A year with no goals. ish.
An experiment to better understand self accomplishment.
November 2021.
I’m sitting on the tarmac at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Seatbelt fastened. I catch myself staring at the United Airlines safety pamphlet and Hemispheres travel magazine stored in a seat pouch in front of me.
A traveller next to me sips a Peet’s Coffee and stares out the cabin window. The flight crew faintly chimes in with some announcements over the intercom. We’re taking off shortly.
Destination?
San Francisco.
This flight was special. While somewhat silly to describe, I felt like it wasn’t just the plane that was about to head down the runway for takeoff. I was as well…well…metaphorically speaking.
But for me, my destination felt a little less Point A to Point B. It was destination unknown.
The moment of lift-off brought about an exhilarating, scary and buzzy sensation. A symbolic moment that truly felt like years in the making was finally coming together.
But many questions still ricocheted around in my mind.
How is this even happening? Where will this lead me? What will happen next?
At this point it was excitingly impossible to tell.
But regardless of the uncertainty I was feeling.
I was ready for wheels up.
—
I’ll be honest. The last few months of 2021 really snuck up on me. How is 2022 already knocking on my door?
It feels like one of those moments when you finish a busy week, and settle in on a Friday night for one of those relaxing snore-fests, (even though I don’t snore*).
One where you find yourself having a nice sleep-in, followed by a blush-lit, coffee-sipping, music-filled slow and soothing Saturday morning.
And then.
You realize you forgot to turn off your phone alarms, and unexpectedly awake to alarm bells clanging your ear off at 6am.
So much for that sleep in….
Rise and Shine.
2022 is here.
—
So now I find myself somewhat caught on my heels writing my reflection this year. Instead of writing this article like a slow-and-soothing Saturday morning, I find myself writing like I slept in — running late and hastily bolting out the door with coffee in hand.
But regardless of how fast the new year has begun, I still feel the need to sit down and write — even if it’s on an 8am flight from Toronto to Denver, with me running on 4 hours of sleep.
An important reminder to take time to reflect no matter how rushed you seemingly may feel.
Life moves fast.
And I feel a need to make time for sitting with my thoughts. I find that one of the most attractive qualities out there is when someone keeps a habit of being purposeful in how they think and reflect on what they do. I aspire to be known for that. So while time may be on crunch, and it might be difficult to keep up, I still do it.
Year after year — I find it amazing how you’re able to discover the many links and lineages between the moments of your life. You just need to make the time to notice them.
—
As I mull over 2021, I definitely see it as a year of huge change. Probably the most measurable since finishing University over five years ago.
I’m excited to share 2 learnings that have come my way whilst jumping into change with full embrace.
(1) The Power of Conversation
Late March 2021.
Toronto. Late Winter. Grey Skies. Greyer Snow. Canadian Lockdown 12.0.
Let’s just call it what it was. Frustrating.
2021 felt like it was somewhat leeching. A slow moving train that somehow kept breaking down every time it tried to leave the station. Even though it wanted to start moving so badly.
I felt the stagnation of March and April — hard.
Things weren’t moving. Personally, Professionally. I felt foggy, and somehow everything I was trying to do to shake up my routine was sputtering.
I was just stuck and not feeling like myself at all. It felt so weird. I felt like every idea I threw against the wall just wasn’t sticking. On repeat. At some moments, it even felt like I was just forcing ideas for change sake. I felt completely unproductive.
But I wanted to keep trying.
I just needed to do it differently.
I needed to get outside my head.
Out of my head, into the mindset of people who were doing it right.
So I decided to talk to people. A lot of people.
The plan was to connect with people who were on an energy high. I myself was on low battery, and just wanted to start putting myself into the headspace of people who had zest. For life, for their outlook, for the happenings of life — large and small. It’s amazing how long you can be mentally on fumes without realizing it. Talking to others who were on full power was eye opening.
You know the saying, “You’re the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with?”
I sort of applied my own filter for it. And just wanted to surround myself with people who were resilient, positive and motivated.
I wanted to deeply understand how others, (friends, peers, strangers…etc.) were pushing forward in the midst of a pretty stagnant time. Throughout spring, I dove into a flurry of conversations and powered through some outreach on LinkedIn to connect and learn from people who were doing cool things — swinging for the fences and making moves that I admired.
No one was off limits.
If they were doing something cool, I wanted to hear how they did it. In my view, the worst thing that could happen was the person ghosted my request to chat. The best case scenario, I could meet someone who could change my life.
(yes dramatic, but why not?)
—
June 2021
Well into my coffee chat blitz, I stumble across the LinkedIn profile of PB. A newly minted Founder and CEO of a up-and-coming Toronto startup focused on VoiceTech.
Voiceform.
PB and I shared 147 connections on LinkedIn (that number sticks for some reason). He had just posted about his company’s first MVP Product, and I was so intrigued.
As a Product Manager who regularly seeks feedback from customers in the form of surveys, I was so interested by his idea. (tl;dr — make data collection simple, accessible and emotionally insightful with surveys that let you answer with Voice).
It resonated deeply. I knew I had to reach out to learn more.
To my excitement, PB humoured my request and we met for a video call.
That call turned into two…
then five…
then…you get the picture.
…
Fast forward 6 months.
It’s incredible to think how much has changed.
Voiceform now has a Founding Team of 3, 1 newly hired Intern, hundreds of incredible customers (aka The Voicesquad) and support from some of the best partners and institutions you can imagine.
And to think it all started with just a simple message. Crazy!
I am so excited for the new heights Voiceform will reach in 2022 and beyond. I am forever grateful to PB and AA for joining forces with me on this journey, and for their amazing talents.
When I reflect on this experience, my standout takeaway is that this all began with conversation and curiosity. No end goals. No plans. Just genuinely wanting to connect and learn from others.
Regardless of what you are going through, why navigate it alone?
There are so many incredible people just one message away. More than you’d even know!
My advice? Start now and reach out.
Yes, most will ghost you. Yes, it will feel like sometimes no one is listening. But yes, there will be amazing people out there who choose to make a connection.
And that connection has the power to change it all.
(2) No Goals. Just journeying.
For the last few years, I feel like most of my articles and reflections have been largely focused on goals.
Get more involved in my community.
Volunteer.
Network more.
Workout 4x a week.
Read more.
Change jobs.
Ah!
Few things in life have been constant, but my near exhausting attempt to always have 10 goals on the go has definitely been one.
And while it’s never a bad thing to have goals, I think for the first time ever I am realizing that I need a new way to frame my goals in 2022.
Having many goals over the last few years has been what’s helped me make huge changes over the last year. Without those goals, changes would not have been possible.
But now I’ve made the change.
New job, new opportunities..etc.
So.
What now?
Does this mean I no longer have a goal?
Can I even function without them?
Is this truly the year without goals?
Well.
…
Yes and no.
Yes, I will still have goals, I just want to think about them differently. In a way that feels less like homework and more like exploration.
In 2022, I aspire to ‘work on’ my goals, instead of ‘working towards’ a goal.
Work on myself. Work on my business. Work on life.
Embracing the oh so cheesy line of, “It’s all about the journey, not the destination.”
I just want to steep where I am, and enjoy the new opportunities I am exploring. The goal? No goal…ish.
Just to journey.
What’s the point of goals, if we cannot get to them? Savour them? Enjoy them?
I’m now learning that your goals are only truly inspiring if they can be enjoyed as well.
And enjoying them is equally an accomplishment. And also another goal in and of itself.
A goal to get to your goal and enjoy the goal.
Goal inception.
And while this journey will certainly come with tasks and milestones that I want to achieve, I just want to spend more time ‘doing’ versus thinking about the metric or game plan behind it.
I want to look back on 2022 and feel like I spent time poking my head up. Taking a step back and enjoying the process for all that it is.
—
So.
2022 here we are.
And while 2021 may have ended in hyperdrive, I think it’s safe to say that 2021 definitely didn’t start out that way.
The early months of 2021 were frustrating. For the first time I truly felt stuck. No matter how many things I tried, my ideas all seemed to sputter. No amount of goals, plans or vision boards seemed to help.
So what did help?
When I look back, it all came down to reaching out and talking with others.
I was definitely in my own head on a lot of things, and I truly didn’t even realize it until I talked to people.
The power of conversation.
The power of connecting with others.
(And to think I ended up at a Voice Startup…how perfect?)
It’s amazing how transformational the power of community is, and knowing that there are people out there who are/were in your shoes, and just as eager and excited to learn from others. All you need to do is just reach out.
So to cap off my 2021 article. Maybe I do have one more goal.
Can’t help myself.
But it’s a goal that I’d love for you to work on with me.
A goal to keep the conversation going. To talk to people when you need someone. To know that you can always connect with someone when you feel stuck.
So.
Let’s chat!
If you’re reading this and have anything top of mind that you’d like to brainstorm, get feedback on or talk through — I am here for you.
Let’s see how the power of a great chat can lead you to your next big ‘aha.’ I’d love to be a part of it.
—
Thanks for reading!
Harrison
—
Footnotes:
* I don’t snore…when I sleep alone. I might snore if the sleeping conditions are foreign, suboptimal and/or uncomfortable, when drinking or if people are around. (BH, SB, MZ, AR, ET…everyone)
