A Theme for 2022

Another year is dawning and I have such a hard time thinking of it as being 2022. I know everyone is saying this, but it feels like 2019 was just a few short months ago. It’s not. It’s two years behind us. Two years since I felt anything like “normal”. It’s been so long since I’ve set goals…because it honestly seemed like what is the point in having goals, if there is no way to pretend that they might apply at the end of the year.

A few years ago, I fell into the concept of yearly themes. Some people think of this as their “Word” for the year…bravery, truth, spontaneity, faith…whatever. The theme is just taking that to the max. Instead of having just one word, you apply it to a whole theme. The Year of ______. It’s easier to think of things as being part of the theme, rather than just applying to one word, and provides lots of room to create and adapt sub goals.

So what is my theme for this year?

The Year of Building

I think that this has three main parts.

Building Routines

The past coupe of years have been a total cluster in terms of routine. Regular habits? Haven’t heard of them. 2021 was eating out too much, keeping strange hours, and neglecting the house. This year, I want to spend some time developing routines and hanging on to them until they are habit. I’d like to focus on some health habits, some house cleaning habits, and some cooking habits. It’s doable!

Building a Community

I love Instagram. I love the people who read this blog (that’s you!). I love that it’s a group of people that I can go to when I need advice. When I need comfort. When I want to laugh. Beyond follower count, I want to build a tighter group. I spend a lot of time scrolling, but not a lot of time liking, commenting, being legitimate friends and supporters with other people. That’s the plan! I’m going to be there for my friends and followers.

Building Opportunities

This year, I’m actually planning on heading back to school. I think it’s important to plan on constantly trying to use your mind when you can, and I’ve had a few years away from being a formal student. If I want to keep moving forward, career-wise, this is the next step for me. I already have a master’s degree, so this will be another one to stack on the list of expensive pieces of paper.

In addition to formal education, I want to keep building up the opportunities that I have through my blog and Instagram. This year has been a year of incredible growth and learning around what it would like to focus in particular on making more of those opportunities happen. I had a really wonderful 2021, but a lot of the opportunities that came my way were incidental and sporadic. This year, I want to be more purposeful about building in these opportunities consistently, and with direction.

Your Theme

What’s your feeling about this year? Are you thinking resolutions, or themes? Do you have a word of the year? I’d love to know what you’re planning on for this year. Let me know below!