In 2022, I continued many of the habits I developed over the last several years, but aimed to simplify my daily goals.

This consisted of breaking my goals into three simple groups outlined below, with one additional task for tracking progress.

Those daily goals consisted of the following:

  1. Exercise the Mind: Reading or studying with the goal of learning something new for at least 20 minutes
  2. Exercise the Spirit: Do something that helps with your spiritual health. For me, this was/is typically meditation for at least 5 minutes
  3. Exercise the Body: Move the body somehow for at least 30 minutes
  4. Record Weight: Check the progress on the scale

How did I Do

  1. I Exercised the Mind 290 times (80% success rate)
  2. I Exercised the Spirit 330 times (90% success rate) Details: According to Insight Timer (my meditation app), in 2022 I meditated a total of 538 times for a total of just over 53 hours.
  3. I Exercised the Body 320 times (88% success rate) Details: According to Strava (my fitness app), in 2022 I ran 122 times for a total of 445 miles, cycled 220 times for a total of 3,038 miles and swam 16 times for a total of 20k yards. All of my training culinated in my toughest physical challenge yet, the 2022 California Ironman Triathlon. I finished in around 14.5 hours.
  4. I Recorded My Weight 260 times (70% success rate) Details: My average weight in December 2021 was 201 pounds. My average weight for December 2022 has been 190 pounds. My lowest average weight for 2022 was in October and November where I averaged 184 pounds. My goal is to get down to a sustained 175 pounds (more to come on that in posts on 2023 goals).

What did I Learn?
Three things I learned this year through my daily habits:

  1. With consistent effort, progress is inevitable
    Although I lacked perfect discipline (hence the 80% success rate), I was fairly consistent and ambitious. That consistency allowed me to achieve the most difficult physicial challenge in my life, to lose over 10 pounds with a less than ideal diet, and to keep my days productive.
  2. Simplicity is key
    With simple and achievable action-based goals, it’s relatively easy to hit milestones and improve over time. For example, this last year I combined my learning and reading into a goal that was simply “Exercise the Mind,” which gave me flexibility to focus where it made the most sense each day and motivated me to stay committed.
  3. Tracking your progress is both fun and helpful
    With apps like Strava, Insight Timer, Apple Health and others… it’s easier than ever to continually evaluate how you’re doing and progressing. In 2022, these apps allowed me to stay committed and on track most days. For 2023, my goal is to see these success rates in each category improve, and to add some new goals/habits.

Stay tuned for more on my goals for 2023, perhaps my most ambitious yet