Isn’t life a funny thing? We’re all striving, working hard in business and on ourselves. We’re all on a journey to succeed and grow. And yet, so many of us are ashamed of where we are right now on our journey. We’re jealous of other people who insecurely show off. We’re all growing, and yet we’re all embarrassed about it.

The fact is, wherever we are on our path in life, we will never be enough if material goals alone are what drive us. Someone else will always have more. We could always have more. Without spiritual goals, like gratitude and presence, we can’t appreciate what we have or see the beauty that is all around us. (If you’re stressed, here is a video for you.)

We live in a time where there are entire stores that only sell products specifically because they will look great in social media posts. People are living their whole life for other people’s approval and jealousy. If we’re not careful, we may end up living our life for a thousand other people, but forget the one person who truly matters.

As we start the year off right with the 10,000 Mental Steps Challenge, remember that the key to winning in 2024 is to remember that being on a journey of growth IS success, no matter where you started or where you are. You know your battles. You know how far you’ve come and how much you’ve overcome. If this year you are the most you you’ve ever been, if you follow your heart and consciously create a life in alignment with what matters most to you, you win 2024. Life isn’t a competition with anyone else. In this podcast, I talk more on how to stop unnecessary thinking.

This holiday week especially, let’s practice recognizing that fearful, jealous ego when it pops up. Let’s be grateful for our awareness of those fearful and jealous emotions. Then let’s turn our attention to the root of those emotions: our insecurity, and let’s practice gratitude for our awareness of our insecurities because awareness is the first step towards growth and change. 

By turning the shame about our (mis)perceived flaws into gratitude, we can heal our negative self-image, we can be happy for others and ourself, we can bring about positive change from a place of strength and acceptance, and we can be happy knowing that we’re living the life that was meant for us.

Much love,

Todd

PS – Can there be peace if we are chasing after peace? Can there be peace if we want it so badly that it drives us mad? I answer these questions in this video.