Let's make this personal

I know, that picture and saying is old and used often. But I have to ask did you just read it and move on or did you stop and ponder it for a minute? Much for the same reason, I find myself reading the same books at different times I learn different things from the same set of words.

How about we put this old saying on its head and look at it from a different perspective. Instead of "3 types of people" try on "Three Versions of myself". Kind of a different view point? I can easily relate to this on that level. I can think back to times when I was each version, and sometimes it was a good thing and others a truly terrible thing. This year alone, I have been all three. At the start of the year, I wondered what happened. I let myself get talked into a pointless, toxic relationship that I brought to a close January 1. I wondered a lot about how I let myself get into that situation in great detail. Truly it was because I watched what was happening in a very passive sense and only when I began to wonder did I make shit happen. I am currently working my third job this year, and truthfully, I don't see myself changing jobs again for a very long time to come. I had to make shit happen this year. If I sat back and wondered what happened, it would have been a disaster of a year. Not to say it has been easy by any means, but I have had skin in the game for this entire year and refused to let myself fail.

This post is not a written pat on the back, it has a point, I promise. We all have a world of endless possibility in front of us. Nearly every situation can be changed, but that depends on entirely one thing. Are you willing to be the person who makes things happen for you? Human instinct would be to rattle off a personally developed long list of shit that helps you feel safe in secure in telling my to fuck off. But really, what can you actually not change? Yes, physical health can have its limits that no amount of healthy eating and exercise can change. However, I know plenty of able-bodied people who don't want to put in the effort to provide for themselves. Then I think of one of the parts' delivery drivers I see often. This man has no hands. He has a hook and a partial hand. Always has a smile on his face and always is looking for ways to improve. That man is a man who makes shit happen where many would roll over and surrender, looking for a welfare and disability check to help them live out a fairly basic life with not many thrills. This year, I have made shit happen, but it has been a year of survival. 2023 I want to thrive. I have places I want to go, shit I want to see. Now, I am not going to suddenly wake up rich and have the means to travel about freely. However, I am determined to make shit happen. I am over making and expecting excuses for myself, from myself and all of the above. If you live a same shit different day life, you will live the same shit every day. Well, the same shit does not cut it for me anymore. I have evolved, I am coming out of the gate looking for a hell yeah, not a half-hearted meh.

I have set clear boundaries for myself. I have clear expectations for myself. I am willing to enjoy time alone instead of accepting less than I deserve. I will have even more personal growth this coming year because once you start, stopping feels like a sin. Not even the fun make sure you leave marks all over me kind of sin, either.

Somewhat ironically, this post comes after a holiday weekend where I was the least socially active in person and social media than I have been in a long time. Sometimes unplugging and just enjoying the silence is truly a gift. We have enough talking heads we can listen to, and sometimes we need that solo time to clear the air for ourselves. This week, I am recording the next episode of the Mental Flog Podcast. We have one last tower story to hear before, like a fucking phoenix, we start talking about the climb from hell into successful and less broken people. Once again, this only happened because we as people, all of us with tower stories, got sick of our own bullshit, and we made shit happen for ourselves.

I am already looking forward to next week's post. Tomorrow is super Monday. Four days of being out of the office will an interesting experience make tomorrow morning. But I am going to make shit happen, and I will have a great week because I will not accept anything less from myself. Let's kick this week in the ass, everyone. Also, if you are feeling in a generous mood, please follow my links posted on this site and Venmo me some whiskey money. Writing whiskey is about $30 a bottle, and I would much rather accept a random donation instead of paid sponsorships and paid subscriptions to my content. With that dear reader I am off like a prom dress. Bishop :(: