By: D. A. Slinkard
The only thing standing between us and 2024 is just a few more months. I commented earlier today that I cannot believe how quickly the days, weeks, and months are passing by. I wish the time would have gone this fast when I was a kid, but it just seemed like time would drag on, which begs the question – Why is Friday so close to Monday and Monday so far away from Friday?
There are many people who are caught in the rat race bouncing from week to week, just barely making it in life and their life is out of control. Does this sound familiar to you? Even for myself, if I am not careful, I can spiral out of control as well. But we must stay in control of our thought process and decision-making. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. What is one thing you need to do differently in 2024 than what you are doing now in 2023?
Too many people fail to properly reflect upon what is and is not working in their lives, and this is one of the key reasons people keep repeating the same mistakes year after year. One of the reasons why so many people are living out the definition of insanity is because they want to keep doing things the way they have always done instead of trying something new. They give the sorry excuse for not changing, “We have never done it that way before.”
We need to be adaptable, and we need to be able to make changes in real time. We need to strengthen our ability to think critically, and we need to do a better job at decision-making. In the nearly seven years I have been writing this column, I have spoken much about goals, clarity of thought, and having the right attitude, but I want you to be thinking about what you need to do to have a successful new year.
For myself, I need to get out of my own way. It seems quite often I end up coming up with an excuse that holds me back from accomplishing what I know I can do. I end up coming up with an excuse that holds me back from accomplishing what I know I need to do. For me, finishing out this year and going into 2024, my intention is to be more intentional. You may be like me where you know what you want to achieve, and you have an idea, but sometimes you have difficulty translating what you are thinking into what you desire to accomplish.
Be more intentional – sounds good, but what does this mean? When I think about being intentional in 2024, I envision myself taking massive amounts of action.
Have you ever been sitting there with the perfect ideas running through your head for how you are going to accomplish something, and then when you grab the pen and paper to take notes, the thoughts abandon you? I cannot tell you how many times I have had this happen, and I cannot tell you how many times I felt like I was just a few thoughts away from having the breakthrough “aha” moment I was seeking. As I sit here writing this column, though, I have determined that in 2024, instead of trying to get the thought process exactly the way I want, what I am going to do is take massive amounts of action to achieve that which I desire.
I have personal goals I want to achieve, and I know what I need to do to reach these goals. Now, I need to take massive action to hit these goals. The same can be said for my professional goals, my relationship goals, etc.
I know what I want to achieve in every aspect of my life, and now I need to be busy taking the necessary massive actions to hit each goal. The same can be said for you as well. My recommendation is to know what you want to achieve, map out how you are going to achieve these goals, and then grab some Post-it notes and write these two words, Massive Action, on them.
You will want to place these Post-it notes in highly visible areas that you will see every day. These Post-it notes need to be your reminder of what needs to be done to succeed in 2024. If you want success, it requires taking massive amounts of action every day.
By: D. A. Slinkard
D.A. Slinkard would love your feedback. You can contact him at da.slinkard@gmail.com
April 19, 2024
