Happy Holidays & 2023 Year in Review
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
This will be my last blog post of the year. Tiff and I just dropped Julian off with grandma in Houston and are leaving for our long-awaited trip to Japan where we’ll be visiting Tokyo and Kyoto. That is literally all I know! As usual, Tiffany planned the entire trip (thanks babe) and all I have to do is show up and don’t forget the passports.
From our family to yours, we wish everyone a happy and safe new year! See you all in 2024!
2023 in Review
The holidays are a valuable time to slow down, take stock on the year and look ahead to the coming year. What did you accomplish? How did you grow? Where do you want to be this time next year?
2023 was a year full of highs – our first full year with Julian, completing my first marathon, and the most unexpected, the impending arrival of Julian’s baby sister. But like every year, it also had its fair share of challenges and struggles. Whether they were at work, home, or in my own head (sometimes the biggest battle of all).
One of the toughest lessons this year taught me is that progress isn’t a straight line. True change takes time and you need to be patient with the process of growth.
Last June, I decided to get my life in order, to finally grow up (having a kid will do that to you). I committed to waking up earlier, working out every day, [mostly] stopped drinking and smoking, and a bunch of other lifestyle changes I never would have expected of myself.
At first the benefits were immediate. I had more energy, focus and purpose in all facets of my life. But over time, the improvements leveled off and the baseline reset. You fall back into the daily grind where identifiable progress becomes less frequent and more marginal. When that happens, it was easy to backslide into old habits.
That was much of 2023 for me. A constant battle of two steps forward, one step back. Sometimes even two or three steps back. You start every day with the intention of being a little better than yesterday. But for a lot of days, it felt like the answer was maybe? Sometimes it was just a straight up no. I had to learn to take the good days with the bad and not to let the bad days ruin the next one.
That’s the nature of growth. It’s never linear. You just have to make sure the momentum is carrying you in the right direction, be patient and trust the process.
As Confucius wisely put it “our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”
Don’t give up and keep on grinding.
One Theme for 2024 – Do Less, Better
2023 was definitely busy, both good and bad.
Good busy comes from purposefully dedicating time and energy to things that are meaningful to you. Good busy is fulfilling and make you more focused and energized. 2023 had a lot of good busy.
Bad busy is spending time without attention or purpose, doing things out of habit or reactively. 2023 had some of this as well.
Reflecting back on the year, I noticed much of my bad busy was self-inflicted. It wasn’t because of a fire drill at work outside my control, it was because I tried to do too much and in turn, couldn’t create the space needed to do those things well, the space needed to make sure my heart was in them. When that happens, everything just becomes another thing to check off the to-do list without meaning or purpose.
Marcus Aurelius once said “If you seek tranquility, do less. Or do what’s essential. Do less, better.”
That doesn’t mean doing nothing or even to be less busy. It means being more purposeful and intentional with how I spend my time. It means saying no to the inessentials and refocusing on the most important things. It means creating space so I can do those most important things better.
Here’s to doing less, better in 2024!