I could have sworn I just wrote a New Year’s post a couple months ago, but apparently time has flown by because here we are, almost a week into 2024. After the past few months of challenging change and chaos in my own life, things have finally calmed down a bit for me, and I’m settling into a routine. But when I think about the year ahead, I find myself frequently wavering between thoughts of excitement about what I want to achieve this year and an unshakeable sense of dread.

On one hand, I’m feeling highly committed and empowered when it comes to my personal goals. After being in a completely unproductive funk for almost 2 months that resulted in me procrastinating with projects, overindulging in food and alcohol, and falling so far off the wagon with my goals that I don’t even know what direction the fucking wagon went in, I’m ready to stop making excuses to myself, and I’m in a highly focused mindset of discipline and achievement.

Yet, on the other hand, I have this ever-present feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about what this year will bring as we get closer to November, which I believe will be the most important election in the history of our country and a critical defining moment for America’s future. And as much as I’m determined to remain focused on my goals, there is always this little bitch voice in the back of my head that whispers, “Why bother? The world is going to shit. By this time next year, we’ll all be fucked anyway. Screw it. Just have another glass of wine and watch Netflix.”

I guess that’s the thing about having a podcast focused on politics and conspiracy theories (aka the truth) – you can’t hide in your own little bubble of ignorance and say shit like, “I just don’t watch the news.” Because as much as I believe in the concepts of positive thinking, the Law of Attraction, and manifesting what you focus on, I also believe that one of the most important things you can do in this world to be a force for good is to stand up for what’s right and speak out when shit is going south. So, despite the fact that being informed gives me anxiety, I refuse to bury my head in the sand and ignore the realities of all the scary and uncertain shit that’s happening in the world, especially when it comes to the purposeful destruction of America from within by our own government.

Which brings me to the point of this article. If you’ve been following my blog for the past year or so, you’ll know that despite my downward spiral of shitshow fails over the past couple of months, I place a lot of importance on self-development and striving to be the best version of myself, and one of the people I admire and respect most is Andy Frisella. Not only did he inspire me to have the balls to leave my law enforcement career and start publicly speaking out in the first place a few years ago, but he is also my biggest inspiration in terms of developing mental toughness and focusing on personal excellence.

One of the most important things Andy frequently says is, “Personal excellence is the ultimate rebellion” when it comes to countering the culture of mediocrity that our government has been propagating to make everyone complacent, dependent, and weak. I recently saw a great IG post on frisellafans that breaks down what Andy says like this:

“They want you fat. Become fit.

They want you sick. Become healthy.

They want you broke. Build wealth.

They want you silent. Speak up.

They want you apathetic. Care.

They want you stupid. Learn.

They want you unskilled. Acquire real skills.

They want you to hate each other. Love and help each other.

They want you to need them. Take pride in not needing them.

They want you to give up. Never give up.

Honor those that came before you and inspire those coming after you with the life you build.

It’s a duty. An American duty.

Personal excellence is the ultimate rebellion.

You are 100% in control of what needs to happen to restore greatness in this country. Always have been.”

This shit hits home for me hard because I truly believe we all have an obligation to ourselves, each other, and the survival of America to be the best versions of ourselves and not fall prey to the culture of fear and control. And even though I am proud to be “Unapologetically Outspoken,” and I have stayed committed to using my voice to speak out on the podcast, I have been falling short when it comes to personal excellence in several other areas of my life.

So, while I don’t call this a New Year’s Resolution, because I think that concept is set up for failure, I am recommitting to being relentless in the pursuit of my own personal excellence. I can either choose to let my fears about what’s going on in the world paralyze me into inaction, or I can choose to use this knowledge to empower me to take consistent and productive action. I may not be able to control whether our economy crashes, or the next election is stolen, or Biden drags us into WWIII, or AI robots take over humanity, but I sure as fuck can control myself. I can control my thoughts, my feelings, my decisions, my actions, and my behaviors. And if everything does go to shit, I know I will go out swinging as the best version of myself.

Here’s to kicking ass in 2024.

Unapologetically Outspoken,

Tara