Why Consistency and AI Are My Secret Weapons for 2025
As I am starting to write this post, it is 5 a.m. on 12/25/2024. Typically, the idea for a blog sort of flows out of me. Today, it is unclear, and I seem to have multiple ideas wanting to be expressed—to write about the current situation with my mother and me, my goals for 2025, and who I want to become. And then there is my current and ongoing obsession with always wanting things to be better. Perhaps this is a year-end reflection and a nod forward to 2025. All I am seeing in my inbox, on my podcast feed, and on YouTube are “top 5 things I learned in 2024,” “how to improve your life in 2025,” etc. The end of the year is a good time for reflection, and for the last six weeks, I have found myself in the space of reviewing 2024 and planning for 2025.
As I reflect on 2024, it was a good year. My writing was consistent, the Madison Motors transition has continued to be smooth, we got some very important outside home projects completed, I joined Toastmasters and started giving speeches consistently. 2024 was a year of honing key skills and spending important time with friends and family, and that just touches the surface. In my reflections, I have been asking myself what I could have done better this year and making plans for things to be, and feel, even better in 2025.
Looking at habits and things I do well, these include fitness, our home, the car business, being a mom, a wife, a friend, and a grandmother. The list does go on and on. Man, some of these roles are easier than others, especially the ones that only involve me. Throw someone else into the mix, and making things better is not always possible. Sadly, the end of this year is overshadowed by the cyclical impasse that I experience with my mother. How can I be better to avoid this happening again in the future? Is this the year we create a new relationship?
Setting goals at the beginning of a year, planning them out into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily action steps, is not something I historically have done. Interestingly, the method that has worked well for me is just writing down what I want, being open to receive, and, in time, most things manifest into my reality. By being the person who attracts these things, with consistent thoughts and actions toward those things, it is kind of magic; things big and small come to or happen easily for me.
The Happiness Planner “had” a goals pad that worked like a charm. I say “had” because they changed it, and it is just not the same. In 2018, I wrote on this goals pad “pay off the outside finance debt” that we had in the car business. It took a few years, but that got done. When I wanted an “in-house mechanic to work three days a week,” within weeks, the right person came into the dealership, and I hired him on the spot. The examples go on and on.
Looking forward, I’m thinking about how I can reduce my personal and our household waste (get rid of my Amazon Prime membership) and how I can improve my relationships with family (this may involve some crucial conversations).
Goals-wise in 2025, I want to be paid to: 1.) speak on stages, 2.) have my blog published twice a month in magazines or on websites that align with my style and values, connect with an agent by June 2025 to begin the process of traditionally publishing my book in 2026, and attract a large sum of money. Look out, 2025!
As I start to write out and break down these goals, the pressure in my chest and the general feeling of total overwhelm are extraordinary. This is surely an opportunity. I want to understand, work through, and overcome whatever my blocks are around doing these BIG things.
At first glance, I believe these feelings are coming up because of my attachment (desire to achieve) to the actual goals and the darn thoughts that run through my head when I think of going after them. “Who am I that people would want to read what I write twice a month and get paid to do it? Who am I to have a traditionally published book that sells a million copies?” asks the voice in my head. “If I attract that much money, will it quickly be taken away?” You can clearly see how those thoughts are not helping me.
There are a million resources on how to overcome your blocks and achieve your goals, and I have read or listened to most of them. I KNOW how to do this. What has worked for me in the past? Feel like, act like, and believe that I am someone who can achieve these things. Say the mantras, feel the energy, and be her.
We all know the sayings: “Whatever you believe, you can achieve,” “Where your attention goes, your energy flows.” My mind is not 100% in on believing my goals are possible.
Looking at my behavior over the last 12 months, I have not written every day. I make excuses or say I have other things I need to do; “I will write tomorrow, it is okay.” Everyone who knows me needs to know I want to speak on stages, be paid for my writing, and be in touch with a literary agent. Well, now you do!
Believing is important, but taking consistent action is the second piece. Tony Robbins calls it massive action; Darren Hardy refers to it in The Compound Effect. All the books I have read over the years matter.
The action piece needs to be laid out. We all know AI is all the rage right now. I have been using it to help me edit my blog posts and think outside of the box. The best thing it does for me is get my amygdala out of the way. This is the part of our brain that keeps us safe and stops us from taking risks. AI doesn’t have one, so when I ask how to find a literary agent, it just answers the question. When I asked for tips to increase engagement on my blog, it suggested I post snippets. I did just that, and what do you know—right away, I saw a few new comments and gained a few readers. The answers AI gives me are simple and actionable, not overthought.
What better way to use AI than to help me break my goals down? Even AI can be an overachiever, so when I started to feel overwhelmed at what it suggested I do, I told it that I felt overwhelmed, and it slowed things down a little. I felt better, and we moved forward. I was able to keep moving forward and not put the goal planning off until another day. AI also reminded me to plan time to celebrate the wins so I could stay motivated. Nothing new—just practical.
Being consistent MATTERS. It shows you and the universe that you are serious and committed to this goal and are doing the work that it will take to make it happen.
In searching for the “how” on the step-by-step process of achieving goals, there has not been a method that I have really resonated with. Year after year, I have asked others what journal or method they use. In the past, I have used an accountability method, Darren Hardy’s Best Year Ever journal, and goal pages. All these things have helped me move forward. After the last 10 months of using the Full Focus planner, I need something new.
Google suggested the Bullet Journal method. This is a new to me method and it also means I get to buy a new journal, love it!
AI and I have been working together to break down my goals and put them in a format that works within the Bullet Journal method. Throw in some magic, mantras, and affirmations for good measure, and I have a pretty good plan. To make sure I stay on track, I have asked AI to give me daily, weekly, and monthly check-ins like a little personal assistant.
Now I need to build confidence in a new area of my life to do something that I have never done but I know I can. Through the repetition of writing, submitting, and doing the “goddamn things,” as my coach Sue would say, I can build the confidence to help my mind believe that I can do this!
On the relationship front I think I need to seek a new book on family relationships, any suggestions?
As you reflect on 2024 and step into 2025, are you ready for something new? Ready to become a better version of yourself? Achieve a new goal? Start small. There are so many tools out there to help you. Many of them are free. A new book is around $25; an Audible membership is $16 a month for a new book to listen to every month. Start an accountability group with a friend or two. Don’t wait another year for your life to be better.
As I was writing this, I remembered a friend mentioning a book her daughter was listening to: Stop Doing That Sht* by Gary John Bishop (https://a.co/d/5WACUwe). He is hilarious, and this book is one in a series. If you need a good kick in the butt, check him out!
And please share what you are up to with me. I am the best accountability partner and would be happy to do a check-in now and then—always happy to lift someone up!