Transcript
Speaker: Big week, everybody, and I will get to why in just a couple of minutes.
Speaker: But first, welcome back to Dirty Briefs, episode 51.
Speaker: Yeah, we're almost at a whole year of this podcast.
Speaker: Have you listened to all of them?
Speaker: Some of them?
Speaker: None of them?
Speaker: Whatever it is, I am so glad you're here.
Speaker: My name's Alex Hooper, and...
Speaker: It is the second week of 2024, and because of that, I want to talk about goal setting.
Speaker: Something I suck at.
Speaker: Yes, I am admitting it.
Speaker: I am being vulnerable.
Speaker: I am terrible at setting goals.
Speaker: In fact, a few days ago, I sat down with my wife to talk about what I wanted to accomplish in 2024.
Speaker: And the first thing I said was, well, I want to be the best comedian I can be.
Speaker: And she said, well, that's not specific enough.
Speaker: And I said, okay, I want to sell out comedy clubs all over the country.
Speaker: And she said, okay, well, how are you going to do that?
Speaker: And then I said, well, I also want to write a book.
Speaker: And she said, is that the most important thing that you want to accomplish this year?
Speaker: So basically...
Speaker: goal that I had, she had a response to that, I will just let you know, made me shut down, want to run away, want to crawl into the deepest parts of myself and just go to sleep.
Speaker: I struggle with this because anytime...
Speaker: somebody asked me about my goals and about specificity, I don't really know what to say because I don't know how to do that.
Speaker: I admit for years, I have been throwing spaghetti against the wall, hoping it sticks, but not even cooking it.
Speaker: I'm working hard, but not working smart.
Speaker: And I
Speaker: I want to get out of my own stubborn ways.
Speaker: I want to change my habits and I know I can.
Speaker: It's that feeling I get when I'm doing something new and scary, when I know it's going to take work and I just want to pack up all my shit and just dig myself out of it and just shut down.
Speaker: But I can't do that.
Speaker: I understand that my goals are too vague and that is a pitfall that a lot of people fall into because how do you accomplish a goal if you can't even say how you're going to get to the goal?
Speaker: A friend of mine just taught me about an acronym for goal setting.
Speaker: And it's SMART.
Speaker: S-M-A-R-T.
Speaker: S, specific.
Speaker: M, measurable.
Speaker: A, attainable.
Speaker: R, relevant.
Speaker: T, time bound.
Speaker: Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound.
Speaker: SMART.
Speaker: And that's when I realized, wow, none of what I just said
Speaker: can fit into any of those categories.
Speaker: Except for attainable, like a couple of them, maybe, but I need to figure out how I'm going to do that.
Speaker: So, what I'm doing each day is I'm whittling them down.
Speaker: I realize that
Speaker: Maybe I don't have a specific goal or actions to get there.
Speaker: But when I'm in my meditations, when I'm doing my morning pages, one of the things I'm doing is I'm writing down little things that I can do each day.
Speaker: I journal every day.
Speaker: Last year, I journaled over 300 pages.
Speaker: That was a great thing.
Speaker: So this year I said, great.
Speaker: Let's journal at least another 300 pages.
Speaker: That's one goal.
Speaker: But at the bottom of each page, what I'm doing is I'm saying, okay, well, what do you need to do today?
Speaker: Oh, I want to sell out my show at the improv.
Speaker: So I'm going to text 25 people individually with personalized messages, telling them that it's happening because they're not always going to see what it is on social media.
Speaker: What else do I need to do?
Speaker: Oh, I'm going to text 25 people.
Speaker: I need to contact my producer and director about the special taping next week to make sure there's nothing else I can do in that regard.
Speaker: What else do I need to do?
Speaker: I need to film and upload a dirty brief.
Speaker: I need to edit a standup clip.
Speaker: These are all little things that I can do.
Speaker: And as I check each one off the list, it makes me feel a little bit better.
Speaker: And hopefully, slowly but surely, by doing this,
Speaker: it will lead to my goals being smart, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound.
Speaker: With every action I make, I try to think to myself, is this nudging me closer to what I want, to the life I want to live?
Speaker: A few years ago, you know I love self-help books.
Speaker: I read a self-help book that I really, really, it spoke to me.
Speaker: It was called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.
Speaker: And essentially, the concept behind The Slight Edge is that with every decision we make, we are either ticking up or ticking down.
Speaker: And at the beginning of a timeline, the people that are ticking up with every single choice they make and the people that are ticking down, you don't really notice anything.
Speaker: They're both staying here.
Speaker: But eventually, the people that are making good decisions are going to start going this way.
Speaker: The people who are not making good decisions are going to start going this way.
Speaker: that way.
Speaker: And so eventually what starts as an even plane is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger in the gap.
Speaker: So what I'm trying to tell myself and what I urge you to tell yourself with every decision you make, is this getting me closer to my goal?
Speaker: Now, that doesn't mean you can't fuck off.
Speaker: That doesn't mean you can't eat a giant hamburger instead of a salad.
Speaker: It doesn't mean you can't go to the movies instead of writing up a business proposal.
Speaker: You can do those things.
Speaker: You need to do those things.
Speaker: Sometimes you got to give yourself a break.
Speaker: But overall, are the decisions you're making getting you closer to what you want?
Speaker: Maybe I don't have a clear goal.
Speaker: Maybe you don't.
Speaker: But one thing I'm asking myself every day, am I a little bit better than I was yesterday?
Speaker: Am I taking the time to take care of my body, my mind, my soul?
Speaker: Am I doing things that push me out of my comfort zone?
Speaker: I feel like last year was my recovery year.
Speaker: I was all about bouncing back.
Speaker: Well, this year is about leaping forward.
Speaker: That's what I named my journal, Leap Forward.
Speaker: And when I had this conversation with my wife,
Speaker: I got scared because suddenly I was like, am I just floating and waiting for things to happen to me?
Speaker: Am I thinking about all a magical, am I magically thinking, waiting for someone else to give me the opportunity because I've worked so hard over the years.
Speaker: I've been so nice to people.
Speaker: Won't my talent shine through?
Speaker: Why won't people validate me?
Speaker: Please.
Speaker: That's not going to get me anywhere.
Speaker: Action is what will get me somewhere.
Speaker: Little tiny things.
Speaker: Doing this podcast is an action that I have taken for almost a full year.
Speaker: And the fact that you're here listening to it shows that it's working.
Speaker: It's allowing me to do something.
Speaker: It's forcing me to be creative, to create it, release it, stop giving a fuck.
Speaker: Is this getting me closer to what I want?
Speaker: I hope so.
Speaker: I think it is.
Speaker: Slowly but surely, every little step I take.
Speaker: Whether it's going for a walk instead of laying on the couch or
Speaker: Doing a few pushups every single day.
Speaker: Choosing to listen to my sets in my stand-up every single day so I can prepare myself, so I can write new jokes, so I can refine what I'm doing, so I can be the best version of myself.
Speaker: Because I know you feel the same way.
Speaker: You want to be the best version of yourself.
Speaker: It's easy to be a piece of shit.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: We fall into these habits and it's so fucking simple because it demands that we just crawl deeper into the hole.
Speaker: But get a little uncomfortable.
Speaker: Surprise yourself because that's what's going to make you feel better.
Speaker: And if you write down a couple things every day and then you do them and you can check them off the list, you're going to feel a lot better.
Speaker: Now, this is a big week, everybody.
Speaker: This week, I am taping my special at the Bijou Theater in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Speaker: January 12th, Friday.
Speaker: Two shows, a 7 and a 9.30.
Speaker: So, tickets are available.
Speaker: Please go get them.
Speaker: We're going to fill that place up.
Speaker: This is big, everybody.
Speaker: This is a huge moment for me.
Speaker: This is me trying to tick up in the right direction.
Speaker: This is going to propel me to that next level.
Speaker: Also, this Wednesday, January 10th, McGubbies in Baltimore.
Speaker: That's my final performance before I tape the special.
Speaker: And that's my hometown.
Speaker: So I expect to sell really well there.
Speaker: And I'm excited to play this new club.
Speaker: One of my goals this year, play five new clubs.
Speaker: Well, that's one right there.
Speaker: I've never played in Connecticut.
Speaker: There's another state checked off my list.
Speaker: These are things that are adding to my soul.
Speaker: What are you going to do for yourself?
Speaker: It is a new year and you can decide which way you want to go.
Speaker: Tick up or tick down.
Speaker: One way you will ascend.
Speaker: The other way you're eventually going to crash.
Speaker: So make that choice, everybody.
Speaker: Gosh, I'm so happy to be here with you.
Speaker: Thanks for listening.
Speaker: I love you.
