2024: The Year of Living Mindfully
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
I’ve always been a goal-chaser.
Most years, I set too many goals. I accomplish many of them but end up dissatisfied when they are achieved and tormented with guilt if they are not.
However, in 2024, I want to take it slow, do away with the structure of goal-setting and instead adopt a more casual approach to living.
I’m adopting the US Navy Seals slogan: Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast. I will emblazon it in front of my writing desk and in my mind.
The overarching theme of my year will be to lessen the pressure I put on myself. To take things slowly. To reduce the overwhelm, the choices and the anxiety that ensues— “To arise in the morning and savour the world.”
I want to be like the river that meanders slowly through a lush, tranquil forest, taking its time as it navigates around bends and obstacles, but despite its slow pace, its path remains smooth and efficient, eventually leading to a wide, peaceful lake.
The truth is that we exist on earth for only a short while. So why can’t we occasionally treat life as an exciting adventure, trying to make the best out of it while allowing it to unravel its many mysteries?
Not every activity must be a means to an end. Sitting on the sofa does not mean I have to watch TV. Taking a walk does not need to be measured for distance and speed. Watching the birds in nature doesn’t have to be labelled as a mindful exercise to be done on Wednesdays at 5 pm.
During the COVID-19 outbreak and that month when I had to remain at home and isolated, the slowing down was somehow forced onto me. It proved to be a window on how I wanted to live.
However, when the isolation ended and life got back to normal, I quickly went back to my old ways of doing, and everything resumed being urgent.
In order to be able to live this life of Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast; there are a few concepts to adopt.
A) Think More Long-Term
To think in ten-year periods, instead of two or three years, means playing a long game that we can both win and enjoy. Doing so means we can focus more on creating systems than setting goals.
With these systems, I’m doing something on a regular basis that makes me better and more content in the long run, regardless of immediate outcomes.
I don’t get the instant gratification that achieving a goal can give, but I also don’t carry the stress of not reaching a goal.
B) Less is More
We burden our lives with too many unnecessary choices, putting ourselves under pressure and not saving the much-needed energy for the bigger things in our lives.
We invite alternatives in our lives, not because we want the best option, but only because we’re bored with what we are doing. We are bored not due to a lack of choices but rather because we are not content with ourselves.
We feel that we are missing out on something. We compare what we are doing with what others are doing and presume it would give us more joy to do the things that they are doing.
Between 2015 and 2020, I read a book a week and averaged about 45-50 books a year. Over the last few years, due to company, family and social needs, I just haven’t been able to maintain that momentum. Not reading that many books has made me feel inadequate and unworthy.
For 2024, I’ve committed to 15 books instead. It’s a more gettable target that sits well with all my other responsibilities.
C) Say No
Whether setting new objectives, taking on new hobbies or adopting new habits, we overestimate how much time we have in a day, week, month and year.
In 2024, I will not attempt to restart my meditation practice. I’ve been on and off my meditation practice for the past five years. Every time I stop, I feel like a loser. So why start and get disappointed when I’m obviously not ready?
I’ve also deleted Twitter(X) as not only does it take much of my time, but it also makes me more anxious and angry.
D) The Sunk Cost Fallacy
We often keep doing something just because we’ve already spent time, money, or effort on it and not because it’s the best choice now. We make decisions based on what we’ve already done, not what’s good for the future.
Last year, my company spent a lot of money, effort, and time studying whether to open another branch in another city, only for me to pull the plug at the last minute.
I thought long and hard about abandoning our efforts, not because it was wise and right to do so (it was) but only because I felt burdened by all the team’s efforts during the feasibility study.
What’s gone is gone. So, there is no point holding onto it when it won’t serve us.
This easy, casual approach works better now that I’m 55 and that I have a good sense of what I truly enjoy and want in my life.
For me, I have redefined what success means to me. It’s not more money, running marathons or getting on the New York Times bestseller list that drives me.
Instead, I just want to enjoy and improve in my areas of focus so that I can:
Run my business with surgical efficiency.
Write. Improve my writing. Engage with writers and readers.
Be as healthy as ever. Eat more protein. Move daily by doing strength exercises, workouts, walking, and playing Padel. Sleep well. Take the right supplements.
Travel adventurously.
Hurry Slowly in 2024.