Some Aspirations

My big personal intention for 2022 is to learn to play the piano. 

I’m soon to be 23, and one of the things I regret the most from my childhood and teen years is that I never took learning music seriously. I went to music school for a month or two, but at that age I just didn’t have the patience to practice, and I soon gave up.

Now that I’ve almost graduated with a Master degree in Computer Science, I find myself getting more and more upset at sitting in front of screens all day–only to relax in the evening by consuming more screen time…

As I’ve been looking for a good hobby away from the internet and digital screens, and inspired by your posts about life long learning, I’ve decided that it’s not too late to dedicate myself to learning an instrument. And now that I’m an adult, I have much more intent for learning than I did the previous time.

—Maxime, Ghent, Belgium

1. Have a Dr. appt already scheduled for a full physical and to get a few things checked out heading into the brand new year.

2. Lose weight.

3. Eliminate people who I always have to be the one to reach out to.

4. No soda or alcohol at least for the month of January.

—Jayson, Baltimore, Maryland

We’re finally in a position (near-zero debt (still that pesky student loan, tsk-tsk), my wife earning enough that I don’t need a J-O-B) where I can focus on writing full time. It’s a weird experience: something I’ve dreamed of for decades, now my daily reality. Creating my daily schedule has been a job in itself. Sticking to it even more so. But I’m on track to publish my first three books in March, April, and May 2022. 

We’ll see how it goes. But I’m jumping in with both feet, ready to live the second half of my life as a writer.

—Teague, Tampa, Florida

In a professional gig I picked up recently, the team is spread across the entire country, leading to the work itself taking place entirely online; video calls, email conversations and virtual sessions are the norm. As a result, I have been considering the possibility of moving abroad to a similar time zone and completing the work remotely. The risk of being called into a face-to-face meeting is perhaps the most fraught, but also on the list of considerations are the potential tax implications, availability of high-speed internet, as well as the company finding out and laying down the ultimatum of ‘come home or you’re gone’. 

In any case, I have settled on Mexico as my first preference, especially given the time zone. It would mean starting around 4 pm and finishing up around 11 pm, the day before, potentially earlier depending on the day. I would then be free the entire day to explore the city and practice speaking Spanish. No doubt other challenges will present themselves, like finding a suitable place to live, navigating new social circles, and traveling in a post-COVID world.

It’ll be fascinating to see how it all plays out. 

—Tom, Sydney, Australia

Since starting to read your blog about 5 years ago I have made so many changes to my life to find more joy and walk a path that is more in line with my values and aspirations. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant and my aspirations for 2022 are to slow down and be in the now more often. Before pregnancy, I was working full-time, starting my own business part-time, and signing up for other business adventures all while trying to get pregnant. I am a very ambitious person so this aspiration will be a challenge. I have already started digging into this aspiration in 2021 as pregnancy has made me slow down quite a bit. This slowing down has been interesting for my mental health and I have really had to dig into mindset work and being in the now to find peace. 

—Amanda

2022 will be a year of health.

Each month I’ll focus on a different aspect of my health, such as mental, emotional, nutritional, spiritual, relationship health, etc.

By focusing on each subset of my health for a month, I hope to build some new habits slowly and try some new things that work for me, rather than following the all-in jumping off point of new year resolutions.

2021 was my year of stability, and I did similar things with focusing on stabilizing my sleep, existing relationships, financials, and food intake, all things that were in flux for me as I graduated from college and started my first full time job. This approach ended up being great for me, so I’m excited to do another year with a new focus.

—Liam, Columbus, Ohio

So many aspirations for 2022. The obvious ones being continuing work on my house and learning the bongos and conga. The not so obvious ones being completing all the necessary testing to see if I’m a candidate for brain surgery, which is falling into place and happening much more rapidly than anticipated.

Also trying to get a business off the ground selling mixed media Christmas ornaments and aspiring to do more mountain biking, more sewing, more creative stuff in general while doing a better job of staying on top of the mundane stuff like cleaning and finishing up all the unfinished projects I‘ve got going.

—Eve, Tennessee