Sundaze: are we ready for 2024?

sincere intentions & moving goalposts

I don’t know how to talk about self-romance without talking about ambition. In its simplest form, ambition is a strong desire to do something. Safe to say, everyone experiences some level of ambition or I’ll at least operate under that assumption for today’s prompt.

We are nearing the end of 2023. Thank God. It’s been bittersweet but everyone seems ready to be focusing on what’s next. Some of us are familiar with goalsetting for the new year, I have been writing them every year since college. Some expert at a workshop said writing things down actually makes us more likely to do it. Almost like a subconscious accountability partner that etches our to-do’s in memory. I was no stranger to goalsetting. When I was little, my dad explained how being intentional with goals allows us to live purposefully. He emphasized that I should never ever divert from the goal that I set because everything else becomes a distraction. While I appreciate him instilling a sense of ambition in me, I have come to learn, the latter is not necessarily true.

I treat my goals like, well, moving goalposts. I see the finish line but flexibility is welcome. You know, shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars kind of thing. After all, where is the excitement otherwise?

I started out last year thinking I’d be a founder. I assembled a team and a board …and failed hard. I learned from my mistakes, like how there seems to be neverending rounds of customer discovery or how hard it is to raise capital as a first time founder. It led to me making a significant career pivot. I looked at my existing network to see how I can bridge the gap between investors and underserved founders - in the process, investing in three startups myself. If I’d never tried to be a founder, I’d perhaps never build a spaceship to the moon.

Today, I invite you to think about your moving goalposts and how you’re setting sincere intentions for the new year:

What are the three things you want to do in 2024?

And if you want to dig deeper into this prompt, assign meaning to each of the three things. Think about how your goals relate to the corresponding level of Maslow’s hierarchy.

Example: I want to learn how to write well.

i. Basic needs: How do you benefit from this goal right now?

ii. Belonging & self-esteem: How does it make you feel?

iii. Self-actualization: How does it increase spiritual contentment? How does it align with your life/religious values?

iv. Impact: How does it contribute to the greater good?

Leave a comment, you can either tell me about your goals and/or how the writing process felt.

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Solo date idea: Go on a long walk. Look at some trees and the big blue sky. How lucky are we to experience this. Breathe into your belly and out through your mouth. Slow breaths - 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out. Calm your system.

A solo walk from last September in the Dolomites. Mountains always make my problems feel tiny. I am filled with gratitude.

In community,

Aaisha