3 Simple hacks for an extraordinary 2024
As 2023 ends, I’d like to offer some advice for the new year, in case you’re contemplating resolutions.
There are three simple yet powerful things you can ask yourself and do to enrich your life in 2024:
How can I make this task fun? Even mundane chores can be made more pleasant by listening to upbeat music or turning them into a game.
How small can I make the task? Big intimidating goals often fail. But small, incremental wins build momentum.
Just get started! Simply begin without overthinking. Once you build a little momentum, motivation often follows.
The new year offers a fresh slate and new beginnings. If you decide to set goals for self-improvement in 2024, apply these three tips first: prioritize enjoyment, take baby steps, and silence your inner critic to get moving. Here’s to a happy, productive new year!
Take care and love,
Diana
P.S. If you want to work on your personal growth, sobriety, or productivity in 2024, book a free discovery call with me in January. You can read some client reviews here.
The surprising risks of meditation deserve consideration
Meditation, widely regarded as a harmless or entirely positive activity, can, in fact, have adverse effects. This revelation was as much a surprise to me as it might be to many of you.
In a recent interview, Professor Willoughby Britton of Brown University shed light on this lesser-known aspect of meditation. She not only assists meditators experiencing difficulties but also provides meditation safety training. She also runs Cheetah House, a unique facility supporting those recovering from meditation-related challenges.
My attempt to discuss this information with my support group was met with a disappointing response. Instead of engaging in a meaningful conversation, I encountered laughter, skepticism, and even ridicule at the notion that meditation could carry risks. This reaction was a striking example of how people, regardless of their usual openness, can sometimes cling to their established beliefs.
Initially, I had assumed that such meditation-related problems were primarily linked to psychedelic use. However, further investigation revealed a more complex picture: only 20% of Cheetah House’s clients had self-reported a history of using psychedelics. This underlines the powerful nature of meditation—it has the capacity to transform lives, but not always in the ways we expect.
The initial criticism I faced highlights a broader point: the importance of being open to new information. A member of the support group reached out to me, expressing gratitude for bringing this issue to light. She had personally experienced negative adverse effects from meditation and felt ashamed about it. Discussing the potential meditation risks (inability to work, inability to engage in society, inability to stop traumatic memories from playing in a never-ending loop, etc.) isn’t about discouraging its practice but about ensuring its utmost benefit. Like any potent tool, meditation requires a thoughtful and informed approach to harness its positive effects wisely.
A chance encounter with Nature Journaling
Yesterday, while out walking on a Costa Rican beach, I met a wandering “nature journaler” documenting his natural surroundings through sketches and words. As his Youtube channel shows, nature journaling involves observing and recording plants, animals, landscapes, and our sensory experiences of the outdoors.
I showed him my own notebooks filled with passages penned during my morning and evening rituals. We discussed favorite pens, the perils of digital distractions, and personal benefits from this reflective habit.
Our conversation turned to society’s excessive self-focus. With constant identity broadcasting across social platforms, are we losing connection to community purpose? I brought up my favorite prayer questionably attributed to St Francis which reminds us that living meaningfully starts with self-care and compassion. “Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console...For it is in giving that one receives.”
Perhaps it is not selfishness driving individuals inward these days but rather a longing for meaning. What better compass than our planet itself?
I welcome any feedback or experiences with contemplative outdoor practices bringing balance amidst modern disorientation! Finding integrated meaning often starts alone in stillness but culminates together in contribution.
Character and identity
Cultivating a strong moral character grants us integrity. Our character inspires trust in others.
Conversely, an overemphasis on personal identity often fuels self-entitled attitudes that put "me first"—what I deserve, what I expect.
When we focus on building worthy character rather than staking claims over identity, our bonds strengthen and our influence elevates humanity.