On Resolutions and a Fire Lit Anew

It's time to build connections in the right directions.

Goodbye 2024.

I learned a lot. I’m grateful for those lessons. Last year was very hard. Looking back on it all, it prepared me well for what’s to come and I’m not sure I’d be where I am without all the turmoil, tears, and terrifying moments of chaos.

Through everything, I feel more motivated than ever. I really want to keep pushing and grow in all these multiple directions.

I’m at peace with it all.

Truly, I feel more at-peace than I have in a long time. I may have just reached a capacity in August for overthinking and finally cracked. I don’t know.

I feel more unapologetic now. Much more. I hug a little closer and remember that any goodbye might be for good.

And I care a whole lot less too. Less about what doesn’t matter. Less about what I can never control—and that’s most things.

So what do I resolve to do when it’s time to put a year behind me and move towards the present?

That’s what I asked myself.

I’m deeply excited for this new year. It’s winter, which is the perfect season. Snow’s coming. The inside warmth is easy to savor. It’s a good time of year.

I have some resolutions, sure. I’ll share those below. In general, though, it’s about what it has been for years: consistency. I have a lot of good things going and it’s impossible to see those through without a stubborn sense of consistency.

I’ll keep running all year. I’ll keep building this community and this business. I’ll spend more time outside and more time present with my loved ones.

Some change is good too.

While I’m impressed by you all that have attention spans left in this world, who have read this far, I’ll condense to some lists now. Breaking into the three basic categories: personal life, work life, and run club, let’s talk resolutions!

If you don’t want to read too much, though, they all sum up to this: be present with the people I’m around at the time, don’t focus on the stupid and small things, and keep pushing.

Personal Life

• Shirk my cellular responsibilities. I still hate the damn phones. I’m on it too much. It dings too often despite having every notification turned off. Use it less. Reply slower. It’ll be ok.

• Quit buying stuff new. I’m not a big consumer. I love limping along old items and having quality clothes that are mostly going on a decade old. The less I buy, though, the more conscience I am of how much I still don’t need. Buy less and buy used.

• Eat a little smarter. I get away with a lot of bad eating habits just by being immensely active. I don’t have to be the raccoon-of-a-human that I am, though. I’d like to eat a lot less meat this year and waste less.

Work Life

• Only take on deeper tasks. I already wrote about this in October and I’m so glad that I’ve already put it into practice. More was never more. Focus on the work that matters.

• Don’t worry about growth. Serve instead. Growing for the sake of growth was a stressful strategy. I’m capable of more—everyone is capable of more. Lean on what I’m able to do and don’t worry about the rest.

• Work with who wants to be in the room. This isn’t a knock at anyone; instead, it’s something I’ve been deeply impressed by this year. I want to work for the people who want to show up themselves and work alongside those that want to be doing what we’re doing. Many people don’t fit either of those categories and the ones who do are capable of magic.

Run Club

(This is community too)

• Collaborate as broadly as possible. There are no rivalries. We’re a bunch of people who want to build connections, move together, and feel safe doing so in our communities. Let’s keep building this allied force for good.

• Tighten up the mission and solidify. I started this one with the website already. We’re five years old as a club and have pivoted a lot in that time. We’re at a really good place now. This is the moment to cement our systems.

• Build community affinity. Let’s all love this place. We might as well. I have several friends who are better at this than me. I’ll be talking about the bad and they’ll tell me three things they love about our community. I’ll try to be more positive.

And one thing final that bridges them all…

Build only for those that are open to it.

This is for my community builder friends, frustrated leaders, and all the other visionaries among us.

A lot of the conversations I’m having boil down to the fact that a lot of us want things to be better. A lot of other people work against those same good things.

I’m telling myself as much as I’m telling others: this year, let’s let them. Let’s not argue. Let’s not even care about those detractors. Together, we can build the communities and raise the money and make our places the wonderful ones we want them to be.

When we do that, every naysayer can look around and miss out if they want. They can join too—please welcome them if they take that leap. But let’s not let them steal the joy we work so hard to make. Let’s build only where we’re valued.

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Resolutions are easy to make, which is why I don’t love making them. They’re just as easy to break. But it’s nice to reflect and live with some intention beyond consistency too. I hope you all found some ideas in all these words.

I hope it makes it a little easier to piece together the chaos of what I am, if you’re trying to do so. I never explain myself well and go a dozen directions at any time. If this was fun, subscribe for more!