When I think of 2022, I think of it as remodeling a house as they do on Fixer Upper.
At the beginning of the year, my family was in rough shape. We got Covid. We went on vacation. Then got the stomach flu that landed my wife in the hospital.
After that, we were beaten. It took us until June to finally get ourselves out of the trauma that the beginning of the year created.
Then, we completed demo day in the second half of the year. There were many breaking down old things in our lives that were falling apart.
It wasn’t easy, but it was essential to start rebuilding the house that is our lives. We were slowly able to get down to the studs, which set us up for 2023.
Remodeling our Lives
If I stick to this Fixer Upper analogy, the next thing to do is to reset the floor plan for our lives.
This means we put in the load-bearing beams for the open-concept kitchen and living space.
Then, we set up the electrical, plumbing, and finally, drywalling everything. All this is happening in the first part of this year.
After Chip stops to tell Jo some bad news, I know we will have to make some adjustments. But, this is an opportunity for creativity.
Once we stick the landing on the creative pivot, we will be in the home stretch of setting the floors, installing cabinets and countertops, and setting it up for the big reveal.
It sounds kind of fun when I put it like that. But, the truth is, we will be doing things differently this year, and it’s a lot more work at the personal level than watching a Fixer Upper episode.
5 Things Changing for Me in 2023
Here are the five main remodels in my life for 2023. They might look a little different for you, but they might be helpful as you decide what to do for this year in your life.
Become ruthless about my health.
Over the last two years, I have gained 25 pounds. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my life, and I feel it.
My day job has contributed a lot to my poor health due to stress, the amount of time I stay at my desk, and probably because I work from home 100% of the time.
This year, I will get ruthless with my weight and health. It’s time to hit the workouts, cut the crap out of my diet, and think outside the box about how I take care of myself.
This will change how I feel and likely unlock new creativity in my life.
Upgrade life with a new skill.
Last year, my six-year-old was struggling with piano lessons. Amid that struggle, I told her I would get a guitar and learn how to play (I have no experience playing any musical instrument).
I got the guitar for Christmas and have started learning this new skill. It’s pretty hard, to be honest, especially since I don’t have any music background.
However, I have found that it is helping me reduce stress and has already helped my daughter take to piano lessons and practice with more incredible excitement, even if it’s hard.
This will likely bring new inspiration to me as I learn to do something I have never done.
Focus on my marriage.
Work sucks a lot of time. Writing sucks a lot of mental space. Our kids need a lot of help and attention. Ultimately, that has caused me to neglect my marriage.
Not to a terrible degree, mind you. But enough that my wife and I don’t always feel connected to each other. This year, I am moving our marriage back to the front of my attention to getting things back on track.
This means setting up extraordinary things for my wife and me, going away on our own for a night, and more date nights. It also means being more intentional with our time together after the kids go to bed.
I know my marriage impacts everything else in my life; if it is rocky, life will be rocky.
Grow my connection with God more deeply.
My faith drives a lot of my life. For some, this may not matter to you, but for me, it is essential. Over the last few years, we have spent much time surviving.
But this year, I want to thrive in my faith, which looks like spending more time in the presence of God. I’m doing this in prayer, worship, reading my Bible, and soaking in the moments he provides me.
I know this will unlock supernatural ideas and inspiration. It will bring healing for me and others around me. And it will create an atmosphere in my house that could move mountains.
This will be a massive upgrade for my family and me in 2023.
Focus on a few areas of my writing.
I think many writers get so caught up in all their ideas that they forget the importance of focusing. Last year, I wrote about one thousand posts in 365 days, plus two books.
That is great, but it spread me thin, and I didn’t see significant growth in any area. This year, I am changing that up. I am focusing on two main rooms and running with them hard.
I know that will help me create better space and content and likely grow my writing business to something more substantial.
And if I can do these things, I know it will create a breakthrough in other spaces.
Final Thoughts on Life Remodeling in 2023
There are other things I am doing this year too. I’m trying to build our wealth, read more books, and be present in most moments. But these five things are going to be the game changers.
I’d love to hear what you are doing differently this year. Leave a comment below and share to help encourage others and commit to your change for the year.
Check out my latest book on Goal Setting Today!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith, find productivity success, learn about investing, and help writers become authors.
You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Ko-fi!
505
181
