Looking back on 2022.
I’ve kind of been putting this off — which is unlike me.
I think though, it’s because I was hoping I’d have something more concrete figured out by the end of 2022 and I don’t feel like I do. A lot of good things happened this year, but I still feel like I’m not fully on the path I want to be on.
Something I’ve been thinking about this year is the tension between wanting to be on one path and the reality of being on another. The hard part I think is when the two paths look quite similar from the outside. Objectively, I should be happy with where I’m at because I get to do things closely related to what I want. But I’m not. And, I think it makes it worse.
Because the life I want to be living is so close to what I’m currently doing it’s tough to figure out why I can’t make the transition and fully commit to the path I want to be on. It’s so close yet I seemingly can’t figure out how to make it real. The truth is, I know I’m the one getting in my own way and to make any progress I have to overcome whatever mental block I’m fighting against.
Also, this point is all about work. Everything else has been mostly great this year and I think it’s because I was intentional about what I was going to do and then I went and did it.
Format.
I’m using the same framework I set up last year. I did this so I could revisit it each year and compare what I thought I’d do to what actually happened.
The five categories are: Health, Relationships, Work, Wealth, and Experiences.
While I can easily fit most everything into these categories, if something doesn’t I’ll put it in whatever one makes the most sense.
Then, again like last year, I have a Stop, Start, Continue section quickly covering what’s been good in 2022 and what I want to change heading into 2023.
Next year I should print these out along with my 2023 goals so they’re more present and I can make sure I’m doing the things I said I wanted to. This year I opened my 2022 goals article a couple of times but only when I’d forgotten what I wrote down. I’ll be better off in 2023 if I’m reviewing my goals most consistently.
Life.
Overall, I improved in some areas while I mostly stayed the same in others.
Health.
I started the year off strong with an eight week kettlebell program. I’d never really used kettlebells but I was intrigued by the functional nature of them and figured it would be a good tool to get fit in the way I want to be.
My goal last year was to gain 15 pounds of muscle. Which I did not do. But I did get leaner in the first half of the year as well as got stronger.
The problem, though, is I wasn’t consistent enough. The kettlebell program took a lot of time per day and once it was over I stopped allocating so much time to it. That said, I didn’t stop working out entirely and I was pretty consistent with a mix of cardio and strength training the rest of the year.
Not being consistent with a training style or upping my intensity appropriately meant I’m ending the year pretty much where I started. I’m probably a bit better than I was but not materially like I’d hoped.
I also didn’t prioritize stretching at all like I wanted and that may be one of the reasons I didn’t see the gains I wanted to.
Relationships.
Relationships are everything and I’m more grateful for them this year than I’ve ever been. It’s probably because of the stage of life I’m in but I think having a solid group of people I can rely on and who can rely on me will mean more to me than trying to fit into a group I don't belong to.
Fiancé.
My girlfriend and I got engaged on November 11, 2022 — 11.11.22.
While I always knew she was the one, I’d been seriously thinking about proposing for 10 months or so and started planning for it around June. With so many variables I had to account for I’m glad how easily everything came together and the day was as special as it should be.
While we’ve been bringing our lives together over the past few years I’m most excited for this next stage of commitment and building the life we want together.
Family.
I can’t quantify it but one of my goals for this year was to spend more meaningful time together with my family and I feel like I’ve done that. And while I’ve done a lot with my fiancé’s family prior to getting engaged, I also feel like I’ve become closer with them.
Friends.
This year I didn’t expand my friend group like I thought I would but I feel it’s stronger than it’s been before. I think this is because I let go of some friends where the relationship was no longer there, I didn’t try and force anything with people I tangentially knew, and I deepened the relationship I have with some people.
Something I’ve been thinking about with this is the nature and seasons of life. There will be times when I and other people fit in with each other and other times when we fall out of touch. This isn’t good or bad, it’s just the way things go and we should be happy with the time we had and be welcoming if we come back into each other’s orbits at a later time. I think mostly both sides have to be invested in the relationship and if one isn’t then it’s ok to let it fade. It’s not worth forcing anything that doesn’t feel natural.
Work.
This year again proved something to me I’ve known for a long time.
I don’t control my life if I’m an employee.
Employer.
This year I wanted to be promoted but given the economy, pullback from clients, and internal restructuring the company significantly paused providing any progression opportunities. Now, I understand a macro economic slow down can affect such things and if I was doing something else I’d feel it too, but it’s a different game if I were in control of my opportunities versus waiting for a company to say I’m worthy. This is especially true when I’m not confident my boss has the ability to advocate for me within the system to help provide opportunities to me.
Something I’ve been told before and again the other day is, if there’s not someone ahead of me who I want to learn from and emulate, and if I don’t see a path forward then I’m in the wrong place and need to change my circumstance so I can have those growth opportunities.
And, while I’m not getting these things with my employer, that’s why I have things like Liip and the other projects I’ve started.
Liip.
This was our first full year with Liip and the first time getting into retail. While we were exclusively online in 2021 and did well, starting to sell wholesale in 2022 changed everything. Lip balm is clearly an impulse type purchase and being able to work with buyers who can help us merchandise the product at their point of sale puts us right where we need to be.
This year we found success working with specialty grocery stores. While initially we thought we wanted to go to more boutique outdoor stores, what we missed with that was the idea of foot traffic and the frequency people return to them. People may go to a boutique a couple of times a year whereas they’re going to the grocery store once a week at least.
What helped most was leveraging our connections so we were getting in touch with the right people at each of these stores. Then, once we were in a few we were able to use them as credibility to reach out to more. We also decided to focus on Michigan instead of the whole country. We figure if we can capture this market then it will be natural to expand beyond. And, given it’s just the two of us right now, Michigan is something we can handle as that’s where we live.
Projects.
One of my goals for this year was to write more. I said I wanted to have 20 articles published on this site as well as articles on Liip. I accomplished those but after I reached the targets I set I mostly stopped. The thing is, I like writing, but it’s not easy for me. I don’t get energized by it. I wish I did, because I love the outcome but it’s hard to get motivated when there are other things I’m naturally better at.
Something I did to end the year was to create 30 Instagram Reels in 30 Days. I did this because I’ve always loved creating videos and photos but I haven’t been doing it much at all the last couple of years. I loved it and I’m going to keep doing it. So when I say I want to create content, maybe video and photo is what I need to be my primary focus and then writing is something that supports it. To me it’s all kind of the same things, it’s just picking whatever medium I’m most passionate about and likely to keep creating with.
Wealth.
With the market down this year I don’t know that I reached any of my dollar amount goals.
But that said, I simplified my investing strategy and have been dollar cost averaging all year long, so eventually when the market rebounds I should be in a good position having lowered my cost basis.
I also didn’t reach my goal of making an extra $100 a day from other projects. Liip got close but all of that money stays in the business so it really doesn’t mean anything for me personally right now. The reason I didn’t achieve this was because I was still searching for the thing that would make it possible to do. I kept trying different things instead of committing to one and seeing what I could do with it.
Increasing my wealth is going to be one of my primary goals for 2023.
Experiences.
We didn’t fly much this year other than one trip to Florida and another to Colorado. But because we weren’t gone a lot we were able to spend a lot of time in northern Michigan. This is something we missed out on during the pandemic and fully took advantage of again this year.
Traveling is fun but my feelings toward it and my expectations have definitely changed though I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for just yet.
Stop, start, continue.
Things I want to stop doing, start doing, and what I want to continue doing in 2023.
Stop.
What am I doing now that I no longer want to do?
Health - Stop over indulging on sweets
Relationships - Expecting new connections to come to me
Work - Jumping from one idea to another
Wealth - Not allowing myself to enjoy experiences because I don’t think I have enough money
Experiences - Saying yes to things I don’t want to do
Start.
What am I not doing that I want to start doing?
Health - Getting body scans
Relationships - Being an initiator of plans
Work - Commit to a select few projects with one underlying theme
Wealth - Generating more short term income
Experiences - Having more micro experiences
Continue.
What am I doing now that I want to keep doing?
Health - Consistently workout
Relationships - Making time for meaningful interactions
Work - Challenging myself to become a creator
Wealth - Investing aggressively
Experiences - Exploring what travel and experiences means to me
Alright, that’s it.
And like I said, I need to print this out and revisit it more often throughout next year so I can keep myself accountable and adjust depending on whatever happens.
If you’ve read all of this let me know on Twitter, @wesjonesco, I’d love to know what you thought and what kept you reading.
