Don't write off 2025. The year isn't over yet. (Map check-in.)
Over the past week I've been traveling the Camino de Santiago by train with my dad. Along side it I read (or should I say, re-read, as I re-read it every year), The Alchemist. Every time I read the book, I take something different away from it.
This read I was reminded of the idea that the closer we get to our dreams, the more we are going to be tested. It can be easy to think it's a sign to give up, but really we are getting closer.
It's easy to go through the motions of life and get sucked into the next curveball of life. Everything takes us further from our goals unless we choose to be intentional about it. This is not to say we are to control everything—we need room for magic! It also may take a certain level of acceptance that things won't necessarily unfold on the timelines we assign them, but it doesn't mean we won't get where we're going.
That's one of the reasons I love turning to maps as a way to frame our year. Maps allow for detours and scenic routes. They become reminders of what really matters to us (and no, you don’t have to be an artist).
My approach to mapping builds over time. Throughout three months I host a series of workshops with creative, analog exercises with pen and paper as a way to reconnect with ourselves and extract what we KNOW, but may have forgotten. These warm-ups if you will allow us to put things in perspective and see that we've made more progress than we expected. It just may have looked different than we imagined.
Most people go into the New Year with a resolution that they go all in for, until it falls off and is forgotten a few months later. My approach is a “Guiding Force” which is my language for a word, phrase or theme for the year ahead.
Often we think we have our word right away, and maybe we do. But I also like to use the last three months of the year as a playground to explore these ideas to test them out and practice them. It all builds to something bigger, culminating in our map. Our map becomes ingrained in our neural pathways—not just a one-and-done exercise. We've planted seeds in our subconscious.
There's some point in the year where inevitably we want to let go of our Guiding Force thinking it “didn't work.” That is the exact moment when we need to lean in and take a closer look at our map and the pathways we've taken.
2025, my year of CONNECTIVITY, has not looked like I expected. You know we all want that natural growth up and to the right. Instead, it's been a series of updates and iterations taking longer than I expected. When I zoom out, I'm connecting more dots than I expected, and in deeper ways.
Here's the thing. The year isn't over yet. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE. Our brain may trick us to believe it is. It's trying to keep us safe. Doing something new can feel scary. Doing something new and taking action to our dreams and desires is also worth it.
Back in January I blogged about my map and goals for the year. When I look closely I can see how I've honored them, even if the external validation and metrics aren't quiet where I'd hoped (yet).
On my map, the Shine Theory Gym represents the reprioritization I've given to my body, going to the gym twice a week, and swimming once, along with my long walks.
The Community Club House represents MYP, my experimental REFLECT & CONNECT journaling sessions (next ones are tomorrow and next Monday!), and the monthly banana mapping workshops I've been hosting through my Substack (the next one is this coming Sunday!). There is truly power in doing this work in community.
The Cabin of Calm reminds me of the 5 days I spent with relatives in remote Maine with no electricity or phone signal. It was glorious. And green. And I swam in the lake for the first time.
The Arena very much represents the progress I've made towards more public speaking and corporate workshops and facilitation (I'm even being represented by multiple speakers bureaus). When I was in Maine this summer I got to speak at Maine Design Fest where I got the whole audience mapping on bananas!
The Circular Power Plant and Recharging Station on my map remind me of all the progress I've made in building and aligning systems. None of this is visible from the outside, but makes a world of difference in my day to day. (It was not without hiccups and a tax audit to get me into gear!)
There even was a train track on my map that feels like a nod to my adventure by rail with my dad. (That trip was only booked last month!).
When we make our maps we can't predict the future or know how our year will unfold. It is however an invitation to welcome more of what we want into our day to day. It's the small incremental change over time that really adds up. This change doesn't happen by passively sitting back and waiting. It happens by finding small, imperfect ways to show up for yourself.
I've learned that when I do this alone my brain once again tricks me. It is doing this work in community that is the real joy and delight. Every year when I make my map inside Mapping Your Path there are influences from the community and their own journey. There is also connection and accountability. They've taught me so much about the power of CONNECTIVITY.
If you're interested or curious to take your own journey to the next level (or to actually ENJOY it for once), the next 3-mo MAPPING YOUR PATH INTO 2026 kicks off this Friday, October 3rd! 🚀
It's truly a one-of-a-kind adventure that you're not going to want to miss. If you have any questions, please hit reply. Tell me a little bit about where you're at in life and I'll give you an honest answer.
Too often you can talk yourself out of investing in yourself or tell yourself “next time” (we all do it!). However, as I've learned over the years, there is never a perfect time, and it only becomes a moving target. The best time to honor yourself is NOW.
Join before Friday, Oct 3rd at 5pm CET/Paris to join the kick-off workshop live. Participants join around the world. You don't have to attend workshops live to get a ton out of the experience. There are multiple ways to connect inside Mapping Your Path.