What I’m Proud of in 2022
2022 is almost over. Can you believe that?
2022 was a good year for me. It also held a new kind of difficult. The "ands" of 2022 feel very strong, really.
In 2022, I got to spend a whole year living into my values in a new way. I got to step into a full year of doing this new thing and establishing the rhythm of life for my family I spent so long craving.
This new working pace destroyed my expectations of what good productivity should look like. In fact, this year I got the wild wake up call that productivity has been quite the idol in my life and so I spent a lot of time dethroning it. And the work of dethroning productivity, and de-commodifying my very self has resulted in a wildly different list of things I'm proud of this year than I would have anticipated or imagined in January 2022.
January Me day-dreamed about a lot of numbers. How much money I would make, how many followers I would gain, how many people I would coach... these were the measures of what a successful 2022 would look like in my January brain. December Me is celebrating some numbers, but those numbers are not the most significant wins of the year for me.
Before I get to my list I want to note that this blog post and list of wins makes my year look smooth. Like I had all the "ahas!" in the moment as I went along. So let me cut the crap right here and now and say this: my list of wins below came after loads of reflection and inner turmoil. I spent more minutes (hours...days...weeks) disappointed with myself than I would like to admit. But do you know what I've learned to do with disappointment over the last few years? I've learned to stare it right in the face and ask it "What the heck?" I know, eloquent question. But this question can start a discovery journey which uncovers the lies, old beliefs, or cultural expectations driving my disappointment.
This year I've stared that disappointment in the face with the help of a coach/friend, therapist, fellow business babies, and my dear husband. There are for sure times I would have drowned in the disappointment without them. But the staring, the asking, the examining of the disappointment that hits me like a reflex is what eventually brought me this list of things I'm proud of in 2022. That's the beautiful chaos of embracing the "ands" of our life. It's the beauty of cultivating Compassionate Confidence where we embrace both our strengths and weaknesses instead of running away from them.
One last thing before we get to my list. Because I want you to land on a real list of things you're proud of in 2022 as well, I've created another reflection guide for you to use. It's 22 Reflection Prompts for 2022 and in it you'll find short prompts that help you think about the good and the hard of your year. I hope you use it to pause and notice what things you need to leave in 2022 what you'll intentionally take with you into 2023. Maybe you'll notice a theme or an overarching lesson. I hope it helps you cultivate more Compassionate Confidence as we enter the new year.
Ok without further ado, here's what I'm most proud of in 2022:
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I saw Emily P. Freeman show us her 5 year Line A Day Journal at the end of 2021. I was intrigued, curious, and delighted by the idea of 5 years of memories packed into one palm-sized book. It was only a few dollars on Amazon so I bought one, even though I didn't really believe in my ability to keep it up as a habit. My 9-ness has held me back from a regular journaling practice for a lot of years (hello recurring lie "my voice doesn't matter!") so this felt like a low-risk reentry to the practice. I'm really happy to say that I'm only missing a handful of days from 2022, and I'm looking forward to starting the book again in a couple of weeks!
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In 2022 I watched every episode of The Great Pottery Throwdown. It started because I was trapped under my feverish 1 year old for hours and hours, and that choice has led me into the land of clay in a bigger way than I ever saw coming in January 22. I took a class in the summer and remembered that I enjoyed wheel-throwing. Then I stalked a lot of Facebook marketplace posts and ended up with a wheel of my own last month (more on that later). While I'm still working to get my make-shift studio up and running, I'm proud of myself for pursuing something that is just for fun and just for me.
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When I started Empathetic Enneagram I knew I needed an email list and I was still writing random blog posts here and there. I set myself a goal to grow my email list to 50 readers by the end of 2022, and I've exceeded that number! Thanks to those of you who have joined ❤️
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I planned a whole year-long calendar of social media series in January. I was really proud of myself because these are good series. And then in the summer I realized I was spending every working minute on social media series and folks don't buy coaching because I'm a clever social media-er. So I pivoted. I paused. I quit a thing and adjusted (I used to soapbox about the importance of quitting ineffective things at my last job, so it was good to practice what I preached). What I've been doing since this pivot is far less glamorous and comes with fewer vanity metrics, but it's been good and foundation-building work.
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The goal of starting EntrepreNines was to have fun, practice using our voices honestly, and to have something to collaborate with someone on regularly. Our podcast is goofy, random, and a little spotty here at the end of the year, and I'm proud of every minute of recording time we have put into it - even the ones where John forgot to hit record. I'm also proud of my brother and his music-writing skills because I dance to our intro music each time.
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We were not doing this in 202. I was 50/50 at best. This year we have done a great job sticking to our meal plans and actually making meal plans. Now if only groceries would go back to reasonable costs…
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What a delightful little detour of 2022. And I don't care if you're over it. I'm not. And I am proud of how many times I win in 3 guesses.
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Sheesh. There's so much to say about these kids. They are kind, expressive, creative, wild, silly, joyful, brave, gentle, and they eat a smattering of vegetables. I could brag on them a whole website's worth.
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I've lucked out marrying Marc Mace, yall. I'm not sure how 16 year old me was so smart to land this guy and never let him go, but here I am reaping the benefits still today. This year we continued to take big, stretching steps for ourselves and we've taken them together and we've taken them well, I might say.
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I'm a slow reader. Not because I actually read slowly but because when I read a book I absorb it into my very soul. So I'm choosy with what I read and I'm very focused and I let myself be changed by what I'm reading. Usually, I talk myself out of reading because of the emotional and mental energy I put into it, but this year I've read more books than I have ever read in my adult life. AND I've kept track thanks to another small journal my friend Lauren gave me for Christmas last year.
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This is hard for me. Especially when I don't think that what I'm showing up for is benefiting anyone in a commodity type of way. This year, I showed up. I honored the process of building and becoming. I wrote, said, and chose things for me and believed they were important even when I couldn't measure them in a dollars and cents type of way.
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I didn't set a goal or an intention to really build on my public speaking in 2022. And yet! I got to join these 4 opportunities (even though I made one of them myself) and didn't let my public speaking skills totally whither away.
2022 looks different than I would have guessed it might. I learned things that were not even on my radar at the end of 2021. I experienced a lot of things I didn't anticipate. I didn't get to do a lot of things I thought I would do. 2022 was a swirl of all the things - not all good, not all bad, but all my one chance to live life in 2022 and I did my best to be present for as much of it as I could. That's what I'm most proud of, and what I'll continue striving to do in 2023.
I'd love to know what you're proud of in 2022. Drop a comment below so I can celebrate with you.
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