022, Your Best Year Yet! (We Mean It)

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson.

As we move into the end of 2021, no doubt many of us have started pulling out journals and planners and taking a look at that vision board. Fair enough, we’ve probably abandoned much of what we thought this year would look like, and that’s fair enough.

But you know what else this year has given us in heaps? A get out of jail free card.

As much as we all like to think that we’re going to keep as many of those resolutions as we can, there is usually not much time left to “walk the great wall of China” before Christmas. The pandemic has dished us out a massive gift thanks to the law of unintended consequences, and here it is:

You don’t have to feel bad about not getting to the bottom of your to-do list because, well, you know – lockdown.

So armed with your free pass, you now have a responsibility to do up 2022 and do it up right, and lucky you, you have us to help you do just that.

• Save

NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR CLEAN SLATE

No doubt you have many of the same goals that you had last year or the year before, but certainly, there are many that you’re going to have to move along or at the very least shift – some of them you may even have to give the total boot too.

Now, get a blank sheet of paper and start writing. Not about your goals or your missed opportunities from this past year, but to yourself. Write a letter to your past self, forgiving yourself for all of that baggage that you’re carrying around, all of those things you didn’t do (and perhaps some that you did), the only baggage you should be carrying has the letters “LV” emblazoned all over it.

This exercise may seem silly, but you have no idea how cathartic it is. 

Permitting yourself to be set free from shackles that you have no business being bound to is the first step to freeing up some “cache” in your brain, space that will get you to think about the stuff that really matters. Think of it as your own “ CTRL ALT DELETE” moment.

NOW, TAKE STOCK OF WHERE YOU ARE

Doing a “life audit” is the equivalent of doing a financial audit – but for your life outside of money. This exercise will let you see yourself in the light in which you really are, not where you wish you were or worse – weren’t. But it only works if you’re prepared to be brutally honest about your entire life: career, relationships, finances, goals, weight, lifestyle, fitness – the works.

Don’t be afraid to feel the emotions that come with each of these thoughts. The good, the bad, and the ugly, and remember that it is also just a feeling no matter what you think. So don’t let it dictate what happens next.

Once you’ve thoroughly completed your life audit, you can compare where you’re at versus where you wanted to be, and the bits that don’t match up are the bits that need priority for the new year. At least, the bits you want to keep. Our priorities change no matter how much we plan or otherwise, and no matter how many pandemics get thrown at us.

Be realistic. Were you seriously planning that walk on China’s great wall, or was it a passing thought?

NOW, LOOK FORWARD

Once you’ve forgiven yourself for not doing what you said you would or for doing what you did when you didn’t want to (and all of that other stuff too), and you’ve completed your life audit and figured out the parts that worked and those that didn’t, you’re best placed to start the plan that’s going to get you living your best 2022 life.

• Save

It’s time for the fun to start because now that you’ve had a little cry and put the past where it belongs, you get to indulge your spirit with the power of dreaming and it’s not hocus pocus. There is genuine science behind what our dreams can tell us and what they can accomplish, so now armed with a fresh sheet of white paper and pen at hand, begin to write your perfect 2022 into existence. 

Where you going to start a business? What kind of business? What industry is it in? What about that restaurant you have always dreamed of? What will you need to make it happen? Visualize the plan from top to bottom. You’ll need shop fitting, designers, fridges (check out Island Refrigeration), and imagine what your menus are going to look and feel like. Get the drift? Apply that comprehensive vision to whatever it is you’re planning on achieving in 2022. From the big stuff to the small stuff, everything starts – with a vision.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Don’t get us wrong; we don’t want you holding back. This is the time to see yourself in that suit, living in that neighborhood, or traveling to that beach, but don’t get stuck in the details – they’ll reveal themselves when they’re ready (and so are you).

There will still be many times ahead of you where you will have feelings of doubt or insecurity, but this shouldn’t influence what you’re dreaming or planning about right now – don’t let an unsure future dictate your present, and don’t let an imperfect present, dictate your future. 

Remember that the only reason you will or won’t achieve anything is in the mirror in front of you, and even though you may not ever get to meet Princess Charlene of Monaco (or, maybe you will…), you can always plan on vacationing there anyway.

If it’s career planning or a total shift from the office into the world of the digital nomad you’re after, or if you need a change of pace and want to go volunteering in South America, this is your opportunity to start planning for it, right now. There will never be another “now” like this one, so make it yours and above all – make it count.

Happy 2022.

• Save