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Category: Thinking Clearly

2023 Will Rhyme

Published on December 16, 2022

Before you start mega-phoning your New Year’s resolutions and lining up at your January 1st start line to sprint towards a new reality… it’s imperative you take a look back.

How did things play out for you from 2022? 2021? 2020? Etc. Can you dig up a record (or three) of what your goals and action strategies were from then? How they played out? What you were experiencing as you went?

This exploration will give you trends and insight that could be essential to playing out 2023 differently… more strategically… better.

Side note: if you don’t have a record like this, and you think having a record like this now would be valuable, maybe it’s something you could start this year?

Main train: One of the first quotes that I remember feeling deeply impacted by, as cliché as it sounds to me now, was: “If you keep on doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve been getting.”

History may not repeat itself exactly—but, have no doubt: history rhymes.

And 2023 will rhyme with all of your other years and resolution attempts.

So, don’t forget to look back before you floor it forward. You might learn something about yourself that’ll impact your pace, direction, ambition, accountability, strategy, etc. that you hadn’t quite internalized before.

And maybe it’s that one realization that’ll actually make 2023 your best year ever.

Upward

Published on December 15, 2022

Sometimes I set such a high bar for myself that I can’t even see the damn thing when I look up towards the sky.

At the same time… I like the idea of building my way up from the grips of the earth towards a bar that dances with the clouds.

Your Life; Your Story

Published on December 11, 2022

You are the author, editor, and publisher of the story of your life.

UNLESS you:

  • Don’t question what you’re taught
  • Make no time for reflection / introspection
  • Look at yourself through other people’s eyes / opinions

Until you take guarding your mind seriously, others will continue writing the story of your life for you—and probably not for the better.

Freedom From / Freedom To

Published on December 9, 2022

“Freedom in its own right doesn’t take on meaning. It’s like ‘culture’—it’s only when it’s applied to ‘freedom from…’ or ‘freedom to…’”

Daniel Greenwald

It’s a frequently discussed topic: freedom. Many people claim it’s their ultimate goal. But, is it really? Because you could up and quit your job, walk away from all of your responsibilities, say goodbye to all of the relationships in your life, venture into the nearest forest and be completely, “free.”

But, I suspect you won’t be happy for very long.

Which is why, as Daniel outlines so brilliantly above, we have to give “freedom” specific context. Context that allows “freedom” to take on a shape and/or gives it deeper meaning that will lead us to what we’re really after… a long-term, deeply felt, constantly renewing source of joy.

And an excellent way to give freedom context is by specifying what it is *exactly* that you want freedom from and/or what it is you crave the freedom to do. I suspect, if you spend even 15 minutes filling in the blanks as honestly as you can… you might just bring to light a vision of freedom that doesn’t feel so blurry and far-fetched after all.

For example, does “financial freedom” equate to some arbitrary seven digit number that you copy and pasted into your head from somebody else’s mind? Because what you might realize is that what you really want is, “freedom from work that sucks” or “the freedom to work only 20 hours per week (so you can spend the rest of your time doing whatever you want).”

…And you don’t need seven figures to do either one of those now do you?

Freedom Is A Feeling

Published on December 8, 2022

Some of the most liberating feelings in life:

  • Realizing you don’t need anyone’s approval
  • Remembering you are your only competition
  • Releasing yourself from society’s expectations
  • Reclaiming your power from overbearing forces
  • Removing yourself permanently from toxic people/ situations
  • Reminding yourself that you are not ahead or behind—you are right where you need to be (via Hasheem)

And maybe the most liberating thought of them all… maybe freedom isn’t something that is a lifetime away and is actually something that’s far closer than we’ve been trained to believe.

…Because freedom is a feeling; not a seven figure fund.

P.s. I published 57 quotes from The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest. They’re incredible.

Reflection Is The Way

Published on December 6, 2022

Remember this: the only time you DON’T grow from what happens in life is when you DON’T reflect.

Mindlessly moving from one experience to the next is what leads to repeated mistakes, cyclical thinking, and stagnation.

Which means, if reflection is in your life… regardless of the hardships, trials, and challenges… you can, at minimum, count on the fact that you’re steady growing with every happening as a result.

And if you can put trust in your growth (which you should), you can also count on the fact that you’ll eventually outgrow your current hardships, trials, and challenges (which is how it works).

…And they won’t, in fact, be an unending source of pain and suffering in your life.

Each of these situations, too, shall pass (in proportion to the quality of your reflections)—believe it.

Remember this, when you say you don’t have time for reflection in your “busy” life.

P.s. Everyone who says you should never look back is wrong.

Self-Imposed Freedom

Published on December 3, 2022

I don’t care what anybody says…

  • Forcing myself to write daily
  • Trapping myself in the gym regularly
  • Locking myself into a monotonous routine
  • Restricting myself to a tight eating window
  • Limiting my access to certain people/ media

…is the ultimate expression of freedom.