Volume 17 Issue 1
Would you want 2024 to be the greatest year of your life? Of course, you do! In an effort to start this year differently, my wife and I went with several friends to the DFW area to join the 3rd Annual Fire Starter Ice Bath event on New Year’s morning, hosted by former Navy SEAL Garett Uncleback and co-host Nick Surface, to focus on the concept of purpose over pain!
We joined 130 like-minded people and declared to ourselves and everyone involved that we are going to be make this the best year of our lives. We started 2024 by doing something uncomfortable, as we overcame the extended stay in the freezing cold water.
We didn’t take a “polar plunge” into Little Elm Lake at 6:00am on New Year’s morning because we want to do this year just like we did last year. Instead, we wanted to commit to do whatever it takes to achieve our God-given destiny of a purposeful life. As we ran into that 31-degree lake that morning, we put in all the things that are going to be uncomfortable in the upcoming days, weeks, and year.
We put in what we knew we might not want to do. We then made ourselves comfortable with the uncomfortable. We started to think about what the uncomfortable things are that we’re going to have to do this year. What are the uncomfortable things we’ll need to change? Because, for us to go where we want to go, we’ll have to make some changes in our lives, and change can be uncomfortable.
Garett and Nick co-host a podcast called The Impossible Life. The intro to each podcast has become my mission statement for 2024: “We are attempting to live the impossible life. What we know is that nothing is impossible. So, instead of using impossible as an excuse to not try, we use the pursuit of impossible as an accelerant for greatness. If something has never been done before, that just means that it is unexplored. If they tell you that it is too hard, it’s just waiting to be simplified. Impossible is a default label used by uncourageous people unwilling to take a risk. The real truth is this: the solution to any impossible task starts with this question: if I had to, what would it take?”
As we entered the water that morning, we chanted Rak Chazak, which is a Hebrew phrase that translates to “Be strong and courageous.” It’s a rallying cry that commands the will to stand firm, to hold the line, and to face the enemy with courage and strength. The ancient Israelites used it to bolster their spirits and steel their resolve as they faced seemingly insurmountable odds.
What would 2024 look like if it were truly the best year of your life? Let your purpose overcome potential pain as we prepare to grow. Be challenged and become the “you” that is better than you ever dreamed. RAK CHAZAK! Your Town.
Your Life. Your Magazine.
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