‘New Year, New You’. How many times have you heard that in the last few days?
You might have even caught yourself saying it a few times. If I counted from the age I felt like a proper grown-up (I was 16 years old, Mum gave me a fiver and put me on a bus), then technically I’ve had 20 ‘New Me’s’ now.
Version 20 of me started last year with huge plans, big resolutions, and goals so ambitious that they made Elon Musk look pedestrian. Twenty Twenty Three was going to be Twenty Twenty ME!
So, after throwing the kitchen sink at 2023, it’s time to reflect.
The result, honestly? As I sit here on a freezing cold January morning, pondering on the last 12 months, I feel a bit… meh? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sad, or depressed, just utterly depleted.
It was punk rocker Henry Rollins who said he ‘gets tired but never jaded’ and this made me think – maybe the problem isn’t having and doing more things but having and doing more of the right things?
Let me explain. We live in a world that often confuses quantity with quality, and success with excess. It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of accumulation – more friends, more money, more gadgets, more likes on social media. But does more actually translate into a better or more fulfilling life?
Thinking about the most significant moments of the past year, they weren’t the ones filled with grand achievements or the acquisition of new things. They were the quiet moments, the ones that often go unnoticed. The laughter shared with my best friend over a childish joke; the beaming smile my little boy greeted me with every day when I came home from work; that cosy feeling of being inside in the warm whilst listening to the storm outside.
These moments, these simple pleasures, are what really stood out. And they didn’t cost much, or require a strategy, or any elaborate planning or fancy gadgets.
So, as I ponder on what the 2024 version of me should be like, I’m inclined to think that maybe I need to be a bit pickier about my ‘More’ and be a bit more disciplined with my ‘Less’.
So I made a list. No, not a list of New Year’s Resolutions – I’ve had 20 goes at that and all those lists are forgotten by April. No, this time, I used the brand-new trademark pending, revolutionary Art of Brilliance ‘More or Less’ AI generated life hack tool. Here’s what it looks like.
Honestly, it’s a game changer. Using it is really easy – in the ‘More’ column, list the things you really need more of. And in the ‘Less’ column, you guessed it, list things that having less of would actually make your life better.
Here’s a few things I wrote down.
- More time with my son
- More time with my friends
- More time playing the piano
- More time exercising
- More time outdoors
And the other side?
- Less new gadgets
- Less junk food
- Less work (don’t tell my boss this one)
- Less feeling tired all the time
- Less worrying about what people think of me
That’s just a few of them. I spent ages on this and, astonishingly, I noticed all the things I REALLY want more of mostly just need my time and energy… and all the things I want less of? They were the things costing me most of my time and energy.
And the big ‘Eureka’ moment? I figured out that if I did more of the ‘More’ things, the ‘Less’ things kinda take care of themselves.
Something happens when you dive into a world where clocks don’t tick and emails don’t ping. I’ve realised there’s nothing wrong with wanting more. But that Me version 21 is going to start to prioritise the right kind of ‘More’.
Carl B