My 2023 Theme

I’ve been through this “new year” thing a few times. Not as many as some, but more than others. The last few years I’ve gravitated toward “themes” instead of listing a bunch of unrelated goals/wishes. That way when I list out any specific goals, it becomes more about listing actionable steps to support a singular goal instead of a bunch of things I need to keep in my head throughout the year.

My theme this year is “Consistently Show Up”.

Consistently showing up in all areas of my life that matter. Family. Hobbies. Work. Friendships.

Looking back on the last… <checks notes>… three years, I think it’s safe to say most of us have experienced some level of burnout given everything that’s gone on. My hope this year is that instead of trying to go 110% and then revving down to 40-50% to recharge, I can maintain a consistent rate of 80% or so. Similar to a long distance runner, I’m pacing myself for the marathon distance, not a bunch of sprints.

Something I’m experimenting with this year is that if a goal doesn’t have a defined cadence to it (it’s not something that I want to do daily, weekly, or monthly), the number I’m aiming for is 23. For example: go snowboarding 23 times, read 23 books, and write 23 posts this year. Depending on how that goes, I’ll stick with it and aim for 24 next year. Catch me in 2050 to see if I’m reading 50 books.

If you’re interested in following along with my 2023 journey, I’ll be posting updates here, on Mastodon, Instagram, and there’s a rollup of my activities on joemc.xyz. Please say “hi”, I’d love to check out what you’re up to as well!