I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was full of family and food, which means I’m currently swearing off both…just kidding!

It was actually really delightful and I learned a new (to me) game called Mexican Train that kept us all entertained and laughing as we “worked” off our Christmas dinner.

Learning new things is such an important part of life, isn’t it? Whether it’s a game with your family or a new skill, keeping your brain busy with new information is one thing I want to do more of in 2024.

Speaking of…you know that saying “Out with the old and in with the new.”? As we finish out the year this week, I’ll be reviewing what I really liked about 2023, and what I want to do differently in 2024.

I’ve been working on this review for several weeks now, and it’s been such a pleasure to realize there were quite a few areas in my life I made real progress in this year.

In the past, I would often set new goals for the New Year without taking stock of the year past. So this exercise this year has been very helpful in preparation for the year to come.

May I encourage you to do this exercise in the next few days and see what pops out? Ask yourself these questions to get going:

–What did I really enjoy in 2023? (What were the highlights of my year?)

–What do I want to do more of in 2024?

–What goals did I accomplish in 2023 and how do I feel about that?

–What went right with my relationships?

–What relationships do I want to work on, and what am I going to intentionally do about them in 2024?

–What areas did not turn out the way I planned in 2023 and what will I do about that in 2024? (Dropping them from your list is always an option.)

Finally,

–What am I looking forward to the most for 2024 and how am I going to get that ball rolling in this New Year?

As I wrap up this last letter of the year, I’ll leave you with our family photo. My family is always at the top of my gratitude list. For so many years I wanted nothing but to be a mom, so even when things are challenging, I still am so grateful for the answer to prayer of my children…

Happy New Year!

The post Out With the Old? appeared first on Christy Largent.

In the midst of all this “life” of course, I’m working on my Pickleball program (​Pickleball Evangelism​) as well as a proposal for my book, “Dink Positive Thoughts,” as well as fitting in as much Pickleball as I can while also taking care of the family.

One area I’ve also been working on specifically, as I’ve mentioned before, is adjusting my “Identity” that is, how I see myself being in this world, from a woman who not only works out and eats well but a woman who is an athlete.

And becoming that person, my future self, if you will, is taking some effort and thought work.

At 5:30 this morning as I was driving to my Pickleball lesson, I was listening to a really cool ​podcast​, with a neuroscientist and a psychology professor and they were talking about why we are so darn mean to our future selves. ​Here’s a link ​if you’re interested.

The fascinating thing is that almost all of us do this because of how we see our future self.

I won’t get into all they discussed, but the one thing that stuck out is that basically, when I make a decision that harms my future self (deciding to eat a 1/2 carton of ice cream for example, or at least that’s what I’ve heard some people might choose…ahem) we’re making that decision because the part of our brain working right then, sees our future self as a stranger, and when we see people as strangers, we have less empathy and we care less about them and we are less likely to make a decision in their favor.

Ouch!

Thankfully they gave a few examples of ways we can be kinder and make better decisions for our future self.

1. Make it more personal by changing the pronouns we use for our future self – ie., from “Christy” or “she” to “me’ and “I” which will help us bring it to a more personal level and to a better part of our brain resulting in a better decision.

2. If you find yourself saying yes to things in the future because you’re so busy right now, but then when you get to the future and you’re mad at yourself for saying yes because you’re just as busy then as you are now…instead of saying yes in the first place, go ahead and accept that although you might be uncomfortable and awkward declining now, you’ll be so much happier in the future, when you are free from that undesired commitment.

3. Be more willing to acknowledge and notice the feelings that arise now, rather than push them off until later. And be ok to actually sit with and process the feelings now, then let them pass, even though it’s a bit tougher now.

Creating a future self that is who you want to be is not for the faint of heart!

(For me at least) it takes a lot of work and attention.

But she is worth it. My future self is cheering me on, and yours is cheering you on as well.

Let me know what you think of the podcast. Do you struggle with making the best decisions possible for your future self? What works best for helping you make good choices? Leave a comment and let me know.

Cheering you on my friend!

c

The post Your Future Self Will Thank You appeared first on Christy Largent.

I was pretty clueless about it until I happened to be invited to a special workshop intensive on how businesses are using it with great success.

Intrigued, I attended the workshop and was absolutely blown away by the possibilities Ai and ChatGPT provide.

Interestingly, when I asked my kids about it, they were (per usual) way ahead of me and gave me many examples of how kids in HS and College are using it. (Some good, some not so good!)

I’m actually in LOVE with it! I can take something I’ve written, put it in, and it will give me an improved version. So in other words, Ai (I call her “Chatty” which drives my kids wild!) will help you be a better version of yourself.

Let me show you how it works using the above paragraph for demonstration:

This is what I put in:

“Please rewrite this to make it better, still with my happy, positive tone of voice. “I’m actually in LOVE with it! I can take something I’ve written, put it in, and it will give me an improved version. So in other words, Ai (I call her “Chatty” which drives my kids wild!) will help you be a better version of yourself.”

And this is what she gave me back:

“I absolutely adore it! It’s incredible how I can input my writing and it will provide me with a polished version. It’s like having a personal writing assistant! I affectionately refer to the AI as “Chatty,” which always gets a reaction from my kids. With this amazing tool, you can enhance your writing and become an even better version of yourself.”

See how awesome she makes me sound? Now to tell you the truth, I would probably take what she gave me (in about 2 seconds I might add) and rework it to make it mine…well, let me show you.

My revised version:

“I’m actually in love with it! It’s incredible how I can input my writing and it will provide me with a polished version. It’s like having a personal writing assistant! I affectionately refer to the AI as “Chatty,” which drives my kids wild. With this amazing tool, you can enhance your writing and become an even better version of yourself.”

That’s so crazy, right?

She can also help you create a schedule, organize your time, plan your meals, and even work out vacation details.

Go to www.chat.openai.com you will see what I’m talking about.

Well, actually, what you’re going to see is a blank screen with a single open prompt line.

Here’s the catch. Chatty gives you NOTHING until you give her something.

She’s super smart…think Google on steroids…but she can’t do anything until you tell her which direction to head.

Just like our minds. We have to feed it the really good stuff, tell it what to think, thoughts that will serve us so that we will get the feelings and output we want. We really are a supercomputer designed by God to do great things.

But for today and our Ai discussion, if you want to get more details on it, I really like this woman who has put together all kinds of tutorials and helps on making the most of ChatGPT. She explains everything so well!

Even if this isn’t your thing at all, I’d encourage you to find something new to try. Whether it’s Pickleball (of course!) or crochet or a new recipe, get your brain moving and juices flowing by trying new things. I think you’ll be so glad you did!

Cheering you on!

Christy

The post Are You Trying New Things? appeared first on Christy Largent.

This morning I snuck over to the local Pickleball courts and had several hours of Pickleball play with some new friends.

I have a long “to do” list, but instead of chaining myself to my desk to get it done, I threw on some (warm) sweats and headed out into the chill for some exercise and fellowship.

As I was playing, I hit as many losers as winners. I ran cross court and jumped up in the air for shots, channeling my inner Michael Jordan (I was at least 2″ off the courts!) and I laughed too many times to count.

When I headed home, sweaty and with my emotional tank full to the brim, I knew I would have a productive day ahead.

That’s because, as you well know, Pickleball has quickly become a new passion for me.

And when we make time for our passions, suddenly our other available time grows almost exponentially.

Once I was home, instead of sitting at my desk, struggling to find the words, instead I’m struggling to type fast enough to get the words out.

Instead of worrying about how I’m going to finish the Christmas decorating that’s been laying around 1/2 finished, I whipped out the mantle and cleared up the stragglers in about 15 minutes!

That’s what happens when your tank is full.

So this is my question for you.

What fills your tank?

What’s your passion that makes your heart sing? (At least for right now – Lord knows they change over time), but for today, what is it?

In my course that’s coming out in January, I’ll be doing a deep dive into how to find your passions. Because, let’s face it, between laundry, carpool and work demands, we midlife women often lose our sense of what we absolutely love.

A Simple Exercise

Finding your passions in midlife can be life challenging. But it is key to living your most fulfilled life.

For today, here’s a quick exercise you can try to clarify your passions:

Set the timer for 5 minutes.

Then, I want you to think back when you were between 10 and 16 years old.

What did you love to do? What were you good at and what did you enjoy doing? Which activities took up the most of your time?

Using a pen and paper, write down a list. Sometimes, as you start writing, more and more will come to mind. Write it all down.

Then look over that list and see if there are any common denominators. If so, pull them out.

And ask yourself if any of those things are things you would be interested in doing right now.

They may look different now. For example, when I was that age, I did basketball, swimming, diving, softball, rugby (I know!), cross country, cheerleading, volleyball and tennis. The common denominator was that I played team sports. I liked being on a team and I liked competing in athletics.

Today, I channel that desire onto the Pickleball court rather than all the other sports, and even though it’s a different sport, it’s filling that desire (Passion) right up to the top.

Now It’s Your Turn…

Now you can think about finding your own passions in midlife. And how you can add them into your life right now.

Because one thing I know for sure – this world needs YOU alight with your passion light shining.

Cheering you on,

Christy

The post The Point of Your Passions appeared first on Christy Largent.