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2021 Year In Review

It’s about that time to run it back. James Clear inspired me to begin writing these yearly recaps about my personal progress on my self-growth journey last year. His book, Atomic Habits, inspired me to begin documenting my successes and failures publicly (to a certain extent). I found tremendous personal value doing this last year and I will continue to do this, in one way or another, for the rest of my life.

Here are the questions I will focus on:

Did I achieve my 2021 goals? (1-10 Scale)

What are my 2022 goals?

What am I most proud of this year?

With that, let’s begin!

What am I most proud of this year?

2021 was another year full of nonstop change in my life. It was a roller coaster ride that had the highest highs and the lowest lows. I’ve gone through intense happiness and painful heartbreak; great success and repetitive failure; healthy optimism and crushing pessimism.

Life isn’t supposed to be easy.

When looking back at it all, I’m most proud that I took meaningful chances and embraced the unknown wholeheartedly. For many years, being afraid of failure has been a roadblock in achieving the life I ultimately want to live. In 2021 I took many risks for the betterment of my life; and because of it, I’m a much stronger man. In all, when contemplating my 2021 journey, I’m most proud of my vulnerability. To find happiness, don’t be afraid of failure; embrace and learn from it. I’m beginning to understand that the only real failure is whenever I didn’t try at all. I’m proud of how I lived my life this year. I will learn from these tough lessons and level up to become a better version of myself.

2022 Quote Of The Year:

“Just Win.”

2021 Fitness Goal: Continue working out a minimum of 3-5 times per week. Gain 8+ pounds of muscle growth before Jan. 1, 2022. Play in a Tennis League (Level 3.5/4.0) and/or Join a competitive Adult Soccer League once I have the vaccine.
8/10
I did work out a minimum of 3 times per week most of the year. I also joined an indoor soccer league this fall. I did not play in a tennis league and did not gain 8+ pounds of muscle; however, I’m happy with my fitness progress in 2021. I have sustained a healthy fitness lifestyle and look forward to more progress in 2022.
2022 Goal: Continue doing what I’m doing. Build muscle. Double down on what’s working. Play in a tennis league. Exercise my pup every day. Continue playing basketball at the gym. Continue the indoor/outdoor soccer league. Use fitness as a healthy outlet to positively affect my mental health year-round.
2021 Healthy Eating Goal: Continue habits of eating healthy and cooking food at home whenever possible. This doesn’t mean cutting down on portions; protein is important. Continue cutting down on fast food & binge drinking. Limit to one fast food meal per week.
7/10
I do eat healthy and balanced meals at home most of the time. However, I made too many excuses to eat fast food and drifted away from my consistency over the course of the year. Overall I did cut down on drinking and completely eliminated soda and the majority of sweets out of my diet. Lots of improvements to be made, but I’m confident I’ll be even better in 2022.
2022 Goal: Become a better cook. Diversify my homemade meals, add more vegetables, and cook on a consistent schedule. Don’t make as many excuses to eat fast food. Stay locked in. When I eat fast food, I regret it. Continue cutting down on alcohol. Remember, diet is crucial. Don’t take this goal lightly.
2021 Relationships Goal: Don’t get in my own way. Live life in the present and remember to value each and every day I have with my loved ones. Eliminate toxic banter and focus on raising my family and friends up. Don’t be afraid to kick people out of my life if they’re repeatedly bringing me down.
10/10
Life is hard. 2021 has had extreme ups and extreme downs. I’m once again a single man. So, why in the world would I give myself a 10/10? Here’s why: I was vulnerable and let myself love deeply. My younger self was always scared of pouring my heart into someone else only to go through the pain of potentially losing that person down the line. That held me back for far too long. Now I feel entirely different. I don’t regret anything. In fact, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life if I hadn’t embraced my feelings wholeheartedly. That shows tremendous personal growth, and I’m happy I was willing to open my heart up despite the pain it has caused. I’m fortunate that I will be able to treasure the memories forever, even if the relationship wasn’t meant to be. That’s 10/10 in my book. No regrets, only memories. I’m so grateful to have a tremendous support system of family and friends in my life. 2022 will be full of incredible memories.
2022 Goal: Work on myself consistently. Continue to make my inner voice a tool I can use to better myself in every aspect of my life. Pursue my passion projects and meet others that share similar interests. Do a better job of showing my family and friends how important they are to me. Put myself out there and be the most authentic version of myself.

“You’re going to realize it one day — that happiness was never about your job, or your degree, or being in a relationship. Happiness was never about following in the footsteps of all of those who came before you, it was never about being like the others.

One day, you’re going to see it — that happiness was always about the discovery, the hope, the listening to your heart and following it wherever it chose to go. Happiness was always about being kinder to yourself, it was always about embracing the person you were becoming.

One day, you will understand. That happiness was always about learning how to live with yourself, that happiness was never in the hands of other people. It was always about you. It was always about you. ”

— Bianca Sparacino

2021 Mental Health Goal: Continue my mental health journey and build upon a successful 2020. Explore mindfulness and continue to go above and beyond my comfort zone, both personally and professionally, to grow into a better version of myself. Grow my confidence and take charge of my life.
7/10
I’ll give myself a C- here. I passed the class, but barely. Once I got extremely busy, many of the solid mental health habits I formed in 2020 were forgotten. I never committed to trying mindfulness. I listened to fewer podcasts and ebooks. I practiced less positive self-talk and periodically let emotions get the best of me when I was stressed or overwhelmed. However, I did go out of my comfort zone with my new job, travel, & relationships, which I’m proud of. Improving my mental health and becoming stronger in my own head will be one of my main focuses heading into 2022. I will be putting a lot of energy into this.
2022 Goal: Continue to find my confidence; not just internally, but in my external environment. Never let a busy life distract me from the essential work I need to do in this area. Mental health is so important; it’s not okay to ignore. A healthy mind is a healthy life and it takes a lifetime of work.
2021 Writing Goal: Write and publish more, period. Continue getting better at making my articles and blog posts more entertaining and captivating to read.
5/10
Man, the first half of the year was GREAT for writing. I started a newsletter, was writing articles and blog posts consistently, and was getting better and better each and every time. Then, I was so focused on the new job and other areas of my life that I left my passion projects to die for the second half of the year. That’s why I think a 5/10 is fair. This won’t happen in 2022. I will make time for my writing, no matter how crazy my schedule gets. I’m disappointed in myself and will do better here.
2022 Goal: Write a minimum of 1 article per month for my newsletter. I love writing, don’t ignore this part about myself. Also: come up with an idea and write at least one page of a book.
2021 Travel Goal: Go out of my comfort zone and explore another natural wonder outside of the United States. Life is short, explore the beauty of this world while I’m young. Create stories and discover more about nature.
9/10
Sure, I didn’t make it out of the country. But, to be fair, COVID made that difficult, so I opted to travel domestically instead. In 2021 I was fortunate enough to go to California, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Texas. That’s a huge win. The next big trip will be out of the country. That should be in the 2nd half of 2022 or earlier, hopefully!
2022 Goal: Go on another vacation out of the country. Don’t let new responsibilities hold me back from exploring the world while I’m young.

2021 Habits Goal: Document ALL of my habits, both good and bad, and keep track of them in a journal. Once I have data, set goals to actively work on improving, reducing, or eliminating these toxic habits and add healthy ones.
0/10
Full failure here. Made the template and never used it. This will happen in 2022.
2022 Goal: Run it back. Use data to formulate better, more consistent habits every single day. You can’t improve what you don’t know!
2021 Career Goal: Don’t Settle. Find a good job, surround myself with amazing people, and reach my full potential. Continue to grow my additional revenue streams and keep exploring ways to grow wealth. Be ready to act quickly on a good idea or opportunity.
9/10
I didn’t settle, I found a great job, I surrounded myself with amazing people, and I’m actively working to reach my full potential. The only reason this isn’t 10/10 is because I have work to do on pursuing my passion projects and side hustles in my free time. I plan on doing just that.
2022 Goal: Continue iterating my process to be more efficient and better at my job. Don’t get complacent and continue to level up my skills and show the world what I can do with hard work and motivation. Go out of my way to build relationships with coworkers and put myself in the best possible situation to be successful. This includes my side passions.
2021 Reading Goal: Read at least one page (Yes, just one!!) every day.
2/10
This didn’t happen either. I got busy and didn’t make reading as much of a priority as I should have. It’s sad, and I know I’ll regret it if I don’t drastically improve the number of books I can get through each year.
2022 Goal: Do better. I love reading and I’m not proud of how few pages I got through in 2021. Read for fun. It’s as simple as that.