Reset, Refocus, Reflect: A Passion Planner Mid-Year Check-In
This past week, I did something revolutionary for my sometimes-chaotic brain: I sat down, flipped open my Passion Planner (shoutout to my partner for gifting me the deluxe version at the top of the year), and did a little mid-year check-in with myself.
If you’re not familiar, the Passion Roadmap is basically a place where you time travel through your own life in scribbled wishlists. You get to ask yourself: Who do I want to be in 3 months? 1 year? 3 years? Lifetime? I set a timer, pressed play on the Imposter Syndrome playlist by Diandra Marie on Spotify and started brain dumping.
And where did I start? With my lifetime goals, because lately, “lifetime” has been hitting a lil’ deeper. With so much loss of loved ones and community members I’ve connected with, lifetime no longer feels so distant—it feels present, like something to honor now, not just later.
One of my lifetime goals? Owning multiple homes around the world, starting with Kenya, where my dad is from. I miss my cousins so much and often want to teleport back to our beach walks and random late-night adventures. I want to ditch Duolingo and take my Swahili lessons on the beaches of Watamu while grilling nyama choma, fresh fish, and chapati with the fam all day. You know, the real immersion program.
Fast forward (or rewind?) to the 3-month goals on the roadmap: I want to move into my own place.
Six months ago, my family home had a house fire that forced us into a hotel temporarily. It’s been a nightmare, but also a reminder to be grateful for all that still is. We still here!
I’ll admit—being shoved out of your comfort zone is a whole-ass shock to the system. There have been sleepless nights with tear-covered pillows getting swapped out by housekeeping the next day, only to hear that housekeeping’s family is going through it too.
It’s been humbling, and it’s made me determined to prepare to move into my dream place within the next 3 months. The way East Coast rent is looking, Kenya doesn’t seem like a “lifetime” away anymore!
Ideally, I’d love to live in or near Newark, NJ, where I create and connect the most. My people are there. The love is there. It’s where I feel at home.
Photos by: Kenibashu
Since finding a comfortable place to live is a priority, I added it to my Gamechanger Passion Plan. It’s a section where you can mind-map your big goal and break down how you want to strategize, schedule, and work toward it step by step.
And because this roadmap is a tool to help keep me focused and moving, I take a quick snapshot of my goals and send it to my close friends—aka the accountability squad who will tell me if I’m on track or if I’m trippin’.
(If you want to join the journey, hop on my Close Friends on Instagram for behind-the-scenes updates and gentle chaos.)
Before I even started scribbling out goals, I flipped through my calendar to remind myself: This was a growing year.
Personally and professionally, I was booked. I connected with communities that reminded me to keep creativity and storytelling at the forefront. I loved. I celebrated my friends. I grieved my family. I made new discoveries about myself and what I want from this lifetime that feels so beautifully fragile and alive.
Even if you don’t have a Passion Planner, I highly recommend keeping a calendar or journal of your year. It’s a space to reflect on your “lifetime” goals while celebrating the daily and monthly growth that gets you there.
Because whether you’re building a roadmap toward a new apartment, a business launch, or beachside Swahili lessons, reflection can remind you: you’re still here, you’re still growing, and your dreams are still worth tending to.
