My 2020 Annual Review

1. What went well this year? 

Blog. This year I developed and refined my thoughts, writing, and style. I found a renewed sense for writing and purpose to help others. I was able to publish a wide range of topics I feel are important for my readers along with my popular guides on mindset, emotional mastery, and habits. 

The best part was hearing positive feedback from readers, and bloggers on how my writing was able to help them in their relationships, stay productive, and live better. 

Some of my favorite articles this year were: 

1. Hedonic Treadmill Theory: Why Am I So Unhappy
2. Single-Tasking: How To Stay Focused in a Distracted World
3. My Drive Across America During the Coronavirus Pandemic

My most popular post of 2019: 

• Why You Shouldn’t Care What Your Parents Think

Blog highlights:

• Published 21 articles, 7 guest posts, 6 guides, 7 book reviews
• Well over 400% increase in readership, with readers in over 100 countries

This modest blog has gone well past my expectations.

Reading. Read 52 books this year. Exactly a book a week. The idea for the book a week challenge came about from a mentor of mine. He told me that knowledge can be acquired through the experiences and mistakes of others. 

Reading serves to keep my ax sharp, and my mind focused. As many of you know I’ve loved reading as a kid, but like so many of you, I lost that sense of wonder and imagination as I got older. 

I learned many nuggets of wisdom from my time nose deep in books ranging from Russian literature, to American classics and poetry. You can read more about it here. 

Family. This year was a blessing in disguise. With our world turned upside down, I tried to find the positive. It was not easy, but family became my beacon of hope. 

For the first time in 5 years I was able to spend quality time with my parents. As you get older, you learn that your parents are normal. They aren’t the demigods we made them out to be when we were kids. They aren’t invincible, have flaws, and their own baggage. Yet, we still love them.

Family highlights:

• Decorating the Christmas tree and sipping whiskey with Mom
• Endless games of ping pong
• Building homemade gym equipment with my father
• Celebrating my niece’s birthday in North Carolina
• Helping my father shovel snow on a beautiful crisp Winter morning

2. What didn’t go so well this year?

This wouldn’t be a realistic report, if I didn’t note what went wrong this year. There’s a lot, but I’ll save you from the entire list. These were the ones that weighed on me.

Transition. I finished my time with the Marine Corps earlier this year. Perhaps some of my most memorable experiences of brotherhood, tough times, and good times all mixed into one. 

After exiting the service, my mission oriented mindset went haywire. I threw myself into developing my mind and body, but I couldn’t help feeling like driftwood on a rough day at sea. I was fortunate enough to not have to find a job right away.

So, I read, wrote, threw weights around, and spent time with family. To keep sane, I began meditating again, and did my best to avoid social media, and the news. Both of which are horrible for you.

To say that I know the surest path forward would be a lie. I still have a ways to go. 

Politics. The very word makes me cringe. I decided to break my news free diet, and watched the presidential debates. With a whiskey in hand, and popcorn in the other, I was reeling from laughter and left heated from the political rhetoric. 

I couldn’t help being drawn into the mass hysteria that was plaguing America. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the headlines from March to November. 

The divisiveness in the country is at an all time high and I can’t help but ask what is my role in it. What can I do to help?

At the end of the day, we are all human beings. We aren’t red, blue, black, white, female, male, rich or poor. Stepping off our high horse and being empathetic can go a long way.

Do let me know if this resonates with you. I am thinking I will be writing more articles surrounding basic human tenets and morality. Maybe I’ve been reading Cicero too much. (Highly recommend Selected Works of Cicero)

3. What did I learn?

Self discovery. With so much time on my hands, this was an opportunity to look within. I took the time to better myself. I was absorbed with books, learning new skills, and even improved my cardio. I still hate running, but my heart can thank me later. 

With extra time I took to learning new skills, and improving existing ones. One little victory was teaching myself to code. Learning the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript was not easy (0 experience).

On top of that, I gifted myself a year of MasterClass, started an E-commerce business, and did a couple of home renovations. 

I discovered my love for problem solving, technical skills, and doing things with my hands. 

Fake news. Ignore the fake news. The social media highlight reel, the sensationalist news, and the friends who like to brag. Why? Because it’s not what truly matters. I know that what I’m asking is not easy. It may be the hardest thing you’ll do. 

Go on a digital detox.

Most of this year I avoided the news like the plague, I ignored my phone, and filled my brain with positive sources only. Books, podcasts, sharing of ideas, and hilarious stand up comedy. 

This was perhaps the best thing for me, because with the extra time on my hands I was able to do so much more rewarding things, like writing for you all. 

Change isn’t so bad. Not saying it is easy, but it’s doable. With my transition, I had to look deep within and figure out who I was, and the life I wanted to lead. That’s a tall order. 

I had to learn new skills, give up old habits, and find new friends and community. With it, I learned about myself, and who I wasn’t. I took my own advice and accepted certain truths. What I’m good at, what I’m lousy at, and what I need to work on. 

The good news is that you’re young. Yes,  you are. It is never too late to change, but you have to want it. If you don’t want it bad enough, you won’t be willing to put in the work. And there’s a lot of work to be done. But, it’s so gratifying. 

2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year. From driving across America, transitioning out of the military, and learning to code, I feel content. It’s been a helluva year, and I’m excited for 2021. 

I hope you found a few insights from my 2020 annual review. This is not meant as a brag, it is to provide ideas for how you may possibly track your progress in your personal development journey. 

For me, the annual review does a good job of keeping myself accountable to myself and you all who read it. 

If you’d like to give it a try, take 10 to 15 minutes and review these 3 questions and come up with your 2020 annual review.

1. What went well this year?
2. What didn’t go well this year?
3. What did I learn?

As always, thank you for reading. 

Last year’s annual review: My 2019 Annual Review