I covered my favorite new things from last year in 2023 faves. In this post, I’ll dig into how I did on my 2023 goals. In a follow-up post, I’ll share my 2024 goals.
Sharing these feels vulnerable, since our goals are a reflection of our values at the time of our lives when we set them. When I look back on goals I’ve set in years past, it reminds me of what was important to me at that time in comparison to what’s important to me now.
These days, I focus less on goals as a target to achieve (ex. run a marathon) and more on building habits (ex. run for 30 minutes 3x a week). Still, the term “goals” is useful for thinking about them.
Meta: I’m trying out blogging in such a way where posts are more focused on singular topics vs. longer posts that cover a variety of things, which is why I split up my annual reflection posts. I’m curious to hear if this feels better or worse for readers, so let me know what you think in comments + DMs.
#1 Meditate for at least 5 minutes per day
❌ Not achieved (though I learned a lot from trying!)
I actually meditated for the entire month of January using apps like Headspace and Calm. I successfully made it part of my morning routine in Oman, which coincided nicely with the call to pray from the Mosque next door.
However, I ultimately found that meditation as a dedicated practice just doesn’t work for me. I wasn’t getting much out of it – I hit the 30-day mark and had not had some personal transformation like people promise in promotional materials about meditation – and my travel schedule was just too chaotic for me to have much of a routine at all.
I do think that cultivating a practice of mindfulness – taking time to notice the present moment, and checking in on your emotional state throughout the day – is important. I’ve started doing more of that in my daily life, though mostly while doing other things (walking, with my morning tea, at night as I journal). It makes it feel more natural, as opposed to trying to fit in a scheduled meditation session.
Though this is technically a “failed” goal, I learned a lot and grew as a person, so it feels like a success to me.
#2 Complete one Duolingo French lesson at least once per day
❌ Not achieved (rethinking how I want to pursue language going forward)
I really, really tried with this one. I did my lessons most of the year – the bare minimum, just enough to keep my streak alive, but it was something. I started a Duolingo streak in 2019 that I’ve continued since, so I have quite a few French words in my vocabulary at this point.
Ironically, my trip to France is what prompted me to drop off for good. I realized that, though my reading and writing was decent, and I had a lot of vocab in my brain, my speaking and listening was nowhere near where it should be after 4+ years on the app.
In part, this is more of a reflection on Duolingo’s limitations. If I’d been more serious about pursuing French, I could have pursued alternative means of study, like tutoring, meetups, or immersion. I decided to finally stop the app and rethink my approach to language study.
I’m still passionate about language, though heading into 2024, I’m unsure of how I want to proceed. So I’m putting language on the back burner in favor of other goals/habits for now.
#3 Stop biting my cuticles (goal: fingers completely healed!)
✅ I stopped in May and have had calm hands ever since 🙂
I’ve been a cuticle biter for as long as I can remember, mostly as a reaction to anxiety. Though I’ve learned to manage my anxiety better, and have had long periods when I stopped, I’ve been back to biting over the past few years. It had gotten so bad, my dentist warned me that I was risking losing my front teeth 😬.
This spurned me to finally address this. To do so, I researched ways that other people had successfully stopped. One that came up was to take care of your nails (aka DIY manicures). I made this a sub-goal, which made this feel more approachable and positive.
I started off by treated myself to some professional manicures, observing the manicurists practices along the way. I got a truly life-changing, beautiful manicure in Kyoto for my birthday (pictured above), which ended up being the one that broke my habit for good.
For my DIY education, watched YouTube videos on how to do your own nails, bought some supplies, and did a few practice runs. Now, here at the end of the year, I’ve successfully done half a dozen self-manicures, which I feel proud to show off. I even did my own french tip (using guiding strips).
#4 Travel the world!
✅ I followed through on the list of places I really wanted to see, and then some!
I don’t really need to say a lot about this one – if you follow me anywhere online, you know I was all over the world in 2023 🙂 I went to 18 countries in total, and saw at least one country each in a list of regions of the world I wanted to spend time in, including:
- Central America (Mexico)
- South America (Argentina)
- Middle East (Oman)
- Africa (Madagascar)
- Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Macau)
- East Asia (South Korea, Japan)
- Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain)
- Scandanavian Europe (Norway)
- Eastern Europe / Baltics (Estonia, Latvia)
- Oceania (Australia)
There’s still so much of the world – and all of these regions – that I want to see. I have an endless travel wishlist, though I’ll be traveling at a slower pace from here on out.
#5 Finish writing at least one original song
❌ I didn’t get around to this (though I did perform an original song at a festival)
Though my travels did spark some creative energy in me, I just didn’t take the time to sit down and write anything. However, through a series of happenstance events, I ended up performing an original song at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.
There’s a whole story behind how this came to be (TL;DR: new friends and lots of creative, bohemian energy in the air). It was my first time ever sharing my original music with strangers, and it was simultaneously so uncomfortable, yet so transformative. It boosted my confidence for me to finally put myself, and my music, out there in the near future.
#6 Get my first-ever tattoo
✅ I got my first-ever tattoo on Dec. 27 <3
This one is simple – I’ve been thinking about this tattoo for years, and I finally got it 💖 It’s a symbol from The Fifth Element, my favorite movie ever, which I watched for the very first time with my dad. Since he had over 300 tattoos himself, it felt fitting to get my first one in his honor. This one’s for you Bernie 🥸
Recap
In 2023, I successfully stopped biting my cuticles (the most challenging one for me), traveled the world (the most adventurous one), and got my first tattoo (the most meaningful one).
However, I did not succeed at building a meditation habit (though I learned a lot about mindfulness), I dropped off of studying French, and I didn’t write any new music.
All this said – it’s not about the goals, it’s the adventures had along the way. I made lots of wonderful new memories and friendships, continued doing many things that I love, and somehow managed to get the rest and nourishment that I needed along the way. For these reasons, I’d say 2023 was well-spent.
What will I be up to in 2024? I’ll share that in my next post. For now, I’m enjoying winter in the bay area, including long walks outdoors, quality time with old friends, delicious homecooked meals, and catching up on all the TV and video games I missed while traveling.
I’ll close this out with a cool mushroom I saw on a walking path last week. Happy new years, friends – may you remain as lovely and resilient as the fungi all around us at this time 🍄
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