December 2022: Last Month Best Month

Good Morning & Welcome to the Final Month of 2022.

How’s this year been for you?

Seriously… take a deep breath.

If you have the time, I’d invite you to check in with yourself.

• What did you set out to do this year?

• How are those intentions progressing?

• What surprised you about this year?

• What sticks out as a meaningful moment?

Taking time to reflect, however briefly, can increase our self-awareness, sense of fulfillment, and clarity for the future.

Even with a consistent reflection process though, sometimes we fall short of our goals.

For example, I wanted to run a sub-4 hour marathon this year.

My body, on the other hand, gave me a clear-as-day message not to. Instead, I joined a soccer league and rediscovered my love for playing sports with friends.

“If you want to see God laugh, make a plan” is an old saying that reminds me of this past year.

Planning can be incredibly helpful, as it gives us a target to strive towards and the structure to build upon.

At the same time though, we must balance that strategy with flexibility, discretion, and intuition in order to effectively move forward.

Many times, new information becomes available after initial planning that better informs our decision-making process.

Moreover, as I experienced with the example above & numerous other surprises this year, taking unexpected turns can be both exciting & rewarding. 

So as we head into the final month of the year, I want to share a mindset with you that can help make your last month of 2022 also your best month.

Earlier this week, I attended a breath-work workshop for the first time.

Breathwork alone is a powerful practice, but experiencing it in an instructor-led group setting brought it to an entirely new level.

The hosts, Nick Pags & Beatriz Boas, are an Austin-based power couple who each deliver fascinating perspectives on personal transformation.

After a captivating & motivational speech from Nick, we dropped into a 30-minute meditation– breathing deeply while immersed in a well-curated playlist & Bea’s guidance.

It was unlike any experience I've had - in the best of ways - and this was one of my biggest takeaways: 

Events Are Neutral Until Perspective Is Applied.

Think about it… the same exact event can take on two entirely different meanings, depending on your mood, circumstance, or a variety of other factors.

For example, the same sandwich could be the best thing in the world (because it tastes great) or devastating (because it meant you forgot to try the new restaurant across town). Nothing about the sandwich itself is different, but your perspective determines whether you have a positive or negative experience.

Weird example, I know– but it still works, I think/hope.

It’s all perspective.

The Indian mystic & speaker, Osho describes this quite well:

“If you can function as if you have no problems, you will find that you don’t have any problems! All problems are make-believe; you believe in them, and that's why they are there.”

Perhaps an over-exaggeration. Perhaps not. Remember, it’s all perspective ;)

The theme that underlies all of this is Ownership.

Ownership of the Meaning We Create & Ownership of the Action We Take.

One of the first-ever lessons that my coach Nick Boleto taught me was, “I am the source of every result in my life; good or bad.”

Five years later and words cannot describe the impact that idea has had on my life.

You probably have heard the famous Spiderman quote, “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

What if we flipped it on its head?

With Great Responsibility, Comes Great Power.

I credit Jim Kwik for sharing this idea on a recent episode of ON Purpose with Jay Shetty. 

And further— Where We Take Responsibility, We Derive Meaning.

When we take responsibility over the meaning that we assign to our lives, that’s where our true power lies.

For much of my life, I tried to control circumstance and assigned meaning, unconsciously, based on my learned patterning (blame, avoidance, etc.)

This led to frequently feeling frustrated, burned out, and sometimes even resentful.

Now, I try my best to surrender to the circumstances and take ownership over the story I tell myself - or the meaning I create.

For instance, I ran the Philly Half Marathon a few weeks ago and missed my goal by three minutes. Instead of blaming the cold weather and getting down on myself for falling short, I learned the importance of proper warmups & corral groupings and I'm excited to bring these insights to my next race.

So remember, Events Are Neutral Until Perspective Is Applied.

We Control Our Experience, Not Our Circumstances.

As we head into the last month of the year, I’d encourage you to consider:

• How do I want to feel at the end of this year?

• What steps can I take over these next 29 days to feel that way?

Let's make it an incredible end of 2022.

Content I'm Digging:

Ever since seeing U2 perform under a full moon at Bonnaroo 2017, I have been a believer in Bono's music & life philosophy. This interview with Brené Brown delivered in every way I could have imagined. Shoutout to the newsletter’s biggest fan, my mom, for the recommendation.

Chamath Palihapitiya is a venture capitalist, CEO, and host of the All In podcast. While I'm still getting up to speed with his content & ideas, I found this clip from his interview with Lex Friedman quite insightful.

The psychedelic renaissance is here. This video with one of my favorite YouTubers, Sky Life, gives a vulnerable & compelling account of her experience using Ketamine Meditation Therapy.

Music I'm Vibing With:

I appreciate you reading.

Huge thanks to Nick, Bea, and the Upspace team for putting on such an awesome event, and a shoutout to the coach & homie Cory Camp for making the intro.

Heads up - UpSpace is a new social media platform for all things wellness. It seems dope and I'm excited to learn more about it.

Wishing you an incredible Friday & weekend ahead.

Aidan