“This last year just seems to have gone by so fast. It’s almost as if the last few years just all merged together.”
We’ve all thought it. We’ve all said it.
For the last few years, it’s been a NYE tradition for my wife and one of our close friends to write a letter to our future self. We seal up the letter and 365 days later, open it up on the following New Years Eve to read what our former self had to say.
It’s become one of my favorite annual traditions. I love getting a brief glimpse into the mind of who I was a year ago. The goals that I had for myself, the things that were causing me stress, the events that I was looking forward to - it’s a flashbulb moment that shows me just how long and how short one year can be.
2022 was a challenging year for many and I certainly had my own struggles. But it was also encouraging to see just how far I’ve actually come. Sitting down with the 2021 version of my self made me reflect on several things:
The issues that are causing me stress now almost never matter in the long run - work projects, minor annoyances, the seemingly unmovable boulders in life always find a way to get whittled down into memories…and in many cases, irrelevant memories faded over time.
The purposeful memories and moments stay with you - Some of my favorite days of 2022 are still vividly clear in my mind. I remember how those moments made me feel, who I was with, and they’re a great momento of times past.
Many of the goals that I had for myself remain in 2023 - While at its face this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, looking at the progress that I made in certain areas over 2022 tell me that I didn’t focus my time and energy on all the right things. By quantifying and setting measurable goals for myself, this will allow for me to better track progress throughout the next 12 months.
I’m taking extended time this year to think through and draft my 2023 goals, but wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on a personal 2022 scorecard.
Health:
Grade: D
I did meet my goal of being more active. Healing from my Achilles injury was a big part of that along with my dog Barry’s willingness to walk further distances/explore unknown areas (he was a really nervous puppy).
That said, I didn’t commit to eating healthier, regularly following an exercise regimen, meditating more often, and getting in better shape. I probably regressed in those areas if anything so a big fail on my part.
Leisure:
Grade: A
We ended up taking two international vacations this year (Mexico, London) and also fit in a few weekend getaways. We also managed to take both sets of in-laws with us on vacation where we all actually had fun and enjoyed each other’s company. A big W.
I had set a stretch goal to take a wine class in 2022. While that didn’t happen, I did enjoy a lot of great wines (responsibly) and learned a bit more about the craft in the process. Task successfully failed.
Our backyard is a bit of a mess (mostly thanks to Barry) but we cleaned up our den area and made it into a (WIP) cozy, reading nook
Sabbathing has become a big priority for us. We often find ourselves working on the weekend and running around doing errands so it’s important that we give ourselves at least a part of a day (if not a full day) to purposefully rest.
Marriage:
Grade: Pending Grace’s evaluation (I’ll give myself a solid C+/B- )
We didn’t fit in as many date nights as we should have but with Covid restrictions becoming less strict, it opened up when/where we could explore for these dates when we did go on them
I still don’t think I give Grace enough time for deep conversation but it’s something I’m working on. Definitely learning the importance of being present (ex. putting phone down, asking to speak at a different time if I’m currently thinking about or worried about something that’ll detract from the conversation, etc.)
We’ve taken big steps in becoming bigger advocates for one another and I definitely feel like our marriage has strengthened through the process
Finance:
Grade: C
We made a lot of positive changes to our financial behavior in Q4 that proved to be really effective for us, however this means Q1-Q3 weren’t as disciplined as they should have been which led to us not hitting our number goals across the board. That and the markets had a meltdown, but I suppose I can only grade what I could have controlled.
Positive behaviors: Move cash savings into a separate high yield savings account (Capital One), automate a portion of our paycheck into said account until we reach our goal number (emergency fund), schedule weekly budget meetings where we use old school pencil and notebook to balance our checkbook against our budget.
This may seem excessive but it’s helped us curb our spending and also build realistic figures for our budget on how much we spend in our categories throughout the year (ex. things like our gift budget increase towards EOY).
This may not necessarily be something we do forever, but at least in the interim, we intend to continue these habits in 2023.
Personal:
Grade: C
I picked up golf as a new hobby in 2022, which has been great. Never thought I could love and hate something so much at the same time. Still a horrible golfer but looking forward to going out to the green a lot more in 2023.
A big fail on my lifestyle cleanse, which I defined as, “owning less and only spending on things that provide lasting joy”. As evidenced by the SIX garbage bags of old clothing and shoes I purged/donated recently….yeah.
I didn’t do too much to expand my comfort zone in 2022. I don’t think I necessarily avoided challenging scenarios, but I certainly didn’t seek it out
I didn’t give myself a ton of space for deep thinking. When Covid first broke out in 2020, I spent a lot of time outside walking for hours because we literally couldn’t do anything else and that time gave me a lot of space to think about many different things. I was hoping to mimic that in 2022, but haven’t been able to recreate that magic so far.
I thought that I didn’t accomplish my goal of reading more in 2022, but I realized that I actually finished (and re-listened to) several audiobooks this last year. I’ll give myself credit for that. A few notable favorites:
Die with Zero - Bill Perkins
Can’t Hurt Me - David Goggins
A Very Punchable Face - Colin Jost
KG: A to Z - Kevin Garnett (lol random but I was clearly on an autobiography kick)
Faith:
Grade: D
My faith is super important to me, but looking back at 2022, it’s clear that it was not a priority for me. I’ve always found a direct correlation between my relationship with God and my overall sense of well-being, and that definitely lines up with how I generally felt the last year. (meh is probably the best way to put it)
Prayer and active reading of the Bible are two habits that I hope to introduce to my morning routine again
All in all, a pretty decent year despite the low grades. Looking forward to an interesting 2023. Thank you for sharing this journey with me.
Have a great week ahead.