2023 Will Be Your BEST YEAR EVER If You Do This ONE THING...
Aaron Doughty argues that 2023 becomes transformative when you stop telling yourself limiting stories and align with your authentic passions. He describes how dopamine stacking—multitasking with phone, food, and music—lowers your baseline dopamine and kills focus, while a dopamine detox using slower sources like whole foods and focused work raises it. Starting now, not later, puts you on a new timeline.
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2023, I believe, can potentially be the most powerful year of your life if you do what I share with you in this video. And it's simply about understanding that the things that have been holding you back up until this point, it's been a story, it's been an identity that you've been tied to that's been keeping you the same. Now, For myself, this is something that I've realized to be true. Even being here on YouTube, for example, there is an identity and a belief system and a story that says, I must make so many videos a week in order to stay relevant. I must continue to remain as this YouTuber in order for me to continue to create the safety and the abundance in my life. And there's a tie there. That's what's been, I've been attached to and been in a way afraid to let go of putting a majority of my energy into, even though I feel that there's something that's the next step for me. There's something that's the next level of my own evolution. Because to be honest with you, I can't ever make a no contact rule video again. Like if you ever see me make on YouTube, 3 ways no contact is gonna get them to want you again or some shit, Call me out, all right? Because that was a lot of the videos I've made this last year. I realize even though there is like an underlying intention to help people, there's also the underlying intention to stay relevant on YouTube, which has me making videos that I'm not passionate about. And it's an outdated belief system and it's an outdated also attachment that I have where I'm realizing now I can do less and only make content I'm passionate about and kind of rewrite the rules for myself? What if in our life, what we believe to be true and what we buy into ends up being the reality potentials we experience? So part of it is I believe that I must stay relevant, I must feed the algorithm, I must like put out the same videos that people found me on my channel for, and therefore, What I'm doing is I'm just perpetuating that belief and it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. But what if in 2023, the name of the game was to own who you are, was to own your own uniqueness and to do what is truly passionate for you? And for myself, that's what I'm committing to. I'm committing to this new version of me where also I know that what I'm more passionate about is doing live events, doing retreats, something I've been talking about for years and I've done it. I did it in 2022, but in 2023, I really wanna commit to this new version of me. I really wanna commit to this identity and this way of being and knowing that it's who I prefer to be in the passion sense. One thing I've always believed to be true is that people feel what you feel. So if I'm making videos on, you know, 3 signs no contact is gonna attract love or whatever, how to get your ex back, even though by the way, when I make those videos and I say that, in none of those videos do I really tell you, oh, here's how to use no contact to get somebody back. Here's how to get your ex back. I tell you to let go, but you click and then you click on what you think you want, but then you get what you need, right? But the titles themselves are like, I can't make videos like that anymore because it's not really me. It's not really what I'm passionate about. Back in the day, I made videos on attracting love. It got a lot of views and attention. It grew my channel a lot. And I was like, ooh, I got rewarded with the dopamine and the growth of people paying more attention. And now I'm realizing though, it's not authentic anymore. It was authentic in the time because that was my focus. I was learning about that. I was reading attachment style books and stuff like that. The old story and the belief of me trying to create safety through that thing is like I'm realizing that that's not actually expressive of who I prefer to be. All right, so in 2023, I believe that the name of the game is owning who you are and paying attention to how you feel and only doing what you're passionate about. Now as well, one thing that I've noticed for a lot of people is there's an awakening happening on the planet. I believe there's an awakening happening. More and more people are waking up every day to who they are. And there's more than a time than, now more than ever, it's important for people that feel called to express their spiritual gifts or their spiritual passions to begin to put themselves out there if they feel called. And this thing that holds most people back is a combination of a few things. It's perfectionism, it's self-sabotage, it's not feeling worthy enough, it's not feeling credible enough, it's not wanting to be a burden to the world, not wanting your friends or family to leave, being afraid to shine. These are all self-preservation mechanisms that keep you in similar childhood dynamics of when you were a kid. When you're a kid and you shined, your siblings may have got jealous, or you may have felt guilty, or you may have got in trouble. When you were a kid, maybe you felt like, you know, maybe you were told you were meant to be seen and not heard or some shit like that, and you started holding yourself back. Maybe when you were a kid, you did something, it wasn't good enough, and you made a choice in that moment that I will be good enough, and the way I'll be good enough is by being perfect, But the thing is, is perfection and perfect is this intellectual idea that doesn't actually exist. And it's keeping you from actually putting out yourself now. Perfectionism will keep you where you are. That's all it is. Perfectionism keeps you feeling not good enough. And if I were to ask you, if you're a perfectionist, how would you know something you do is good enough? Like, how would you know? Is there even this ideal, like, that is also assuming that everything is static and there is some ideal outcome. But the truth is there is no ideal outcome. This is a process. When I started making videos, if I had to make the perfect video, when I first started making videos, I would've either given up or I would've never actually done it, it wouldn't have been good enough and I would've been like, oh, this isn't good enough and I would've stopped. But every video I made, I got better and better. So remember this for 2023, progress over perfection, progress over perfection. Everything you do, you get a little bit better at. There is no failure. People that are perfectionists are normally afraid of failure. There is no failure, there is only feedback. The guy that invented the light bulb, Edison, took him 1,000 times. He failed. From some people's perspective, he failed 1,000 times. He said, this is not failure. This is 1,000 ways on how not to build a light bulb. It was 1,000 levels of feedback. And when I started making videos on YouTube, I made a video on purpose, I made a video on habits, I made a video on karma, I made some weird videos. And then eventually I made a video that started to like really help people and I was passionate about making. And then I made another video like that. And then I found out what else am I passionate about? How can I push the limits? Then I made a video on parallel reality shifting, which there wasn't a lot of videos on YouTube back in 2017 on parallel reality shifting. It was kind of weird. I had the courage to do it. I did it. That video got like 200,000 views. I made other videos on techniques to use before you go to bed at night. Like before you sleep to reprogram your mind. Like I made videos on these different concepts and videos started to pop and then that started the growth to where then I was able to quit my 9 to 5 job. But the thing is, and the thing you need to know for 2023 is to simply start. Stop waiting, start. That's it. The moment you start it, the moment you are it. The moment you start it, the moment you put yourself on a new timeline. Literally the actions you make and the choices you make about who you are are putting you on a certain timeline. And what happens is the moment you make a new choice about who you are, the moment you put yourself on a new timeline and the moment that begins. But if you do it and you're like, okay, well I'm only doing it until this outer reality begins to change, then guess what? You're doing it to get something. You're not doing it 'cause it's who you are. Eventually when I was making videos, I was making videos because it's who I prefer to be. It's part of my identity. Not because, ooh, if I make, you know, if I make a certain number of videos, then I can go full-time. That was a side effect, and there was a desire to get outta my 9-to-5 job, but I was doing it because this is who I prefer to be. When you do something to get somewhere else, you're not present in the moment. I was recently in Los Angeles for 4 or 5 days. I just got back yesterday. Tattoos. I got like 5 hours of tattoo time 'cause it's my birthday month. Every birthday what I do, every November what I do, my birthday is this year on Thanksgiving, but what I do every year is I, since last year I got a tattoo on my neck last year, this time I got 3 tattoos. Next year in November, I will also get 2 or 3 more tattoos. And I'm just gonna keep doing that. And the tattoos I'm getting are what I'm learning for the year. So one tattoo says ceremony. And there's a rose, and rose to me represents like unconditional love, divinity, boundaries, because it has thorns and the thorns lead to, you know, this, the boundaries. You gotta accept the thorns as a part of the beauty. And ceremony just reminds me of one, of plant medicine ceremony, which we do like 3 times a year in Costa Rica, which I absolutely love. So it reminds me of that, but also life is a ceremony. We say that sometimes, like sometimes what happens is people come to the plant medicine retreats and they think, oh, this is the ceremony, but really it's like a school. It's like a classroom to learn how to be and to learn how to like release and heal. And then when you go into life, that's the ceremony. So it's to remind me that life's a ceremony. The other one, there's a butterfly. Butterfly represents transformation, obviously. I knew it was kind of like a feminine image to get, but I just love the trans— like it's the most transformative thing is like the caterpillar to the butterfly. And then I have a quote from Rumi. It says, "Let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me." It's a quote that is about forgiveness and the impermanence of life and appreciating what you have now. But I went there to get these tattoos and there's two little things I share with you. One of them was on my way to get my tattoo, there was an Uber driver that was, blew me away. This Uber driver was a lady that was just, had such positive energy and she just loved being an Uber driver. She was like, she was telling me, she was like an amazing conversationalist. And you felt, I could tell she was an amazing salesperson. Like she would be an amazing salesperson. She told me a story that like some guy at a furniture store that owned a furniture store invited her, said, hey, if you come work for me, "you will make 7 figures a year," which 7 figures is $1 million a year. "You will make $1 million a year if you come work for me," because she is that magnetic of a personality and she was that good of a salesperson. She was like a 40, probably a 50-something-year-old mom and she had 3 kids that like, her kids were like 20 or 30. She was probably 50-something years old, but she was just so magnetic and her energy was just so contagious. And she was offered that job "and she's like, 'Why would I do that?'" She said that to the guy. She's like, "I grew up in business. I grew up helping my parents run their business, and I'm not doing it for the money. I'm doing it because I just like to—" She just loved being an Uber driver. And she was so present. One of the things that she shared with me, she's like, "I just believe Uber is an amazing thing." I'd be a salesperson or like a spokesperson for Uber itself, but like Uber, the ability to drive. And my car, she had this blue car and she was like, this blue represents, it's the color that represents like the light sky blue all the way to the darkest. It's like she explained the science of blue and how powerful and the different meanings of the different shades of blue and how her car is blue and how she wants to like just enlighten people's day and she wants to help people feel better. And she had this like energy about driving people and like the energy she puts into her car for the people that come in and just her attitude was just so positive and it was so inspiring because I could tell she wasn't in it for the money. She was in it just 'cause she loved it. She was really, and that's why she was getting job offers and stuff like that because she was so magnetically present to the moment. She was in like her own flow and she was like inspired. She was inspiring me. And I was thinking to myself, man, this person is an amazing sales, this person would crush it in sales, but she doesn't care about the money. She literally is just doing it 'cause she loves doing it. She wants to brighten people's day and that's just who she is. So what I'm saying about this though is when you're doing something 'cause it's an end of itself, it is magnetic. Now let me also share Constantine, that Constantine is my tattoo artist. 9 months, 8 to 9 months booked out. And he's a phenomenal tattoo artist. He has his own studio in LA. I flew in for it. It's like a real intimate experience. It's just me and him and just, we're just, you know, going through the process of the tattoos and figuring everything out. But he is a very interesting guy. He is a pilot. He's like a helicopter pilot and a flight pilot. He loves flying. Not because, by the way, I was like, I would learn how to fly because it would help me get where I wanna go without having to fly. Like I could have one day buy a plane or something and then fly because I hate getting on, I hate the flying process. Maybe that's a story I tell myself, but like when I go to the airport an hour early, I get on the plane and then sometimes it's delayed and all this BS, then I fly somewhere. It's like, I just don't necessarily enjoy that process. So I was like, oh, I could get a plane and learn to fly so I could go somewhere else. and I could do it and just do it on my own terms. And I've literally been thinking of going to like a pilot school and just doing it as a hobby. But interesting, this guy, Constantine, is an amazing tattoo artist, very, very good at what he does. And he also just does what he loves. He tattoos a few days a week, he flies a few days a week, he travels when he feels like it. He's an artist, like he paint, he is like, artistic, you know, he's also like a sketch artist and all this other stuff. He's got art all around his studio. And he's just absolutely a master at what he does. But one thing we were talking about is just doing things, like really following that passion and that flow state. It was funny, like what he would do is he'd get into his flow state before the tattoos. One of the things that means is he would go up to the roof of this like nice building that he has in his office. He'd go up to the roof and he would smoke a cigarette and he'd come back down. Then he's in a flow state and he'd put on music. And then him and I would talk at certain points, but sometimes we weren't able to talk because like the detail of some of these tattoos with the text that he does is it's so precise that he like, it's like, okay, he's like, I'm gonna go into my zone now. He gets into his zone, present to the moment. It's like a meditation for him. He just loves it. And he's a master at it. And he was telling me there's so many other tattoo artists that they're tattoo artists because of the money it brings. That the tattoo artist, because of the woman and the notoriety and the significance that comes with it, because this guy, he tattoos beautiful women all the time in LA. You see his posts and stuff, and that's what he does. His aesthetic of his tattoos are so amazing. And I could see how some people would look at what he does. It's like, oh, I wanna do it because of the woman that it brings in or 'cause of the money and all of this stuff. It was impressive how high integrity this guy had. One, he had a girlfriend, so he's like, doesn't dabble in that anyways, but just so he's like, I never would because of my integrity. He's like, this is just who, like, I could just tell he lives to a certain integrity and it's all about the art. He's like, it's about the customer. It's about the customer's transformation, which I found interesting as well. Like, he literally believes he's transforming people's lives and he is. Getting a tattoo is a very transformative experience. Even just me getting these words tattooed, like ceremony, like this quote is gonna help me remember like life is temporary and appreciate it with what, appreciate the people in your life. The rose and just what that represents to me and the boundaries and the divine, the divinity and the ceremony, making life a ceremony. Like even just the self-image of like having tattoos now, I'm like, I want more. but I could just tell that it's changed my sense of self-image. And he is like, I help people transform and like pretty much wire in new versions of themselves through tattoo. And it's such a higher purpose that flows through him. And in the same way, that Uber lady, same thing. I transform people by driving them to where they need to go and giving them a positive experience. Wherever you are, You can help people transform just by being you. When I used to sell women's shoes, it wasn't just, I'm going to make money and I'm going to sell shoes and that's gonna help me make more money. It was more so, I'm going to enlighten people's day. I'm gonna help them feel more alive. I'm gonna help them feel more confident. I'm going to connect with people. I'm gonna let people know they're not alone. Like I would focus on connecting with other people and so much more magic would happen than focusing on just the money, on focusing on just the outcome of things. So in 2023, what I believe one of the themes is, is for you to follow your passions because it's who you are, it's your identity, it's a new part of you. And that passion, because how you feel is what other people feel, by you being in that passion frequency, because it's who you choose to be, you will be more magnetic. You will attract more magic into your life. So understand that for this process of your transformation right now, there's one choice you can make of something you can commit to that if you start will completely transform your life. But you have to start and you have to stop telling yourself the old story, the perfectionist, self-sabotage, you're not ready enough. There's never a time that you're gonna feel ready. There's never a time that you're gonna go, okay, I'm finally ready for this. I have it all figured out. I've watched enough YouTube videos. I've done enough self-work. I figured it out. It's time to start now. Like me on YouTube and doing what I do, I share vulnerably what I go through as I go through it. And that I believe helps people. But if I was like, I have to wait to make the video until I figure it all out, I don't think it'd connect with as many people. I think the vulnerability is the power. And remember, to help people, to be you, like especially even do what I do, I only have to be a step or two up the mountain. I don't have to be at the top of the mountain as a guru who's figured it all out. Just two steps ahead, and then I can help guide people up the mountain with me. Same for you. There's probably something that you've accomplished in your life. Maybe you overcame some type of drug addiction. Or alcohol, or you stopped smoking cigarettes, or you helped, you learned how to set boundaries with people, or you went through a spiritual awakening and you went through a phase where you're really ungrounded and now you're not. You know, there's different parts of your journey that you've probably, if you're being honest with yourself, you're a badass. There are things you've done that other people haven't done that they'd probably wanna do. And you just expressing yourself out in the world will land with the right people. Doesn't have to land with everyone, but it will land with the right people. But you have to put yourself out there. You have to start. You have to start. You have to start. Stop waiting. Stop telling yourself the old story. For 2 years on YouTube in 2015, I knew I wanted to be on YouTube, but I wasn't doing it because I wasn't ready. I didn't learn enough video. I didn't watch enough videos yet. I didn't have the right camera. I didn't know how to edit. I started. And that's what put me on a new timeline. And I started it 'cause it's who I prefer to be. Now, start. 2023, start it. The moment you start it, the moment you are it, the more you commit to that reality, the more your life will shift. Now, something else I wanna talk about is dopamine. Dopamine detox. So 2, 3 weeks ago, I went through a whole phase before I went to Costa Rica where I just completely, was on one side where I'm like, I'm in apps all day, I'm in Instagram, I'm like literally probably 7 hours a day I was on my phone. It's like a full-time job. I used to work 7 hours a day selling women's shoes, 7 hours a day I'm on my fricking phone. And I was just realizing how much that was eroding my own mind and how I was thinking differently and the anxiety that was coming from it. And just how, like how much I was dope, called dopamine stacking, when you stack different dopamines together. Like one example would be like, okay, when I eat, every time I'd eat food, I'd have to be watching a YouTube video. Dopamine with the food, dopamine with the video. What happened to just eating like at this table? Just eat. And then I enjoy the food more. And there's not that quick fix of dopamine stacking. Another form of dopamine stacking is going to the gym, listening to like crazy music and working out. And drinking like a pre-workout drink. All 3, that's 3 levels of dopamine. What I'm learning, what I've learned is like I can hold, I can pilot, 'cause what happens is you get quick fixes of dopamine and then you always want more quick fixes of dopamine. Now the key to dopamine detox is not to just cut everything out because dopamine's not bad, but it's to use your dopamine more in a more efficient manner. And what I mean by that is use dopamine to have the long-winded effect instead of the short-term effect. What I mean is going to the gym and just working out, you do feel dopamine, but over time you start to see yourself differently. If you focus a little bit on your business every day, if something you're passionate about, over time it might slowly begin to build. But that's like a slower form of dopamine that's being released where it takes a little bit longer to get the reward. But guess what? It keeps you, it raises by decreasing the short-term dopamine stacking, you then increase your long, what's called your dopamine base level. Most people have a very low dopamine base level because they're always releasing dopamine through their phone, through porn, through all these different things, through sugary foods and all that. What you wanna do is you've desensitized yourself. You want to resensitize yourself towards things that are more grounded and whole. What I mean by that is like whole foods. You can learn to really enjoy a piece of fruit or meat and vegetables or something like that. You can, instead of really sugary processed foods. And by doing that, you actually end up enjoying life more. So what I've learned is focusing more on the vision of what I wanna create, not like, I just not, I haven't really been on my phone much today. Normally I'd be on my phone already for like an hour. I haven't done that. And instead I'm like, I feel dopamine while I'm making this video because I'm passionate about it. And you probably received dopamine by watching the video. If there's something you're learning or if you're like, you know, paying attention or you've watched it for 20-something minutes, you know? Where you put your attention is where you put your energy. And if your attention's going towards your phone, comparing yourself to other people, if it's going towards all these other things that give you quick fixes of dopamine, it's taking away the focus, which is dopamine, which is like putting you in a certain direction towards your vision, towards what you wanna create in the world, towards the long-term effect of keeping you towards that vision. So one thing I would recommend is becoming aware of where, what short forms of dopamine you're releasing and start focusing on your larger vision. Start focusing on eating healthier food. Start focusing on putting your energy towards what you want and starting it and being it and expressing this new version of you. 2023 could be the most powerful year of your life if you do exactly what I'm sharing with you in this video and you commit to a new version of you and you simply decide to be it. Now, if you haven't checked out yet and you haven't gotten the meditation, I recently redid the What's My Vibration quiz. So if you go to www.whatsmyvibration.com, you can calibrate your vibration and get a meditation for helping you get to the next level of consciousness. This will help you to also release the past and to move into a new version of you. And also, if you haven't checked out this video yet, I made this video for 2023, it's the 2022 actually, but it's 6 steps to completely transforming your life and having an identity shift. One of the most powerful videos I've ever made. Check it out right here. This episode, I'm gonna show you the 6 steps that you can use to completely transform your life in 2022. I'm sure you've noticed 2021 has been a massive year of shadow work, a massive year of letting go. And the challenge is that if we remain
