As we entered a new year not long ago, another year came to an end. The concept of a year may be man made, but as a year come to a close and a new year begins, it certainly can come as a natural point of reflection.
Questions may arise such as “What did I learn and take away from the past year?”, “How do I want to move forward in the new year?” and “How can I best use my learnings and do better?”.
Some years I have actively sat down either at the last day of the year or the very start of the new year with a deliberate and intentional reflection practice. It has not really been a yearly ritual, but really varied over the years for me.
It does makes sense – If we want to move forward with clarity into the next year, it can be helpful to reflect on the past so that we understand where we are now and what got us here. So we can learn and adapt.
This year, it certainly crossed my mind. But I decided to not push myself to do it, but rather just be and let myself do whatever naturally unfolded. Because I have had a daily journaling practice, writing my morning pages, for some time I guess I have this established habit that can act as a natural outlet for reflection and expression. I’ve had some nudges this first month of the year, while meditating or writing my morning pages, of wanting to express the learnings from 2021 in one way or another. Today I felt the nudge big time.
The takeaways emerged in the form of a manifesto. Inspired by the now 20+ year old Agile Manifesto, that emerged in 2001 as a paradigm shift and new way of doing software development, this is the form it came up in.
The agile manifesto has 4 core values at its heart and 12 principles. The way that the statements for the values and principles are expressed is that something is more valued over another thing. So for instance one value is “Individuals and interactions OVER processes and tools”. What I really like about it is that it doesn’t say that processes and tools are not important, but what it instead tells us is that we prioritise individuals and interactions and they are more important than the processes and tools. In the Agile manifesto, this statement was made in the context of software development and tech world.
A big learning that has been there all along for some time in my journey, but has become even clearer is how much that is out there in terms of information, knowledge and choices. Our discernment, preferences and prioritisation is more important than ever to proceed with clarity and purpose. Hence the manifesto.
Alright, so now you have some context and scene setting. Lets actually get to the emerged manifesto of 2021!
Like with many thing, the list could be made long, but I have chosen to prioritise my top 6 takeaways. (They are however not in a prioritised order.)
1. Connection with nature & earth OVER city & entertainment
2. Creation & connection OVER consumption
3. Remote work OVER office & commute
4. Freedom & growth OVER stability & certainty
5. Trust & surrender more OVER pushing & doing all the time
6. Responding to change OVER following a plan
(this one I have “stolen” from the Agile Manifesto, but I feel it truly aligns with one of the key learnings from the past year)
I could say so much for every single point. And I think I will continue express more about these points in one way or another here on the blog, if I have not already done it to some extent already (i.e. point 2 – Creation & connection OVER consumption).
I think one thing worth mentioning is the beauty in being open and curious enough so we can experience new things and new ways for what we previously did not consider or thought was possible. If I had not chosen to respond to change over following the plan, I would not have found myself in a completely new chapter, city and state where I’ve never been before or knew anyone.
Movement is life! A beautiful life so worth living and experiencing here and now.
This is my truth right now and with that said, this takes us to my next little nudge to express – the key words of 2022. Watch this space and hopefully the nudge will be strong enough for me to come back here and share. 😉
~ If your past year was to be a manifesto, what would it be?
