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The Janus Plan: A Book Review


The Janus Plan:  A No-Resolutions Path to Begin Your Year with Intention challenges you not only to read but to engage with the author’s thoughtful and thorough approach to planning.  Jobert E. Abueva draws on his considerable personal experience of marketing, philanthropy, and global engagement to share with the reader an approach that is both reflective and action oriented.

 

Using the image of the Roman god Janus who had two faces—one to look back and one to look ahead—the author points out that “endings deserve reflection” and “beginnings deserve reverence.”  He perceives planning and goal setting as acts of personal reflection, assessment, purpose, and expectation. His six-step process includes:

 

  1. Ponder the Past.
  2. Frame the Future.
  3. Nudge the Now.
  4. Clean and Clear.
  5. Revel in Ritual.
  6. Revisit and Reignite. 

 

One aspect of the book that I found particularly significant was his emphasis on mindfulness and mediation as a preparation for engaging in this process.  This challenges me to reconsider planning as a spiritual experience that engages all of one’s being.

 

Although he outlines the use of some familiar practices such as SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound), Abueva also shares several new exercises (new to me anyway) like The Future Postcard and Pattern Play: The Clearing Quad.

 

I encourage you to take a look at this comprehensive work.  Although his approach is not for everyone, we can all gain insights from Abueva’s considerable experience.

 


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