The whole effing gorgeous point of desire mapping (and how I slipped off my own track).

For the last eight years, at the end of the year (and during my birthday week) I get my vision on. This season’s planning process was extra extra special because I had a full on “system’ for it — on my iPad and in print — and it was all mine. I made it myself and I called it: The Desire Map. [Insert Alleluia chorus of angels. Ahhhhleluia!]

As I scrawled notes inside my very own book, I thought, This must be how an architect feels when she walks into a building that she designed. Surreal.

Taking my own medicine

Jump cut to my process: I get to the “Intentions” section of The Desire Map Workbook. And — with my core desired feelings in mind — I inked out some goals for the New Year: Make a million on this; land a deal for that; get a zing for that bing. I made big, fat-but-specific-achievables.

And then I promptly felt … rather stressed. I know this feeling too well. The grip of goal fixation. (It’s the very feeling that I’m trying to help thousands of people move away from.) I slipped off my own track. I had gone into default mode of setting fixed goals, and I had weighted my goal list with career-based objectives. Doh.

Curled up in bed with Egyptian Chai tea and my very own Desire Map, I had to laugh at myself. I missed the whole effing gorgeous point of desire mapping.

This warrants some repetition and an exclamation point, which I rarely employ: I missed the whole effing gorgeous point of desire mapping! Which is this: To go after your intentions in ways that reflect your core desired feelings — Soul-affirming, not Soul-sucking. The goal-getting itself has to feel the way you most want to feel. The journey is indeed the destination.

Constant racing for success creates habitual and unconscious goal-setting. We need to re-learn how to move toward our dreams — with the grace of trust, the grit of devotion, and the thrill of true presence.

Jump cut to my Soul groove: The goal of “Make X dollars on X project” shifted to: “Get the message out to as many people as possible. Create liberation.”

“Launch project Y by Spring” turned into: “Make project Y incredibly beautiful”.

No dates. No numbers. No status. And I took my three career intentions for the year and put them below the three intentions I have for my heart-Soul-relationships.

My shoulders dropped. My over-heated brain felt spritzed. I felt so much softer. I felt my trust in life.

Trust is crucial to creating goals with Soul. Without numbers and targets to hold on to, you’ll only have your heart’s satisfaction to steer by — which is the whole effing gorgeous point, of course.

2013. Break it open and reach right in.

True Love,

Desire mappers are getting ready to make 2013 their best year ever:

Just finished listening to the audio of The Desire Map — feeling so happy and inspired and on purpose. Feeling free to be me. Is there anything better?
- Megan Dalla-Camina

…a motherload of motivation…
- Navjit Kandola

Listening to Danielle’s words this morning is exactly what I needed. They took my thoughts and feelings to a whole other level.
- Marilyn Briseño

One word… STUNNING! I have just logged in for the first time and I am totally blown away! … this is what my soul has been asking for and it feels so good to know its here.
- Emma Hannan

If 2013 is as amazing as what the last two weeks of December since I started in on The Desire Map has been…I am so FR@#$ING excited!
- Allison McKee