2024 Message to My Fellow Marketers
Published: Mon, 01/01/24
I just finished up eating my good luck New Year foods. My kids ask for them, too - even though they're not fans of black eyed peas. They do love collard greens and potatoes, though. I'm glad my dad raised me on vegetables from his garden or I'd probably be very picky about what I eat in terms of produce.
I sat here today wrapped up in reflection and future thinking. I'm tired of empty promises that I make myself and having all the wrong priorities (in some areas). The grandiose resolutions I make year after year mean nothing if I am not taking a measured approach to implement them (and conducting an analysis frequently to see how I'm doing). Instead, I usually make some sort of statement about what I hope happens and then it's left to chance.
We are entrepreneurs.
It's a tough, intimidating career path that only a few succeed with. I'm one of the lucky ones (yes, it's luck paired with work and determination, but luck did play a part).
We are also so much more than just marketers, even if that title consumes us for too many hours each day. We are mothers and fathers, children, spouses (well not me thankfully LOL), friends, neighbors, citizens and acquaintances. We shoulder the burdens of life outside our work and somehow we navigate it year after year.
Some years I impress myself, as I'm sure you do. Some years, I disappoint myself. That was what happened this past year. Financially, my business grew, so that was good. But I think I leaned too hard into the victim mentality all year, focused on every little problem and magnifying it as if it was the end of the world. (I look back on social media posts and emails and I see it, shaking my head as I look at it).
Plumbing issue? I'd freak out. True, a month long dig under the house is stressful but it didn't need to be so stressful. Health scares? I literally buried myself under this mountain of stress. True, surgeries and biopsies and endless appointments are stressful. But I let it get out of control, basically worst-case-scenarioing it before any results had even come back (and they were all clear).
If you've been on my list for years you know I hate excuses. I love a good butt kick. And I shined a light on my behavior and thought process this past year and I was exactly what disgusts me. Weak-minded, panicky, and using everything as an excuse to not prioritize myself but to give in to anything that would make me forget about the stress.
This was the first year I've ever had labs come back with anything off. That is a wake-up call I don't want to re-live. Luckily, it's just the beginning of things like cholesterol issues, etc. I am a stress eater, so this year I packed on 20 pounds - my highest ever.
I'm also not going to do what I normally do and say, "Oh I'm doing keto or this or that hardcore" because that always works for a little while until I get sick of it. Instead, I'm just overhauling my lifestyle in general. That means prioritizing certain things at the beginning of the day - before work. Exercise, feel good stuff, fiction, etc.
They say you should treat your body like a temple. But this temple, which is in shambles right now, is also a fortress. I have to guard it by protecting my mindset (not letting stress get to me), my time (priorities), and my energy.
I kind of feel like year after year I'm stuck in some sort of undesired algorithm of behavior and I need to go incognito mode and break through it. I'm changing up my sources of information, my exposure to topics, and my behavior to see what results from it. I tried doing it a bit before but I wasn't really committed until I saw my labs and what I was physically doing to myself.
I'm going to check in continually and ask, "Is this my best?" Did I eat the best way I could? Did I organize my tasks for the day in a way that was best for me? When I'm watching something, is it in my best interest? Will it keep stress down or irritate me? I bought digital trackers for everything and I am going to closely monitor my progress rather than leaving it up to chance.
I'm going to build the life I crave rather than stumbling forward hoping I catch onto something that saves me.
My 2024 will be something different:
- Prioritization of a co-authored pen name with my 19-year-old daughter (we work SO well together on clean romance).
- Consistent PLR as usual but with less focus on seeing how much I can get done and more doing what fits into my day.
- Self-care routines - I ordered all kinds of anti aging skincare, I'm using my treadmill (small goals), prioritizing sleep, happiness, etc.
- Working on a psychological thriller idea I've had with a 3-month writing schedule I can feasibly do.
- Being outside more. I hate feeling trapped in the house.
- 100% more positivity. I'm so sick of being stressed and negative about the world and whatever happens that I feel DONE with that mindset. I don't care if I look insane - I want to be happy go lucky, positive, etc. Kumbaya and all that.
I don't know where you are at the start of 2024, but I hope it's in a good place. I hope you feel at peace and motivated, ready to ditch what's not working - even if you've been your own worst enemy, as I have.
I'll be back tomorrow with a new PLR I'm working on - it's a very in demand topic y'all have been telling me you want based on some recent previous AI concepts, but I'm also working on other topics, too.
I'm taking tonight off - I'd planned to work but you know what? I want to relax and let my new mindset take root.
Have a great first day of 2024!
Tiff ;)