Every year people ask me what I want to change about myself in the new year… I always have a hard time answering, well, because quite frankly, life is pretty good. And I tend to feel guilty about wanting more or striving for more. Life is good. It has been for a while now. But not because the business I dreamt up is running and growing. Not because I travel the world for fun and work. And especially not because I get to drive my dream car every day.
I’m happy because I’m happy where I’m at… even when I’m not exactly where I’m striving to be. I think too often people get caught up in striving to be better. To work faster. To work harder. A more optimized morning routine. To be a better version of themselves. That’s the one I hear the most. My mom never let me go down those mental wormholes… Despite lots of successes so far, I’ve never really changed my mentality towards life, family, business, or anything else important to me.
So here are the two quotes of the year for me:
“We’re finding it’s not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality.” — Shawn Achor
and…
actually wait. pause. and reread that slower. ^^^
.
.
okay, now you can read the next. this time slower than the last one.
“If you think peaceful thoughts, you’ll feel peaceful emotions, and that’s what you’ll bring to every life situation. If you’re attached to being right or absolutely need something in order to be at peace or successful, you’ll live a life of striving yet never arriving.” — Wayne Dyer
A life of striving, yet never arriving
My greatest fear. I fear we’ve been too caught up in the hustle mindset. The work harder, work longer, get ahead mentality. Well… I got ahead. Now what? Am I supposed to feel different? Nope. I’m the same Hanson as the 2018 clone of me. And 2017 too! Hey, I even read an essay I wrote in 2014 and it sounds like something I wrote a few days ago (with slightly better writing skills though :) haha)
It really just comes down to being happy with where you’re at. I’ve found the more comfortable I got with myself, who I was, and who I’m trying to be, the fewer likes I needed on social media. Seriously. I posted 17 times in 2017 on Instagram, 4 times in 2018, and once in 2019.
Anyways… I could rant about this for hours. My point: be happy with WHERE you are and WHO you are. Trust your path. You are where you are today because that’s where you are. And if you keep following your gut instead of whatever [insert motivational speaker here] says to do next, you’ll love WHO you are and WHERE you are a year from now.
Lastly. This was me 10 years ago :)
I couldn’t even conceptualize the idea of having my own “real” business. I never once thought of myself as an entrepreneur (didn’t even know how to spell it). I just did me. Every day from that day until now. If I was striving for something, I would have been striving in the wrong direction! So, I stopped setting yearly goals. I started setting daily and monthly intentions. And now that I look back a decade at how far I’ve come with that mentality, I’m beyond excited for the next decade.
So with that, I welcome you to the 2030 version of Hanson. I’m not going to try to change you. I’m not going to try to shape you in a way that doesn’t feel natural. I’m simply going to try new things that excite me. I’ll learn a language or two so I can understand those cultures a little better. I’ll learn to fly to appreciate this beautiful world from above. I’ll get my advanced scuba to appreciate this world from below. I’ll focus on doing what brings me joy, as opposed to optimizing my morning routine because that’s what makes me happy and will bring the 2030 Hanson the most joy and peace :)
If you need to hear this 100 more times, listen to a bunch of Jason Mraz songs on repeat. He puts it nicely with a nice rhythm lol (it’s playing the background right now and the chorus is saying over and over and over “iiiiiiiiiiiii won’t worry my life away”)
Happy New Year and more importantly, Happy New Decade.
With love and peace,
Hanson
Leave a comment