Happy New Year!

I hope you were able to have an enjoyable time with your friends and family over the past few weeks and are ready to make 2024 prosperous (in more ways than just financially)!

This week, I want to share my New Year’s Resolutions (NYRs) with you.

Quite frankly, I think NYRs are a bit overhyped. I think they often give us an excuse to be ‘shittier’ before they happen. “Oh I’ll go to the gym next year” or “I’ll eat healthier next year".

You know when you are scrolling on TikTok and you say you’ll stop in 4 minutes at 7:30, but then it somehow turns to 7:32 so now you have to wait until 7:45? Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the picture.

But on the other hand - I do think they give us a good timeframe for goals and done the right way, they can be really transformative. That is the reason I still make a NYR list every year. Here are mine for the year of 2024:

• Run a marathon

• Take at least 3 trips

• Start some kind of business

• Read more fiction

• Do something creative

Run a Marathon

When I was younger, I hated running. In fact, last year I would even have told you I hated to run. In the summer, my girlfriend told me she wanted to run a marathon and eventually do an Ironman. Being the supportive partner I am, I decided I would train and run her first half marathon with her.

Well turns out, I don’t hate running. It’s pretty enjoyable when you know the right way to run and after running the half, I think I’m ready for the full 26.2 miles.

Take at least 3 Trips

I feel like recently I haven’t been prioritizing travelling as much as I should be. I love to travel, to experience new places, languages and especially different types of food. It really gives me energy in a way I can only describe as curiosity.

Start a Business

I think I have known for a few years that I want to be a founder or owner of companies in my life. However, I think I have been waiting too long to ‘find the right idea’ and I think this year - I’m just gonna go for one and make it work.

Read More Fiction

Recently, I have been consuming a lot of ‘development content’ as I would call it. While I definitely think this is important for me to learn, I want to read more fiction. I personally often suffer from informational overload from time to time and revert to doom scrolling. If I could pace myself and dabble in some great fiction here and there, I think my mind would be better for it. Let me know what you have been reading!

Do Something Creative Everyday

While I do generally consider myself a creative person, I think creativity is a muscle that needs to be trained in order to develop one’s personal style and taste. This one is a bit of a double edged sword for me. I have many creative outlets: cooking, drawing, photography etc. but I really have to be in the zone for each. I think being consistent and intentional will help me in more ways than one.

A few tips

It’s important to note, over the course of a year your priorities might change and, in turn, your aspirations.

This can be for a variety of reasons: exams getting in the way of fitness, spending time with your family or unexpected emergencies. The most important aspect, I believe, is to always try your best. And I mean really try your best.

You should feel good about running for 5 minutes straight because you haven’t been able to do that since you were a kid, even if you feel completely out of breath. Rather than say, ‘I ran for 2 minutes and that’s enough’ when you know you could have done more.

All goals don’t have to be big ones either! They could be small little changes that make a big difference over time. Simple things like getting silk (or satin) pillowcases to help your skin (or hair loss lol), going for a 30 minute walk everyday or changing that one light fixture in your house you have always hated - can really make a difference for your long term mental peace.

Finally, goals don’t have to be for just this year or next. You can make a goal for this month, this week or even the upcoming day. Start it when you can, don’t give yourself any excuses and make the most of the one thing you have that no one can take away - your time.

Thank you for reading this week’s edition of Two Steps Ahead! I’d love to hear about your NYRs and why you are making them.

Next week, we’ll have a bit of a follow up conversation about the big D, (discipline you freak) why I believe it’s important (especially in your 20s) and why it’s not as scary as you may think.

See you then!

Max :)