I'm Not Going on a 2023 Rant. Here's What I'll Do Instead.

A few days ago, I had my thoughts and feelings of 2023 percolating and I decided, “I should write about this.” I was cleaning the kitchen and boy was some anger and resentment sitting in. And normally, I find cleaning out the mental trash but typing its content out onto a Google Doc highly therapeutic. But if I ever want to change my life, maybe it’s time to change my approach to how I live it. Therefore, I won’t bore you with a detailed  listicle of why 2023 presented a list of challenges that create unexpected waves of bitterness. You’re seeing enough memes and posts of that on Instagram.

Instead, I choose to welcome 2024 with open arms. I haven’t even checked my horoscope yet, so this isn’t from a biased hopefulness. I tend to overcomplicate and overthink everything, so I’m attempting to do this with an air of simplicity. Here’s a short listicle for you.

1. Back to Basics: What feels like a lifetime ago, I sold life insurance. We were instructed by management to “go back to the basics” whenever shit hit the fan, meaning our sales numbers were garbage. While at the present moment, I’m not worried about how many insurance policies I’m selling, I have a lot to clean up in 2024. For me, back to basics means getting to bed early, waking up early for the gym, and cutting out excess noise. That noise can be anything from too much Netflix, too much booze, too much impulse spending, to too much negative self talk. Someone please remind me of this on a day when I’m feeling defeated.

Note: My experience of selling life insurance was even the premise for my first novel, Don’t Kiss and Sell. The book went through its own heartbreak of low sales after I chose to self-publish, followed by receiving 285 rejections from literary agents. Now only exists in the back drawers of my laptop, but not the point. I’m going to revamp and resell it one day. 

1. I call myself a “future bestselling author,” yet hiding behind a laptop won’t make that dream a reality. I can’t control if people subscribe to an email list, like whatever I post, or one day again, buy the damn book. But as one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Marie Forleo, would say, I can control “doing the damn thing.” So expect my Leo rising (the part of me who does crave the limelight) to show up on the internet more. And if it’s a massive flop, joke’s on me and I’ll figure out what comes next. 

1. My therapist asked me what my words of 2024 were going to be. I’ve sat on this for a few days, and here’s what I’ve decided:

Fierce: In 2023, I was broken, scared and ashamed. I’m breaking free from those emotional shackles. In 2024 I’m committing to showing up and owning who I am - that’s my responsibility. I refuse to quiet the voice whispering, “Do it.”

Consistent: It’s the little changes, done every day, that add up to big moves. 

Alignment: Done doing the “shoulds” of society. What career I “should” have, where I “should” live, what I “should” eat for breakfast, whatever. I need to get quiet and listen to what I want. Because at the end of the day, that’s what I’ll do anyway.

2024, I'm ready for you.