20 Hopes for 2020

I’d like to interrupt the stream of year-end highlight reels, lists of goals, and photo collages plaguing your various newsfeeds, and offer you – yes, you – some hopes for the new year.

I may know you personally and I may not, but please know that I mean each of these with honest sincerity – that these things have come from my heart – from a place of focus and intention, meant for each individual set of eyes that scan my words.

May the coming days grant you with so many of these things, but paramount and above all –  peace and contentment.

20 Hopes for 2020

20 I hope that someone new comes into your life this year – maybe in the form of a relationship, or a friend, or a work colleague, or a neighbor – who makes you feel stable and sound. I hope you feel validation from this person and trust in this person. I hope by year’s end, you can’t remember what life was like without this person.

19 I hope that you feel fulfillment in something – whether it’s work or a project or your home or your partner. I hope you are able to feel your skills and talents being used, and see others benefit from them. You were blessed with so much, your own unique combination that no other singular person on earth possesses alongside you. I hope you feel purposeful and significant.

18 I hope you feel momentum in a way you never have before. I hope that the difficult decisions become crystal clear. I hope that the evasion and procrastination dissipates. I hope you’re able to dive head-first into the next step with bravery and assurance, and I hope this creates a domino-effect that blesses you with this same mindset for the inevitable obstacles that come your way throughout the year.

17 I hope you find yourself overwhelmed with opportunity. I hope you have to tell someone “no.” I hope you see your calendar fill to the brim (wherever you personally define “the brim” to be) with meetings and proposals and interviews and events.

16 I hope you drink delicious coffee in the morning and feel it gently warm you as you greet the day. I hope you eat the most glorious meals prepared by yourself, or someone who cares greatly for you, or a renowned chef who’s a stranger. I hope you drink the most refreshing beverages whilst looking at gorgeous scenery. I hope you toast to something monumental while looking into the eyes of people whom you respect and admire.

15 I hope you feel the courage to tell people the things you like about them – their sweater, their work ethic, their creativity, the way they treat others. I hope you have the self-control and wisdom to know that criticism is superfluous in the worst way. I hope you operate under a mindset of sensitivity and respect.

14 I hope you experience art that moves you or makes you excited. I hope you see a painting that makes your heart do a dance. I hope you experience music that makes you cry. I hope you encounter a story, whether read or spoken or performed, that creates a home in your bones and stays with you throughout the year.

13 I hope you experience victory in the most monumental way. I hope you win the lottery. I hope the “there’s no way” turns into “I can’t believe it!” I hope the odds that are stacked against you miraculously come through anyway. I hope you feel the truth of the statement “you’ll never know unless you try,” and I hope you feel grateful that you took the chance.

12 I hope you find yourself in a moment of finite perfection – watching the sun set over the water, sitting in the corner of a cozy book store, staring into the eyes of your beloved in a noisy, crowded bar. I hope you recognize the moment when it happens. I hope you realize that these seconds where everything is so pure and so good are actually not so few-and-far-between.

11 I hope you feel confidence to be your authentic self. I hope you feel the commitment to your personality, your interests, your beliefs, even if they’re outnumbered or met with opposition. I hope you know in your heart that the vast majority of people are much more interested in being around an individual rather than a social chameleon who wants to blend in and go unnoticed.

10 I hope you take opportunities to ask questions and listen to the answers. I hope you listen to understand rather than listen to speak. I hope you let someone solicit you for advice or your two-cents before you offer it up impulsively. I hope you find yourself lost in conversation, actively investing in people, without holding them to a standard of checks and balances.

9 I hope you begin each day from a mindset of what you can do for others. I hope you hold doors for people without expecting them to say “thank you.” I hope you jump in when someone needs help on making the final deadline without expecting recognition from management for it. I hope you go out of your way to send the thank you note, to get the birthday card, to make someone feel special. You never know how much weight the most simple acts of kindness and validation carry for someone.

8 I hope you feel healthy and well. I hope you feel strong and fast and balanced and hydrated. I hope you surprise yourself with all that you can do. I hope you feel accomplished and proud and comfortable. I hope you feel more sure of your longevity than ever before.

7 I hope you get adequate sleep for the majority of the year. Not just on weekends, not just every now and then, but let’s aim for like 75% of the time, mkay? I hope you have dreams that communicate epiphanies to you, and I hope the nightmares stay at bay.

6 I hope you discover a blessing in a misfortune. I hope the thing that goes wrong becomes the cornerstone in your life that brings you to a new level of achievement you never thought possible. I hope you miss your train stop and meet the love of your life. I hope the job rejection prompts you to fulfill your dreams of starting your own business. I hope you screw something up which consequently sets something else up. I hope you fail so far forward you end up in a different dimension where the enormity of the possible overwhelms you.

5 I hope you feel inspired. I hope life speaks to your soul in ways no one else understands. I hope you feel in-touch with the energy of the universe through colors, scenes, people, experiences, and the profundity of the insignificant.

4 I hope that in times of strife, in times of great overwhelm, in times of pain or confusion, you cope by creating. I hope you feel how misfortune can be productive. I hope you see how your personal experiences can inform your art. I hope you write a song about your breakup, I hope you paint a picture of the house you were outbid on. I hope you make a scrapbook of memories that feature people you’ve lost along the way. I hope you feel the active transformation of bad to good that occurs within when you do these things.

3 I hope you find music that sets your soul on fire. I hope your favorite artist releases a new album that blows you away. I hope that Spotify gives you a random song recommendation and the lyrics shake you to your core. I hope you become obsessed with the score from the next Pixar flick, or play the cast album of this year’s Tony-winning musical on repeat.

2 I hope you take the time to breathe. I hope you stop the world momentarily and look inward every now and then. I hope you meditate. I hope you sit in the stillness and listen to the universe communicate with you. I hope you prioritize this process of introspection and reflection – it will change everything.

1 I hope you love unconditionally and with abandonment. I hope you’ll be brave and vulnerable and operate with an open heart. I hope you’ll allow others to see you and take care of you and bless you, just as you will for so many in the next 12 months. I hope you give yourself permission to feel bliss. I hope you don’t question your happiness. I hope that this time next year, you’re in shock and awe and amazed with the miraculous fruition of your wildest, lofty, most out-of-reach dreams that now create your reality.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

xoxo,