Are you tired of saying happy new year yet? It’s ok, we all feel it. It gets a bit old fast, doesn't it?
If there’s any solace to the smack-in-the-chops wake-up call that is the first week back in January, this moment right now is a break-point to put a stake in the path you want to walk in 2023. Especially if you keep it entirely to yourself.
What if, instead of rinsing and repeating the path you tried last year, you open yourself to walk the paths you’ve never tried? And we mean the dark and scarier ones. The paths that don’t say, “I’m going to have a better diet, work out 5 times a day, shed the weight of a small child, and give up alcohol for eternity”.
Personally, myself and my co-founder are working to a very different list for 2023. It’s our screw-it & do-it list.
It’s quite simple:
To create a wonderful year of mistakes.
New, big, crazy, dumb-ass mistakes.
This Jolt may even be one of them.
Why?
Because when you make mistakes in the pursuit of a goal that you’ve not tried before - any goal, anywhere - it means you’re alive. Learning. Taking risks. Opening new doors. Pushing yourself. Changing your approach to life. Making people see you differently - heck, seeing yourself differently!
You are doing. And doing is the only thing that matters.
The book you wanted to write but never found the time? The person you wanted to ask to lunch but didn’t feel they’d be interested? The job change you’ve been craving but you’re stuck in the warm seat of the comfort zone? The 10K you want to run but you don’t think you have the legs to do it? The big presentation you really want to give but you’re afraid you’ll look stupid and stumble on the words? Whatever has stopped you on that path before, give it a kick in the pants.
Make that ugly list, run towards the fear, and take the plunge.
Because in these moments live the foundations of your true growth.
Don’t ignore the voice that’s been nudging at your soul to act for so long, no matter how small or how inconsequential it feels.
Trust it.
Every time we’ve taken a leap of faith and failed in our first shot, something else presents itself that we never thought would happen. Shooting high is where the magic lives, even if you miss. Low aim is the crime.
Here’s to a fabulous year of mistakes!
Love & Wonder,
The Jolt.