Goals and resolutions? Join me in a new idea…
“What if instead of setting goals we set experiments?”
That was the conversation my husband and I had over dinner on New Year’s Eve. It was fun and playful. We volleyed ideas back and forth. When we jotted down our experiments, one thing was clear.
We are focused on learning & growing more than performing & achieving.
Ah, the gift of mid-life wisdom.
The exercise felt so freeing that I had to share it (The Goals Reframe).
Two years ago, one of my experiments was joining a curious-minded group of strangers to walk the famed Camino de Santiago in Spain.
Walking the Camino was something I had always wanted to do. But the invitation didn’t come at a great time. I didn’t feel ready.
But for whatever reason, I was pulled to the invite. I joined the info call. I signed up. I knew once the deposit was paid and it was on my calendar, I’d figure out the details.
I had no agenda going into the walk. I packed a small backpack, an open mind and space to think and dream.
In Walking the Way, I share what happened.
Several beautiful things happened next. Among them?
I decided to commit to do a one-week pilgrimage annually.
It was a personal gift to myself. A way to keep me curious, health-focused, deepen my global connections.
It was a goal that came out of an experiment.
And I kept experimenting—Walking a solo Camino in Spain. Hiking the Congo Nile Trail in Rwanda. Inviting friends—some decades old, some years new, and some whom I’d never met in person—to walk the Portuguese coast with me and the founders of Walking Mentorship.
Among my experiments for this year is to do more for me.
And while it sounds selfish when I hear myself say that, I know it’s the most generous thing I can do for others.
That’s the irony. When I experiment in being more generous with myself, I find gifts to share with others. Gifts like walking the Camino.
We walk a customized version of the Portuguese Coastal Way—starting in Vigo, Spain and ending at the famed Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Walking Mentorship provides a structure to make our walk a true journey. It’s taking a snapshot of your current moment in life, and having the time and space to plot what experiments you wish to set—alongside others doing the same.
My well-traveled friend who just returned describes it as some of the most beautiful exploring she’s ever done.
I use the tagline Let’s Venture. And venturing begins with experimenting. It’s not about going all-in from the start. It’s trying a new idea. Finding what works. And realizing early what doesn’t.
Here’s what I wrote after completing the Camino:
Travel is a luxury. What if…we kept it simple and connected to what matters? What if we returned to explore a place in new ways versus seeking to just check off a new country? What if we placed more emphasis on the trusted who and the why—more than the what and the where?
The Camino helped me solidify what luxury, simplicity and trust mean to me.
It reminded me that travel is the greatest teacher…when we show up as a student.
Inspired to experiment? Let’s do it together. As a Success Coach, we explore and refine your values, strength and story for your next life stage. In Venture Travel we connect to people, story and place in a whole new way.
Discover more from Jodi Morris
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