Ugghhh… Current Me is so annoyed.
Since you don’t live in my brain, allow me to explain. Sometimes, I refer to myself in the past, present and future.
Past Me often hates when Current Me doesn’t follow through with the plan.
Present, or Current Me is oftentimes put in a position to be grateful because of the steps Past Me took.
And, Future Me… well, I haven’t met her yet and I never will. But, I’ll have the opportunity to experience who she is as Current Me evolves.
Anywho, Current Me is annoyed because I’ve decided on my word of the year for 2024.
Historically, I’ve picked a word to describe the year that has just passed. Something that summarizes the experience I had. But last year, I put my hands on my hips with some sass and stared into the endless night sky and said, “let’s go” to the universe when I selected “patience” for 2023. (Y’all heard about how that went last time I posted.)
I think one of the biggest discoveries with exploring patience (AKA having abundant opportunities to practice patience), is that my people-pleasing, perfectionist ways were tied to my impatience. Embracing that I’m imperfect in addition to actively working on listening to my wants and needs is a practice of patience - with myself - every day.
When I told my husband about the word I’ve chosen for next year, he was surprised. He said I already embodied the word. But, I disagree.
I want a lot of things for my future, not just 2024 but that’s the year we’re about to start so we must begin somewhere. I want to…
expand our chicken raising and get goats and attend markets twice a week in the summer
write a book
(Today I realized I already have 15+ pieces I can include in a book of short stories/poetry)
build my freelance business so I can have an abundance of work in the winter and less in the summer
explore what being ‘healthier’ looks like for me
learn how to knit, sew, crochet, cross stitch - something, anything I can do with my hands while sitting on the porch
I can see it and talk about manifesting it and ideate about ways to achieve it, and sometimes, I’ll even sit down and make a plan to go after it. But often, Current Me gets in the way.
Past Me has walked so Current Me may run. But Current Me says, “Sucks to suck, b*tch! I forgot I made the plan to clean the chicken coop and got distracted on a side quest washing walls.”
By all means, you’re welcome to laugh here. I did in fact get distracted cleaning a smudge on the wall yesterday when I realized that the entire wall was dirty, not just that smudge and I spent more time than I care to admit cleaning said wall.
Current Me doesn’t just get in the way when I forget about a chore though, she gets in the way when my desire for instant gratification voice is louder than the whisper from Future Me telling me to hold out. That means it doesn’t take much for Current Me to get in the way and “There’s always tomorrow!” is Current Me’s running slogan.
I digress - back to the word of 2024. Recently, I came across an Instagram post of the following quote:
“If you’re serious about growth, be serious about accountability. If you’re serious about abundance, be serious about gratitude. If you’re serious about intimacy, be serious about vulnerability. If you’re serious about discipline, be serious about delayed gratification.
Unknown
Past Me = Lack of patience x lack of discipline
Current Me = Patience x lack of discipline
Future Me = Patience x Discipline
As I read that quote, I’m reminded of another phrase I’ve been hearing more and more recently:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems."
- James Clear, Atomic Habits
Well hot damn.
It’s with that mic drop, I introduce the 2024 Word of the Year:
Discipline
Where shall we begin?
Starting this week, Lee and I will be doing a “Sunday Sit Down” where we will discuss the budget, household goals, personal goals, what to expect from the week ahead and what I’m most excited about…listening to Atomic Habits!
We started the Sunday Sit Down last summer. Working full time outside the house in a job that didn’t have structured hours resulted in many frustrating moments of disconnection and a lack of clear expectations. So each week, we’d sit down and go over only the most necessary things to survive the week.
With our new “Sunday Sit Down”, we’re taking a proactive approach to running our life vs. letting our life run us. It’s gonna be a messy process and I’m going to try to write about it along the way. Learning new skills or implementing new systems to thrive vs. just survive is going to take intention and effort. And I already know Current Me is gonna be a straight up menace some days, but I also believe with every part of my being that this is the right step.
What will your 2024 hold?
Will you run your life? Or, will life run you?