2024 is coming to a close, so I want to send you off with one last newsletter before the chaos of 2025 begins.
This is the time of year when our brains will almost automatically look back on the past year.
Everything that went well, everything that went wrong.
What we have achieved, what we have not followed.
If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to over-index on the “what went wrong” section and feel all kinds of negative emotions around those things.
We will look back with guilt at something we did or didn’t do. As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, I am someone who has ,most “guilty Catholics”., although not religious.
A few months ago I came across a story that I am still thinking about. Supposedly, there is no word in the Tibetan language that directly translates to “guilt”. The closest possible translation is something closer to “intelligent repentance”.
I don’t speak Tibetan and I haven’t been able to find a Tibetan speaker to confirm this, but I think it’s a beautiful sentiment that can help us as we reach 2025.
Guilt can be both corrosive and counterproductive. But as Dan Pink points out in his book ,The power of regret,, looking back with the right kind Repenting about things that happened or didn’t happen can be really powerful and transformative for our future.
So rather than trying to live a “non-rock” (anti-intellectual) life…
We can intelligently apply regret to how 2024 went.
So, in honor of Oasis for next year, ,don’t look back in anger, (still a timeless jam, by the way).
Instead…let’s look back with curiosity.
Look back with curiosity, not judgment.
Take some time today and look back at your year ,curiosity, not judgment,.
Did you get the things they wanted to do? Excellent! I bet you learned something.
Has your life gone off the rails and you’ve spent most of the year trying to stay afloat! Excellent! I bet you learned something! Did you start and stop and save an objective over and over again? Excellent! I bet you learned something!
Write these things down. Pay attention to the emotions you feel in retrospect. Write down what you learned and how it can inform future decisions or choices.
Maybe you learned that you hate running, or that going Keto was a complete failure, or that being a first-time parent completely messed up your life, or that we just can’t stick to our morning routine.
They are all things that have happened. Now we have to decide what kind of emotion to apply to these things.
remember, ,the past is not set in stone,and some of these setbacks or failures may be the lesson you should have learned for the Future You. They can be the catalyst for your next step.
Remember, it’s NOT “I screwed up / failed so I’m a lost cause…”
It’s: “I screwed up/failed, and I learned this lesson that I can apply to 2025.”
How will 2025 be different?
Next week, we will make our debut ,free 5 day challenge, With coach Matt from the NF team.
If 2024 didn’t turn out the way you wanted or expected, I’m sorry.
Life is strange and change is hard.
Let’s make 2025 different! After all, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
If you want things to be different, let’s do that.
Nerd Fitness Rebellion will be with you all the way.
Have a great holiday and I’ll talk to you next week.
-Steve
PS: Here’s that ,sign up again for our free 5 day challenge,. Cheer up!