2024 Reflections
Well, another year is in the books. Given there were so many ups and downs over the past twelve months, I’m going to take a page out of Dan John’s playbook and make a 2024 pros and cons list. Here goes nothing…
Pros
My wonderful wife and certified good dog Arvid stayed with me for another year
Good health (other than a knee surgery)
Solid training with lots of lifting, five months of jiu-jitsu, and falling in love with my bicycle again after I hurt my knee
A stable job and time with friends on work trips all over the northeast; Massachusetts and upstate New York in the fall were beautiful drives
Further building of great friendships
The Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, in March
Phoenix over Memorial Day weekend
Cape May over Labor Day weekend
The U.P. and Maple Grove during hunting season
Time off around the holidays
Discovering I enjoy audiobooks
Cons
My job and boss stressed me out really bad the first eleven months
We still don’t live in Arizona, and in some ways I feel that I am robbing Cali of time with her family and can’t give her everything she deserves
Many sleepless nights due to anxiety and feelings of dread
Too much worrying, pessimism, self-doubt, and dwelling on the negatives
Not enough mental toughness
Feelings that I’m trapped and powerless to change my situation