Annual Review 2024: The Good, the Bad, the Constant, the Change

Looking back and looking forward. 🎬

A field in Germany. Just a cool vibe. 📷

Previously in this series:

• 2024 Annual Review

• Turning Dreams Into Plans

• How Do You Want to Feel?

• Watching Through the Window

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Alright, I did it! The 2024 Annual Review is complete.

For years I’ve tried to share my lessons learned and personal goals for anyone who’s interested. I was a bit sad for parts of this year’s process, as noted, but I also kept looking forward—because sometimes that’s how it goes.

Remember, you can do this in your own way! That’s the whole point of a a Review.

Looking Back on 2024

A few things that went well:

• Finished writing Time Anxiety and it's actually pretty good! Honestly, it feels like the book I’ve wanted to write for several years, and I can’t wait to share it with readers

• Designed, announced, and began selling tickets to a new event focused on neurodivergence of all kinds. This is also something I’ve wanted to do ever since ending WDS in 2022, so I’m happy to have it underway

• Started a new writing project (this newsletter, A Year of Mental Health) and wrote consistently all year

• Ran the Ventura Marathon and set a PR (3:17), even qualifying for Boston, a lifelong running goal that previously felt out-of-reach

• Finally made some real progress with making and sharing consistent videos and other social content (it’s been a process, but I’m sooo happy to be doing this more)

• Completed another 365 episodes of Side Hustle School (currently at 2,700+ consecutive episodes) and made a deal to move to a new network in January

• Was in good health for most of the year, aside from a few relatively minor problems

• Stayed in New York City for two weeklong visits. Living part-time in NYC is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, so this was a good start

• Generally felt creative, prioritized good work, and did not feel in despair much of the year 🎖️

• Lessons of attachment and inner child have been helpful in processing some end-of-year things

• Fired my dentist's office (walked out, never returned) after they were rude to me [side note: never hesitate in these situations! great decision, would recommend.]

  

A few things that did not go well:

• Well, the election results did not go well, at least for a lot of us. :( I really didn’t see it coming! In fact, I made the mistake of texting two friends the day beforehand, telling them, “Don’t worry, it will be okay.” Oops.

• More personally: on Thanksgiving I lost a dear friend, Adam Valen Levinson, following an extended battle with severe depression. I am grateful that we had time together this year and I tried to be a good friend during the last six months of his life. (There’s a lot to say about that situation, so I’ll save it for a more detailed post after the holidays.)

• Growth for the new Substack newsletter was okay, and the beta launch for the Doing Things course that I published in September was okay. Both of these things could have been better, but I continue to find myself coming up against self-imposed limitations and plateaus that I struggle to overcome

• BQ marathon time was pretty great, but in the end I still can't actually run Boston because so many people are qualifying these days

• Still haven't sorted out health insurance (I haven’t had it in more than two years) or some basic healthcare issues because of general resistance and/or demand avoidance

Looking Ahead to 2025

I spend most of the Review time planning for the future, not reflecting on the past. Here are a few notes from that process!

The theme I’ve chosen for my year is 51% Integration. (More on that a bit further down.)

At the end of 2025, I will have published TIME ANXIETY, hosted NEURODIVERSION for the first time, and worked toward meaningful steps for the next phase of writing and the event.

I like workflows based on deliverables—it helps me know what to do next, which in my mind is the ultimate superpower. In addition to the book and event, some of my deliverables for next year include:

• Continue writing and publishing this newsletter (with one significant modification that I’ll share next week)

• Share something meaningful (a video, a text post, or similar) almost every day, and work to create a more direct relationship with readers and followers

• Complete another 365 episodes of Side Hustle School, my daily podcast (currently at 2,909 consecutive daily episodes)

• Complete another 365 days of my running streak (generally 5+ miles a day but it’s based on Apple Watch activity points, currently at 2,063 consecutive days)

You might notice I like daily habits that don’t allow for exceptions—but please note that I don’t think this way is always best! This short video offers an approach that will work better for lots of things:

193countries

A post shared by @193countries

51% Integrated: Theme of the Year

As I thought about a theme for next year, I kept coming back to the word integration. It’s a concept from therapy that has a few different definitions. Here’s one I especially liked:

Integration involves blending different parts of yourself—your emotions, thoughts, memories, and body responses—into a balanced whole. It’s about making sense of life experiences, resolving inner conflicts, and developing a stronger, more connected sense of who you are.

So I knew that I wanted to use some form of integration as my word of the year, but I also worried a little: was I setting myself up for failure? No one is entirely integrated, after all. We all have inconsistencies and internal conflicts.

I eventually decided on “51% integrated” as my word—in this case a phrase—for 2025. And I think I’m already there most of the time! But perhaps it will be a good reminder to me through the year.¹

Wrappin’ Up

Every year around this time, I take the better part of a week and think about my life. I've been doing this Annual Review process since 2005, and it's become something I look forward to each December.

Because here's the thing: most of us don't spend enough time thinking about what we really want to get out of life. We get caught up in the day-to-day, responding to other people's priorities and letting circumstances guide our choices.

But it doesn't have to be that way. When you take the time to reflect and plan—whether using my framework or creating your own—you're saying something important: my choices matter. My direction matters. What I want matters.

As we look toward a new year, I encourage you to give yourself this time. Set aside a quiet hour, or afternoon, or even a full day.

Think about what you want your life to look like. Then make a plan to move in that direction. 💚

1. At first I was going to go with 80% integrated, but maybe that’s too high? The goal is to be more integrated than not, which is why I settled on 51%.