Firstly, Happy New Year!!
And welcome to whatever day you are at of the 366 we are gifted with this year.
After looking to the PAST for the top things I learned in 2023 (my last post of 2023), I am now switching to looking into the FUTURE and setting my intention and attention on what I think will be serve me (and you) in the year ahead.
So let’s jump straight in and see what we can do to help us THRIVE even more this year!
Number 1 Top Tip for Thriving in 2024
The primary thing I think we need to incorporate into our strategy moving forward this year (which I have written about before) is to get even better at focusing on what we DO WANT, over and over again. In order to crowd out (or counter-balance) the attention being pulled in the direction of the things we don’t want to create in our year, our lives and our lifestyle. This obviously means we need to get really clear on what we most desire to create or experience in our lives. The more MEANINGFUL the Goals are that we attach a target sign to, the easier it is to stay focused on them. We will be drawn to them, much easier, when we are facing distractions. If we REALLY REALLY want something (and it is good for us, others and the greater good), we will have an easier time going after it, making decisions aligned with it, and bringing it into reality.
Action Steps: Get clear about what you really really want, and it might be a wise idea to place visual cues to keep it front of mind (i.e. a vision board, a relevant quote, a triggering picture, a theme song, etc.). Keep bringing these visions to mind, especially when you notice yourself being distracted by the latest shiny object or ‘catastrophe’.
Number 2 Top Tip for Thriving in 2024
Create maximum opportunities to spend time in NATURE. You get extra bonus points if you can do it tech-free, barefoot and as close to nude as is possible, or practical. Which leads into the second part of this Tip. Get as much sunlight as you can (comfortably) on your bare skin. We have seen over the last few years how low levels of Vitamin D, have been great indicators if people will get sick, or the degree to which they get sick. It makes sense. Sunlight is the thing that generates life on Earth. The plants need it to produce energy, which we can then piggy-back off, whether it is eating plants, or animals that eat plants. The idea that sun exposure is bad, is a daft idea. Us getting sun on our skin is a huge health tonic (and a key generator of Vitamin D). I also like to do it without sunscreen lotions, as most of them are packed with terrible synthetic (artificial) ingredients, plus it provides you with a false sense of understanding when your skin has had enough sun. If you are in the sun, and aware of your body, it will tell you when it is time to find some shade or cover up. And lastly the sun (especially the morning sun) is essential for setting your inner clock (cycadean rhythms), which helps glands like the pituitary gland determine what hormones, plus when and how much they are regulated through your body.
Action Steps: Get outdoors. Take your shoes off. Take your shirt off. And leave the tech at home (or turn it ‘OFF’ and carry it in your bag, to only be used in real emergencies – like calling in rescue helicopters if the sh*t hits the fan!).
For extra brownie points: Take yourself off on a regular GETAWAY (with self), which I talked about last year.
Number 3 Top Tip for Thriving in 2024
This sort of ties in with Number 1, but it is from another angle. It is about getting clear on what you really LOVE to do, and doing more of that. It can turn into a specific Goal, but it might become a Lifestyle change or addition. I was just at the beach this morning, doing my Meeting With Me Inc., and I was asking myself what I love to do. I looked at things personally, plus professionally. For me, I realise that I love Coaching, but I may enjoy Teaching even more. They are definitely similar, but I LOVE the practice of sharing what I have learned with a group of people, and allowing them to work out the best way to integrate that information into their own lives. So in 2024, I am going to create more Teaching experiences, online and live. I realise I LOVE spending time in the mountains (even more than the beach), so I need to turn on more of that. My thought is the aim of the game (of life) is to do even more of the stuff we really LOVE and ditch the stuff that is okay, so-so, alright, or mediocre. Time is way too precious to choose vanilla every time – unless it is your fave – because it tastes pretty good. SCREW pretty good!! What flavour do you love? Choose that.
Action Steps: Ask yourself these very simple questions: “What do I really LOVE in life?” | “What do I really LOVE to do?” | “What I am doing which is only mediocre for me?”. Then do more of what you LOVE – because you deserve it (and someone else in unlikely to do it for you).
Number 4 Top Tip for Thriving in 2024
This is more of a ‘stop-doing’ suggestion. Because doing this does not make your life better, or those around you. The thing to stop doing is being an ‘alarmist’ or ‘catastrophizer’. Don’t assume just because something was alarmingly presented (packed with emotive language) by the ‘news’, social media, a friend or family; that it is actually cause for real alarm. Don’t buy into someone else’s drama. Step back. Take a bunch of big breathes. Get a helicopter view of things (perspective). Maybe search for more knowledge and information (from a non-emotive source) to get a deeper and broader sense of the issue. Maybe you could even ignore it all together, if it does not affect you directly, or you have no control over it. If it is something worthy of your attention, attend to it in a calm, grounded and centred fashion. Aim to sort the cold and hard facts from emotive assumptions and opinions.
Action Steps: Do the work to support a healthy and non-reactive nervous system (e.g. meditation, yoga, qigong, tai chi, etc.). This also means eating food that is healthy for your microbiome, so your gut micro-organisms send nice messages to your brain, and not crazy sh*t). And don’t buy into someone else’s drama. Something might need to be attended to, but being overreactive will not help. My latest book also has a bunch of other ways to support this theme.
Number 5 Top Tip for Thriving in 2024
CONNECTION is king or queen or whatever noun you prefer for highlighting how important this is. And this year I am suggesting that it is valuable to not only engage in connecting with others, but doing it with people ‘in the flesh’. Live, versus ‘online’. The thought I also had was about engaging in connection with people in your neighbourhood. Smile and say hello to more people this year. Get to know your neighbours and the community around you. Plug into the very real (electromagnetic) energy of your local community. Offer to help out a neighbour to get to know them better. Myself and Ferry will be moving soon to a smaller village in Bali, and I have thought I could use my skills to run a fitness session for the lads in the local community once a week. To donate energy, good vibes, karma and connection into the community. I think we have been distracted a lot in 2023 with things on the other side of the planet – leaking energy in those directions – when we would be better off investing that energy in our local community.
Action Steps: Make an effort to connect with real people, in person, in your local community. Plus smile and say hello more, when you are moving about in your local area. The energy that creates, goes both ways. It opens the mind and warms the heart.
BONUS Tip for 2024
Check in on REALITY. Here is the reality I am talking about…EVERYONE in the world experiences fears, doubts, worries, uncertainty, confusion, plus feelings of being lost, stuck, small, unheard, or disconnected. If you feel these things, know you are not alone. You are not broken. We all feel that stuff a bunch of the time. So be okay with feeling what you are feeling. You are not defective. You are human. And if the feelings are too much for you to work your way through, by yourself, for now, then reach out for help. One of the best things we can have in life is PERSPECTIVE. When we look at the bigger picture, our life might not be too bad after all.
My Parting word
I am a big fan of getting CLEAR from the get-go.
Looking at what worked or didn’t in the previous year, and then understanding how I might use that moving forward.
I hope that one (or more) of the 5 Tips works for you.
Maybe they remind you, or prompt you, to take a specific action.
To engage intentionally with this thing called Life.
Thank you also for the chance to collect my own thoughts on these key messages for 2024.
They are reminders for me, just as much as they are for you. đŸ™‚
So all the VERY BEST for 2024!!
Have a power-unfused day, plus an intentional and attentional week of creating more magic to launch this year into the stratosphere.
Take care,
Carl
