Monthly Mindset, December 2021: EOY Wrap
Hand up - ya boy has been overwhelmed the last month. I was operating at full-capacity in an attempt to survive & advance every hour. Not day. Not week. Not month. I was in a state of pure reaction with merely a dash or proactivity. I’ve owed you a monthly mindset but for my own well-being, I had to hedge and instead provide an end-of-year note from yours truly.
Once I got back to New York from Thanksgiving, I realized how tumultuous my life would be until this moment. Not like there was some beast I had to slay or territory to conquer, but with my work schedule, I had very little time to work through a BUNCH of shit before the end of the year. Q4 won the battle, but not the war. I was like the final ounce of toothpaste being squeezed for every last drop. I’m breathing easy now and have some thoughts to share to take us into the final few days of ‘21.
Once I got back to New York from Thanksgiving, I realized how tumultuous my life would be until this moment. Not like there was some beast I had to slay or territory to conquer, but with my work schedule, I had very little time to work through a BUNCH of shit before the end of the year. Q4 won the battle, but not the war. I was like the final ounce of toothpaste being squeezed for every last drop. I’m breathing easy now and have some thoughts to share to take us into the final few days of ‘21.
The Monthly Mindset series was a great way for us all to share one common approach leading into new calendar months. You likely set your own goals but I hope each helped formulate ideas and pushed you in ways you didn’t think you would. They certainly helped me take a second to stop & reevaluate my headspace which I believe led to physical, mental, and spiritual prosperity. Even in circumstances where I didn’t think a week or month was overly “successful”, I could always hang my hat on smaller victories that laddered up to the broader approach. In totality, each month was a step forward and in a year of constant societal regression, that was a massive achievement.
Developing each Monthly Mindset wasn’t easy. It challenged me to stay engaged and think of us all as a collective instead of charting my path alone. Many hours spent in the Starbucks Reserve on Greenwich Ave + more hours with cigar in hand sporting a stoic gaze into that iconic New York city skyline. I laughed, pondered, called friends & family for advice, thought of crying (weird internal thing in my life where I can’t actually shed tears - I’ll see a therapist soon maybe - I’m #builtdifferent), but ultimately grew as a person. Can only hope you shared some of these emotions with me on your own personal journey.
Looking back, we discussed the following topics in order from January to today: Focus, Commitment, Exploration, Consistency, Presence, Confidence, Patience, Prioritize, Expression, Accelerate, and Appreciation. Pretty heady chatter, no? I had some thoughts around what December might be but ended up saying fuck it - December should be purely about the self. We should treat the end of the year as a time to reorient and plan for the future. Could it have just as easily been “REORIENT”, yeah I suppose, but hey, I was living out that principle so give me a break, pls.
Dedicate some time these last few days to determine how you’ll walk the road ahead. We have no idea what awaits us in the new year but don’t feel thrown by things you believe knock you off your new year’s goals. That’s why I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Things happen that make those things unattainable or we stray from the original goal because it becomes antiquated. Approaches or mindsets influence our goals so by setting these properly, you can adjust goals & intentions to continue carrying out the mission.
Will I continue these in the new year? Still to be determined. If anything, I might shift to quarterly goals but still TBD. All love.