We In 4th Quarter, What Have You Done? What Will You Do?!

Standing in Erewon, waiting for my açaí-type protein bowl to come up and thinking, WHO TF IS IN CONTROL?!

Related: Rich B**** Grocery Shopping

Not of this store. Not of this café inside the store. Who is in control of me?

Every year, I hear folks say, “this is the year,” proclaiming this year will be the year they do the thing they said they were going to do. Then the year passes and the next year comes and they’re back saying, about the same thing(s), “this is the year.” Well, baby, is it?! Because I ain’t SEENT it!

I’m tired of hearing that stupid a** s*** and not seeing the motherflipping ACTIONS!

I’m tired of you.

I’m tired of me.

I watch all of these videos about motivation, focus, and stopping procrastination — and I’m not talking about that gimmicky bs y’all like to make viral on social media from some idiotic “guru” repeating weak a** clichés — I watch 2+ hour educational talks from psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and Ivy League professors, and unfortunately there’s no one-step magic trick to get your s*** together.

You have to truly want it and you have to consistently do it. You can tune into one of my favs, Huberman Lab Podcast, for the scientific terms and specific synapses going on in the brain, but what it boils down to is: YOU HAVE TO DO IT EVERY DAY. I better understand now why Nike’s catchphrase is just do it. That’s what it is, that’s what it takes to start doing the things you say every year that you’ll do, you have to JUST DO IT!

And I don’t mean to oversimplify taking control of your life, but…

Ugh, do I sound upset? If I do, it’s because I am. I’ve pissed off another entire year just about and there’s no good excuse why. (Good thing majority of my riders are fellow Black women, or people sensible enough not to stick me with the angry Black woman trope for speaking strongly and sprinkling in some profane language.)

It's not too late to turn this year around!

There’s 12 months in a year, we’re at the top of the 10th one, and I’m no sports reporter, but the game can change in this 4th quarter.

You can turn this whole s*** around in the 4th quarter, no matter how far “behind” you’ve been the whole game (this year). In an actual sports game, is it really always possible to comeback? Idk. But what I DO know is that Good Book says, I can do ALL things thru Christ!

Wait.. I just divided 12 by 4 and it equals 3, so does that mean the 4th quarter of the year started last month? Child, math nor measurements of time have never been my strong suit, but point still remains that a lot can be changed in the waning months of this year. All it takes is YOU!

You gotta do it! You gotta get up and get to it!

What do you want to do? What did you say this would be the year for?

Come on now, my compostable bowl will get soggy soon if I don’t start eating.

The upset wonder of “WTF am I doing with my life?!” came to me as I stood waiting for my order at a smoothie bar in one of L.A.’s upscale grocery stores. | photo: aroundLAwithTK

As these words fly off my fingertips, I’m saying YOU, but I’m talking to ME. Well, I’m talking to us, because I don’t want anybody that’s stagnant around me.

I’m moving upward and onward, never growing complacent, always trying to improve myself in one way or the other and if you’re not on that type of time, get from ‘round me baby.

There has to be SOMETHING you’re working on, if not, why tf are you on this Earth? To suck in oxygen until you can’t anymore?

I’ll give a quick example and then I have to go.

I said this was my twenty-FINE year and I was going to be finer than I’ve ever been, but do you think my raggedy behind has eaten clean or exercised consistently for any considerable length of time? [inserts side-eye emoji]

Related: I Started Planning A HUGE A** Girls Trip A Year In Advance

I said this twenty-fine year, I wasn’t only leveling up my body, but leveling up my brain and my brand too.

The goal was to reach a higher level of French proficiency than I was on in high school (that may seem like a low mark, but ya girl was a dog [sticks out tongue], winning at literary rallies with all the best students competing from across the state of Louisiana). Child, these days…. B**** barely get past bonjour.

As far as my blog/brand, I was supposed to be blogging EVERY DAY and setting myself up to be earning $4,000/month from blog revenue by my next year. (I’d done hours and hours of research, with a tangible year-long plan from a website building resource called Income School) Child… that darn birthday (ugh, I cringe to say it) done crept up on your girl, is only 2 months away and I’m averaging the same number of views I was averaging last December.

All of these goals were within my reach and I am thee only reason I haven’t reached them.

Yeah, my mental be a little f***** and there’s been days on end this year where I didn’t feel like showering, brushing my teeth, or even moving, let alone working towards goals, but FVCK THAT! I AM IN CONTROL OF ME!

Granny always says I was a hard-headed and stubborn lil’ somebody that “wants to do what I want to do,” so I should be able to channel that head-strong nature in the right direction.

Okay, I think I opened this page at 9:45am and it’s 10:30am now.

What we doing, y’all? Let’s score big in this 5th quarter!

(I know there’s no such thing as a fifth quarter, but since I missed the start of the fourth quarter, that’s what I’m calling the last months of this year.)

For me, I have two months because I always start my “new year” with the start of my new year, the beginning of another revolution around the sun for me on Earth in this human body.

We twenty-fine bih. Lemme see it!

For girls coming on the twenty-fine 2022 girls trip at the beginning of December, they have two months as well. I WANT YOUR BEST SELF!! What can you do in 60 days?! I know my good sis Taylor wants to tighten up that tummy, my cousin Raven wants to gain some healthy weight towards her slim-thick destiny, and I saw my girl Gabrielle post on her close friends that she’s getting back in the gym to further perfect her little frame too.

Which part of you is getting more fine by this twenty-fine girls trip?

For everybody else in the world, following a normal yearly calendar, y’all got 3 months left in 2022, whatchu finna do?!

Community really helps in working towards goals. Yes, it’s all about YOU, you wanting it, and you doing it, but I’ve found the stakes are raised when other people are involved.

What do you think? What will you rev up on in the final months of this year? Are you more the type to do it quietly, sharing what you’re working towards only with your god? Or do you find that letting other people know creates a sense of accountability in you?

Comment on this blog post, on Instagram, or send me a tweet! I’d like to hear your thoughts.