It is definitely getting there, but the year is not over yet. I keep seeing posts on social media including, Bring on 2024, and having conversations with people who are saying, I can’t wait till this year is over. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is smart to start planning and preparing for a new year, but I want to remind you that it is still 2023.
I used to be that person who thought, when I achieve a certain thing then I will be happy. I used to say, I can’t wait for training to be over, then I will feel accomplished. I have been known to utter the illogical words, it will all be better tomorrow, next week or next year. I have even thought, whilst writing my blog, when I have finished this, I will feel great. What I have missed, with this very flawed mindset is… everything! When I just wanted to be somewhere in the future where I believed things would magically be better, I missed the amazing joy, meaning, and purpose that exists there in every single moment.
Can I be honest with you? That’s a loaded question, isn’t it? We think we want the truth until we realise that it shines a light on us to expose the flawed thinking we may have and the poor decisions we may be making. I am going to be honest with you anyway, and if it causes you to stop reading this blog, then that’s a chance I am willing to take. When I was a bring on the new year, or I can’t wait till the year is over or when I have this then I will be happy kind of person, nothing changed. I stayed stuck, frustrated, and in a cycle of ‘suckiness’. Inevitably, when that time in the future became the present, I was no happier, no clearer, and no closer to what I wanted. I just pushed it out further into that mystical and non-existent future.
Why do I say the future is non-existent? Have you ever experienced tomorrow? Have you ever existed in next week? Have you ever lived in next year? No, you haven’t, nor have I, nor will we ever. Because, in every case, when that time comes, guess what we have? Yes, you guessed it, we have today, and we only ever have today. That being the case, my attitude now is, let’s make the most of the only time we have. That time is right now.
I think it is great to set goals for a future achievement, and I am a firm believer in creating a vision for a life I want that I don’t yet have. What I now know is that what happens in 2024 for me is determined by what I do today. I have had a great year in 2023, and whilst it would be easy for me to take my foot off the pedal and just cruise into 2024, I know that there is still lots of magic left in 2023. Maybe you have had a year in 2023 that you would like to forget to this point, then forget it. But please don’t wait for the new year and think everything will magically be okay when the clock strikes midnight on December 31.
Why not make the last month or so of 2023 count. You never know, even after 11 crappy months, the last month of 2023 could be the one that makes you reflect on the year as your best one yet. What can you change? What could you start doing? What could you stop doing? Who could you speak to and ask for help? Who can you help? The things you could do every moment of every day leading all the way to the last minute of 2023 are actually mind-blowing. The outcomes they could help you create now, and in the future, are limitless. Malcolm X, human rights activist, said, The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
In my podcast this week called Direction can change, I talk with Jacob Smith about his transformation from a turbulent upbringing, gang life, and on the verge of prison to totally changing his stars. He knew that he could not put off living a better life for one more second, and his immediate actions started him on the path to joy, purpose, and abundance.
Life is so short, and each time we put something off or wish for a time in the future to arrive when we hope things will be better, we are effectively flushing our precious time down the toilet. Please for your own sake, cancel your membership to the Thank God it’s Friday Club, remove yourself from the Things Will Be Better When Club, and join the Today is the Only Day I have and so I am Going to Make it Count Club. Maybe we should just shorten that to the Do it Now Club. If you are reading this part of the blog, then you have courage. I applaud you. Now, I urge you to take that courage, turn it into immediate action, and do everything you can while it is still 2023.