BRAGGIN' RIGHTS!!
Following up a grandiose NYE post is a tough endeavor. That being said. I still have a lot of things on my mind, I have a microphone, and you will listen to every damn word I have to say!
Okay, that’s a lot, but let’s keep it going.
On actual New Year’s day, I thought a lot about the notion that it was too late to list off the things about the past year that meant a lot to me. I missed that boat on the 31st. The music, the successes, the failures, all of it. I rummaged through my brain for them, as much of what happens in my life seems to fall away into nothingness right after I do it. I take no time to say “good job”, or celebrate. Over time, a life of self imposed high expectations has yielded no grace. It turns into a life sucking “this is just what I expect to accomplish” mindset, that’s not too great on the soul and makes you question the validity of the things you are doing.
On NYE-Eve-Eve (12/29 if you’re confused), I texted my wife as I was walking my mom’s dog. I was telling her I was making a list of the things that I was proud of over the last year. My relationship with her and my kids was high on the list. Interestingly, none of the things that I spend the most time doing seemed to be in the top 5 or 10. This was both alarming and eye opening. Did I not like the things I do? Or was it simply an internal framing? Meaning, is there a way to adjust my approach. I landed on the latter. How we approach things mentally has a lot to do with our relationship and perception of those actions. Angst begets angst; positivity and lightness begets positivity and lightness. While it sounds a little nihilistic, nothing matters outside of how we say it does. Read that again.
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2023 is here, and will likely plummet forward just like the last few years. It feels like Coronageddon was just a couple weeks ago, but come mid-March we will be 2 years into it. Probably time to let all that go if you haven’t already. It’s time to move on. You’ve likely got a list of things you want to act on. I know I do. So here’s the foolproof way to not be at the end of 2023 or beginning of 2024 in the same space as you were way back in 2022.
1. KEEP THE THINGS YOU WANT IN SIGHT. DAILY. I think this is the biggest thing that trips us up. We start out a year with a bunch of goodness. We’ve had time off to reflect. To say this is the year. Then by the third Monday in January we are pretty much back to where we were mid November.
HOW TO: You have 5 mins each morning to stop and remind yourself. 5 mins. When you get up. Take it.
2. GET A PARTNER IN CRIME. I had a good time NYE. I got little sleep. I committed to meeting a friend for a bike ride. I begrudgingly drug myself out and rode and talked and got it done. Call it accountability or better yet, call it a need for human contact and support.
HOW TO: Think of 1-5 people you can enlist. Text or call them daily. I say 1-5 because 1 may not be enough.
3. DECIDE THAT THIS IS WHO YOU WANT TO BE. I think most times we think of a person we want to become and envision that as a cool idea, but we let that go as an unattainable ideal EVEN IF we can see ourselves as that person. I know I do.
HOW TO: This ones the hardest, and for me is a constant. You have to keep reminding yourself. Sometimes multiple times a day. Write that shit on post it notes and put em everywhere if you have to.
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I’ll wrap this up by doing what I didn’t do last week.
Here’s some things I am proud of from the last year. In no particular order.
1. Music-I had the joy of getting together with my friends from my college band and we recorded 6 songs that we wrote in 1993-1994 but never recorded. It was great to spend time with them, and the product turned out great. I am very proud of it. You can find it on SPOTIFY and all the other streaming platforms. Meantree-Chocolate.
Court Smith and I are getting the master tapes from my other 90’s band, RiTTNER, dumped to digital and remixed for a 2023 re-release and possible show.
I continued to write and practice with my new band with Cary Bonnecaze and Court Smith. We have almost an album of originals done and will be playing this spring. This is the best music I’ve written. That’s exciting.
I got to play 2 shows with my daughter Paige. This is extremely gratifying.
2. Family-I consider myself extremely lucky to have a supportive wife, Jeanne, who puts up with all of this. “All of this” means, me, mostly. While she doesn’t always agree, she still loves and supports me and for that I am grateful.
My son, Ian, after spending much of the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022 with a stress fracture, told me he wanted to run in college. I told him I would put together a program that I thought would get him there. From February until today, he bought in 100%. With Jeanne, he researched colleges that fit his abilities, but that would stretch him. They found options that we could afford, and he has kept a 4.0 in school, earning scholarships that make his options doable. After XC season he was offered a spot on Roanoke College’s team. This is my greatest coaching achievement in over 10 years of coaching.
My daughter continues to flourish at Southern Mississippi getting great grades, but bigger still, pursuing and earning leadership roles. As mentioned above, she and I get to play music together and this brings me incredible joy and pride. It’s incredible to share this passion together. I am incredibly proud of the young woman she has become.
3. Fitness- This fall I did my 9th Ironman. This race I fell apart in the last 5 miles of the run, but running the first 21 miles as well as I did re-opened my eyes to what I am capable of. I always believe that I can still race my fastest even as I age. Whether this is naiveté or what, I still believe it and I almost pulled it off. I don’t know that I’ll have the time to commit to a full Ironman this year, but I am excited about the prospect.
4. Business- FRESHJUNKIE Racing continues to thrive thanks to a growing team of people. It was a very busy fall and was especially challenging for me, but with objectivity, I can’t say it was anything but a success. Another big year is coming.
What are you proud of from this past year!?!?
#hugsandhi5s
