Fresh Start Monday #70: Three words for 2024

Happy New Year!

Last year, instead of New Year's Resolutions, I picked three words. Three words that encouraged, inspired, and guided me throughout the year. I’m doing it again this year.

The three words are about setting intentions. They're less about goals or achieving something specific, and more about who I'm becoming.

1. Bold

My friend Tim invited me to a holiday party three weeks ago. I didn't know anybody else at the party. It was a potluck. I spent the afternoon making a decadent Nutella hot chocolate with options to add Rumchata or mini marshmallows. I had another commitment beforehand, so I showed up an hour late.

I walked in the door and immediately felt my body tense up with several new faces looking in my direction. At this moment, I appreciated Tim introducing me to a few of his friends. As this was happening, I noticed that there was a main table with several dishes already on it.

I avoided that area. Instead, I placed the Nutella hot chocolate on a side table still in its bag. I started chatting with people and joined in on a game.

It wasn't until two hours later when I took out the hot chocolate, and somebody commented on it. They had multiple cups and even took some home. They said, "you should advertise this shit."

Nobody else tried it that night.

This story sums up where I am in life.

I have an internal confidence in what I do, who I am, and what I'm creating, but not yet the external confidence to show it.

It took me years to build that self-confidence. To learn, do, and create from a place of strength rather than insecurity. I expect a similar timeframe in this new phase.

If there's a single mantra I'm repeating over and over in 2024, it's "be bold."

2. Long-term

I'm excited about this word.

Over the last several years, I've experimented a lot. I needed to experiment to find the place I wanted to live, the career I wanted, and the lifestyle I wanted, along with many other things.

However, it feels like that phase is slowly coming to a close. It's about time I let those things simmer for a while.

I've been rereading James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, as I prepare to host a workshop on the book at the end of January in Boulder. One of the major themes is to get better 1% every day, which will compound over time.

I keep going back to this question: if I continue this habit on a daily basis, will I end up where I want to be five years from now?

When you're six months or a year or two years into something, it's a great question to reflect on. On a one or two-year horizon, it can feel like we haven't achieved anything. Or we may still be finding our way. I know that's how I feel in certain areas of my life.

Recently, I've had coffee chats with successful coaches in their 50s and 60s here in Boulder. When I look at what they've accomplished and what I need to do, I feel paralyzed and overwhelmed when thinking about the next year or two. But if I give myself a long enough time horizon it feels... easy?

My need for short-term results undermines my long-term success.

I will always be curious and experiment, but I need long-term thinking to let compound interest do its thing.

3. Structure

I have this old belief that I don't do well in structured environments. Remnants from an archaic and rigid education system that brought out the worst in me.

School and corporate America want you to be a very specific person. A cog in a large machine. Biology major. Marketing Coordinator. It never sat well with me.

I always wanted to bring different parts of myself to school and work. That was never appreciated. The greatest gift of backpacking around the world for three years was not having any limits on what I could do.

It's like I hated structure because it reigned me in, and now I need to introduce it back to reel in my focus.

What's different now is that I get to choose the structure that best serves me.

From organizing my home, to setting writing deadlines, to daily routines, I want more of my life on autopilot. I want to free up some mental RAM for new things to enter my life.

Journal Prompt

What are your three words for 2024?

Setting intention takes time. But the long-term investment is worth it.

Local to Boulder, CO?

Join us Tuesday (1/2) on Meetup for a biweekly journaling group! Moving to Tuesday evenings and trying a new venue!

Thoughtful Tuesdays - Journaling Group

Tuesday, January 2nd at 6pm MT at Trident Booksellers and Cafe!

Currently reading: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Finished reading:

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