I turned 53 last week.
I am not a big birthday person in general, but it’s always nice to take a moment to reflect back on the year that was and the year to come… so I did and thought I would share a few things that came up for me.
In no particular order…
I already knew this but in reflecting back on this year I have noticed again that complexity has a habit of sneaking up on me when I am not paying attention. I have an incredibly hard time saying no to things, and often find myself overcommitted and under-resourced. One of my goals for this coming year is to simplify where I can. I think I say that every year so we’ll see…but this is the first time putting it in writing and sharing it with others so I am cautiously optimistic!
I also took a really hard look in the mirror and came to grips with the fact that I am mostly dissatisfied, and maybe even unhappy. I have a daily gratitude practice that I stick to pretty religiously, but for some reason it is not moving the needle on joy and gratitude for me. It’s odd. But a good thing to notice, think about, and work on for the coming year. Maybe I need to change it up. I recently switched from every morning to every morning and every evening… again we’ll see.
On a good note I am healthier this year than last. I completely cut out alcohol in February and cut my sugar by about 80% (it was 100% for a while, damn ice cream!). I was committed to those goals when I turned 50 but better late than never!! I am looking forward to getting back to 100% sugar free this year, and upping my fitness and movement game.
I also reflected on being a dad this past year. I will never, ever celebrate success there because as soon as you do, something will change for sure and you are back to square one. Parenting is freaking hard! But I am super proud of my kids and the young adults that are emerging, and feel good about how I show up as their dad at least 75% of the time, with the goal to always be better.
I guess the real measure of success in a year is how many people you helped, or positively impacted, and this year I feel like I came up short on this one. I went through a lot of personal change, and growth, and family stuff, and feel like maybe I wasn’t a great resource externally… but the good news is I have 364 more days to be better. If you are reading this and agree with me, I guess know that I know and I am working hard to change for the better.
Those seem to be the main themes that came up for me as I took a few quiet moments to reflect on the past year. Thanks for indulging me (if you made it this far!!).
Cheers,
John
Founder of the align5 Companies, CEO of Scaling Up Coaches, and Serial Entrepreneur
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