This was the year of two metrics and it is interesting how it panned out. I’m grateful for the greater focus this year, it helped me to see progress in a way I have not seen as clearly before. Let’s take a moment to reflect back on the metrics I tracked and then some of the things I learned.
Look Back on 2024
First, as a refresher, at the beginning of 2024 my intention was to track two things: exercise minutes and if I did something for myself. The intent was for me to be more focused on my body and my mind. I wanted to improve both. To help me accomplish the tracking of this I set up an automated email to be delivered to me each day with a simple survey that I would fill out to record my exercise minutes and if I did something for myself.
Here are few charts produced from my data over the year.
This first chart represents if I did something for myself.
This next chart represents both my intended exercise standard (in yellow) and my exercise minutes for the month (in orange)
This final chart represents the consistency of my data. The yellow represents the number of days in a month and the orange represents the days I completed the survey.
As I look over the data I have a few observations
- January and February had the highest data points for doing something for myself
- May, June, and November were the lowest months for doing something for myself
- January, February and August were the highest months of exercise minutes
- May and June were the lowest months of exercise minutes
- There is a trend upward from May to October in doing something for myself
- May and June had the lowest days in which I completed the survey
May and June were difficult months for me. I did not prioritize my own well being and as a result the big buckets of my life (family, church, work) all suffered and they were felt by all in those months. It was in July that I was able to reset and re-dedicate myself to a focus on my mind and body. I am grateful to my wife, family, friends, and colleagues who helped me during this time.
I learned that if I do not take care of myself with intentionality I have a tendency to give to everyone except myself. In the past, I have had enough buffer in one of the three buckets of life to enable me to compensate for the withdrawals of emotional stores but this year it all hit at the same time and there was no bucket in which I could find respite. This had a massive impact on my mind and body.
I then chose to focus first on my body. When I recommitted myself to more disciplined exercise and eating in July, I lost 13 pounds. My mindset shifted from eating as a reward (or as comfort in time of stress) to seeing food as fuel to help me feel better. It worked for a time. But then I got too comfortable and began to slip into old habits. The stresses of life increased in November and December and I began using food as a source of comfort (it doesn’t work) and lost the progress I had made. The good news is, I know what is happening. I know how to address it and I know what it will take to feel better and stronger in my body.
With my body progress regaining momentum it was much easier to regain momentum with my mind. I can tell I’m making progress with my mind when I know I’m learning.
How I approach my fears is a space that I began to learn a lot. Before this year, I let my fears get in the way of my own progress and I would freeze. This year I hit a number of milestones that required me to push through fear and do the hard work. Here a few things I was able to do this year that I am proud of in no particular order:
- I did my first paid speaking gig
- I did the paperwork to start a business called Invite to Act LLC
- I held my first family retreat teaching my kids leadership and gospel lessons
- I let go of (in a few areas that were blocking me) what others think of me at work and now focus on what I feel is right and good
- I scheduled and executed a retreat with my wife where we got clarity on what we want to do as couple and as a family for growth
- I ran for 576 miles in 2024
- I guest lectured an MBA class at BYU
- I began to mentor a brilliant woman at Microsoft
- I coached my first executive (all previous coaching engagements were pro-bono)
- I worked through some difficult (for me) situations with colleagues at work and we’ve come out stronger as a result
2024 was a tough year and it was a growth year and I’m proud of the way I’ve chosen to act more often and not be acted upon by external circumstances as often.
Look Ahead to 2025
Now looking forward to 2025 I want to modify and build momentum on my previous intentions.
This year I want to focus on my mental, spiritual, and physical health.
For my mental health I will use journaling as my proxy as I have found it to be a leading indicator for me personally. If I’m not journaling, I know I won’t be disciplined with the other parts of my mental health.
Spiritual health will consist of daily prayer and scripture study. In addition, I plan on writing a religious book with my wife this year. This will be a serious undertaking. I have fears about it, and I feel called to do it with her so here we go!
My physical health will be tracked by the number of minutes I exercise each day. I plan on being more disciplined in the foods that I eat and change the way I think about food, and I’ll use exercise minutes as my way to see progress in helping my body feel healthier.
This leaves me with three primary metrics. I am trying to keep it simple while creating enough space for creativity and flexibility. I am excited for the new year and for what I can accomplish and become in 2025.
