The Goal Realized

December 30th, 2023 is an important date for myself and the writing I have published over the last year. Given tomorrow, the 31st, will follow the traditional path of being a monthly recap, today is the last day where I will discuss content and is the last day of 2023 I commit to crafting art through literary expression. Today is about reflecting on the past year and the consistency, effort, and focus I had in achieving what I set out to do.

I started January 1st, 2023 with a simple explanation of my goal. My goal was to publish a daily newsletter all 365 days of 2023 with every day being a different topic relating to self-improvement, becoming a better version of yourself, and life perspectives. After tomorrow’s December recap and 181,581 words written across 365 posts, I will have done that. What started as just an idea with only a final destination known, sprouted into a year-long journey along the way to becoming a goal realized.

It’s interesting to me how short a year is yet how long it is at the same time. I read my writing from earlier in the year and am surprised by the differences in sentence structure, tone, and perspective that morphed throughout the 365 entries. I reflect on what I personally have done and experienced over 2023 and am surprised that everything fits into just a single year. I became obsessed with running. I ran more than double the number of miles in a year than I ever had before, ran my first marathon, and set personal records in the 5k, 10k, 15k, and half marathon distances. I changed from running because my soulmate is a runner to running because I am a runner, and became more mentally strong and mentally independent than ever before. I started a book club with my friends and we completed a full year of reading and are already prepared for the start of year two. I visited Iceland and spent nearly a month in Lake Tahoe fully immersing myself in the natural world. I moved across the country and started a life in a new place. I intentionally sought out more perspectives, content, and learnings from others than ever before and fell in love with the pursuit of knowledge. I listened more and spoke less. I achieved goals and failed goals. I lived my life on a daily basis while maintaining a focus on the long term. I lived.

Publishing my writing every day forced me to commit to something that required daily output. It required that I seek out and find information differently and on a more constant basis than ever before in my life. It required me to back up my goal every single day. One slip up and I would have failed. It required me to produce even on days when I lacked motivation or any desire to put words on paper. It required me to do again and again.

My view on life and how I interpret the world around me has forever changed. My love for writing and producing magic with words has blossomed into being part of who I am. What was once a tiresome habit has now become a personal quest for production. Someone who used to be okay with only consuming the production and content of others now has a fire inside to never stop creating and sharing. Committing to something scary and sticking with it has given me every ounce of personal satisfaction that I could ever imagine. Beyond the satisfaction, it has allowed me a new avenue to share ideas, interpret life, and continue to grow as a person. The words I write offer insight into how my brain continues to process my world while also giving me the ability to further expand my opinions, perspectives, and ability to continue becoming the person I want to be.

Life is a never-ending journey and this past year has taught me more about myself and the world around me than ever before. My goals may change but my desire to continue producing output and becoming more than I was yesterday is everlasting. This goal may be realized, but the journey has just begun.