Word of the year, bingo and plans for 2023

For many of us, the last week of 2022 and first week of 2023 have been a time of reflection and planning.

And I’m no exception to the rule. While I am a Questionner and I generally resist arbitrary cultural codes, I find the ending of the year and the begining of a new one inspiring to review, reset and define goals and strategies.

Review

At the end of 2021, I came to the realisation that I had not left the country and felt the urge to travel again. 2022 was definitely a catch-up. Barcelona, Madeira, Oregon, Quebec, Jordan… I exploded my carbon footprint (which does not make me proud). But what I really want to keep from 2022 is the memory of seeing my friends in Portland, in June and the genuine, almost childish, excitment I felt of being surrounded by “my” people.

Among other things, it pointed out my tendency to be satisfied with my own company and the limits of it. I need others and, contrary to what I thought and what I (half)jokingly claim: I like people. Just… not any people.

Something to keep in mind as I bridge the gap toward 2023.

Reset

This year, I took the first three days after New Year’s Eve, to clean up my house, my computer and my chakras. I emptied my kitchen cupboards and got rid of several packs of food that were way pass their expiration date. I displayed all my paperwork around the apartment and destroyed anything that I could. Seriously, I found bank statements from 2014 when I was still living the US.

I pulled out my beautiful new Notion daily dashboard template and my amazing new budget spreadsheet (that I worked hard on over the past couple of months) and I launched into phase three : planning.

Define goals and strategies

Let’s get to the juicy part… what will 2023 be made of ? That, I don’t know, but what I can tell you is where I’m hoping to go and what I’m planning to do about it.

At the end of 2022, I was reminded several times of one of my favorite adventure stories : the race to the South pole between Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen (one of these time gloriously being the only person in a pub quiz able to answer the question : what is the name of the first person who made it to the South pole? 😂) A glacier legend affirms that if Scott had only taken 11 more steps every day during his journey, he would have made it out of Antartica alive (spoiler alert for those of you who didn’t know who won the race… sorry). I like that story because it brings questions, not the simple concept of “you could do just a little more”. Who’s to say that Scott was not already doing just a little more? A little more than what? Where does it stop?

I decided to make ELEVEN the theme-word of the year; a way to remind myself that I can always wonder : am I already doing a little more or could I add my 11 steps ? So I’m sprinkling 11 reminders here and there.

As for my big goals, they would be the following :

• Boots & Cats : continue growing and stabilizing the company and starting to identify someone who could become my number two in order to slowly phase out of my CEO role over the next few years.
• Teaching & Coaching : bringing that side of my activity at the same level as B&C and starting to explore potential international opportunities (to satisfy my travel appetite without it feeling meaningless).
• Untied : continuing strenghthening the ties of the community and enjoying producing content about subjects I’m passionate about.
• Personal life : building the first pilar of my stability of mind by formally establishing residence in Croix-Rousse (yes, although I have had my home-base here for 10 years now, I still felt like I’m passing though) and moving in a owned home.

Last year, in the Untied community, we started a game of Bingo where we list 15 concrete actions to be done over the year. They appear on a Bingo card and when we cross a line we can shout “Bingo!” and win a small prize. On my 2023 Bingo, I listed the following actions :

1. Three new members in the Boots & Cats crew
2. Eight visits to my family
3. Going to Arles during the photography exhibition
4. Having leftover money on my budget every single month
5. Learn 11 songs
6. Read/listen to 22 books
7. Save 5 000 € for emergencies
8. Host two events at home
9. Take a maximum of three trips that require me to fly
10. Invest 500 €
11. Visit Île d’Oléron
12. Move into a new (and owned) place
13. Go on 11 hikes
14. Find 11 opportunities to flirt
15. Run 11 K

This is going to be an exciting year, don’t you think ? Let’s do this !

Photo credit : Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash