This one is going to be different than the usual Monday Existential Espresso. I want to share something personal with you.
It's a list of everything I've accomplished in 2023. The purpose of sharing it is not to brag in any way. It's to encourage you to do the same.
Why would you want to make that list? Because if you are actually making an effort to grow as an individual and make your life better in any way, you spend most of the year looking in front of you. And it's not just that you don't look back to see how far you've come; it's that by doing so, you slowly lose the ability to appreciate those seemingly basic but in reality great and important accomplishments.
Without further ado, here is the list.
-Maintained a 1-year romantic relationship.
-Increased the frequency of phone calls with my friends while we were living in different time zones.
-Ran a half marathon and embraced running as a celebration of life rather than a cardio exercise.
-Managed to travel home for a couple of weeks and see my loved ones. Some of them for the first time after more than a year, some after 2 years.
-Made priceless memories with my nephews.
-Gained a higher level of clarity about how I can provide value and make a positive impact.
-Managed to digest and process the majority of the struggles I overcame in 2022 and turn them into lessons. (Yes, it sometimes takes more than a year to do this.)
-Got Nenad, my brother and the sharpest mind I know, to write a couple of guest articles for Existential Espresso. (more coming in 2024)
-Got Andrija, also my brother and by far the most disciplined person I know, to join the Sisyphus Society as a coach.
-Realized where I definitely don't want to live.
-Found 5+ new musical artists that I enjoy listening to.
-Read a couple of books that ended up on my all-time favorites list.
-Continued breaking out of my hardcore introvert shell and allowed some new friends into my life.
-Fell in love with surfing (even though I managed to get only a handful of solid surf sessions).
-Managed to get Nenad and his wife a wedding gift they deserved and will hopefully always remember.
-Finally reached a point where the time I am spending writing online is not losing me money.
-Finished my book on consistency, The Art of Showing Up.
-Grew Sisyphus Society into a real community with engaged individuals that support each other.
There are more things on the list, but they are too private to be shared here. Anyway, this should be enough for you to notice something.
While there might be some things on the list that seem outside of your reach right now, most of the things here can be accomplished this year by every single one of you.
More importantly, most of you have already accomplished these or similar things without even recognizing them as accomplishments. That's the problem; by always looking forward and upward, we are losing the ability to recognize that improving communication with loved ones or learning from our struggles and mistakes should be considered accomplishments.
So now it's your turn to make the list. Remember: Something doesn't have to be impressive to others to be considered an accomplishment. It needs to matter to you and affect the quality of your life.
Let’s try to make every day of 2024 count.
Thank you for reading.
Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry for yourself.
Free Resources:
My free ebook: The Lost Art of Reading
Paid Resources:
The Art of Showing Up: A Clear and Practical Method for Mastering Consistency
The Gold Pill: Timeless Ideas for a Life Worth Living
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However, even taking the time out of your day to read what I have to share with you means more to me than you can imagine. Thank you.
I'm glad I took the time to read this, because I know myself how seldom I recognise my own progress or achievements - even when it's something I've been explicitly aiming at, let alone those subtler milestones that take real presence to see. Thank you for sharing, as always, and here's to 2024!
We did great in 2023. Let´s make it again in 2024. It´s the mission we have within ourselves!