First post of the year!
December may be the most wonderful time of the year. But for me, January is the most exciting month for 3 reasons.
✨ January is my Birth Month!
One is because it's my birth month. Ever since I celebrated my birthday dining at Shakeys alone in 2018, I decided to try to make a big deal in celebrating my birthdays through great adventures. In 2019, I went on a solo Sagada trip unbeknownst to my parents. Only my best friend knew, just in case something happens to me, someone knows where I am. In 2020, I went to Japan and saw the British rock band Queen's concert in Kyocera Dome Osaka. For this year, I'm still going to make it as exciting as it could be in the midst of the pandemic.
✨ Sinulog Festival is in January!
Second: It's when the queen festival of the Philippines takes place! For the foreigners out there, Sinulog is a grand festival celebrated in Cebu, Philippines to honor Sto. Nino, the holy child Jesus. Our country is heavily populated with Catholic devotees. With or without COVID-19, masses will push through provided health protocols are observed. But just to be safe, I will just attend the 9-day novena masses online. I'll miss attending the worship singing and chanting of "Pit Senyor" in person, though 😌
“Pit Senyor” is the short form of “Sangpit sa Señor,” a phrase in Cebuano that means, “to call, ask, and plead to the king.” This call for help brings believers together in the crowded streets of Cebu every third Sunday of January.
(Rappler, 2013)
What really hooked me with these masses is the Pit Senyor chanting. At the last scheduled mass of every novena day, people do the traditional Sinulog dance and chanting (see video below). All wishes and prayers from the Cebuano people, we chant it together within the grounds of Basilica del Sto. Nino. I remember, when I was still studying for the licensure exams, we used to shout -- "Senyor, sa mga board exam takers kini. Pit Senyor!" (English translation: Senyor, this is for the board takers. Pit Senyor!). When prayers have been answered and we passed the board exam and got our license, our chants transformed to -- "Senyor, sa mga way love life kini. Pit Senyor!" (English translation: Senyor, this is for people with no boyfriends or girlfriends. Pit Senyor!). I have been chanting this every year since then but to no avail. Hahaha!
But so much for that. Let's go to the third and the more important subject that I would be talking about: goal planning for 2021!
✨ January is New Year's Resolution time!
My purpose in writing this is to share tips on how to plan your goals at the start of the year. It's up to you if you want to follow it or get inspiration from it. I just wanna share this because this stuff makes me giddy 😆 So here's how I did my 2021 goal planning:
1. Integrity Report
2. Core Values of the Year
3. Big Hairy Audacious Goals
4. Vision Board
Integrity Report
An integrity report is a quick skimming of the events that happened in your life last year. When I did this, I thought...man, this is just going to be a long list of bullet points for a lot of frustrations that didn't went well in 2020.
I start with going over the past year similar to these guide questions: What went well this year? What didn't go so well this year? What did I learn?
Take this as an annual recalibration of our self-improvement journey. The answers to these questions should answer if our actions are still aligned to our values, thus, our integrity report.
(From Book of July: Atomic Habits by James Clear)
I mentioned in my intro post that I'm a big fan of keeping a journal since 2019. Technically, it started in 2017 but it wasn't until 2019 that I started to enjoy keeping a journal.
But you know what? Surprisingly, MORE things went well for me last year than the bad. My last year's theme was #Bolder2020. I'd say I still lived up to the theme despite the pandemic. I started doing freelance writing properly on my own without the help of freelance sites. I became a financial consultant for an insurance company. This is quite big because I don't know how to sell. But #Bolder2020 made me realize that I can break through my self-limitations. Lastly, I was acquainted with Hive and started blogging in this supportive and wonderful community of hobbyists.
Core Values of the Year
I only adapted this now after I read Tony Robbins' Awaken the Giant Within last year. There were a lot of things about personal development that I learned from that book. We know that our decisions shape our lives--we are in our current state today because of all the decisions we have made in the past. But, making decisions is not just based on pain versus pleasure. It is ultimately guided by the values we uphold.
If you've ever found yourself in a situation where you had a tough time deciding something, the reason is that you weren't clear about what you value most within that situation.
-From Tony Robbins' Awaken the Giant Within
So, I learned that as long as I am aware of the values I want to uphold, then making decisions will be much easier. And the more self-fulfilled my life would be. Hopefully.
Last year, I figured my core value was bravery. #Bolder2020 was what I needed to take the first step, the leap of faith. This year, I decided my core values will be consistency and grit. In this next chapter, I'm hoping #ConsistentandGritty2021 will lead me to greater heights. To follow through. I admit consistency is my weakness. But, making myself aware that #ConsistentandGritty2021 is my theme will remind me to constantly work towards my ultimate goals.
Big Hairy Audacious Goals
Tony Robbins says your vision must be big, quantifiable, and emotionally compelling. Such that when you read your goals, they can be hair-raising. Set yourself big hairy audacious goals.
As I was lurking through Twitter, I notice that the Law of Attraction or Law of Manifestation is gaining attraction. People are confident to say their goals hoping the universe could hear them. I'm amazed at those people but I'm not going to join the bandwagon just yet. Haha! I prefer to keep my cards close until the timing becomes ripe.
If you're confused about what goals you would like to achieve this year, I recommend reading Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins. He has guide questions for personal development, career/business/economic, adventure, and contribution goals. Maybe it could spark your interest somewhere in between.
Of course, your goals must be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound 😉
Vision Board
Lastly, I have to be reminded of what my goals are every single day. Something inspiring to look at every time I open and write in my journal. If I don't do this, past experiences tell me I'll lose my direction somewhere along the year 😅
I won't show here my goals in their actual big hairy and audacious statements, but I figured I could just show the vision board. One look at it and I'm reminded of the great things I wrote for my 2021 goals.
That's it for my first post for the year 2021!
I hope you learned something somehow in my sharing. How about you? What is your goal planning process? Any book recommendations, websites, or videos that could help us in laying out our goals? I'd love to hear about it. These things really do excite me!
🎇 END 🎇
Disclaimer: Image used in the cover photo is by Jess Bailey on Unsplash
Shared to Twitter:
Keep spirit on your goal
Thank you! Let's make the best out of 2021 :D