2022 Grand Reflections for 2023

Did you complete your assignment? In last week’s blog, I challenged you to reflect on the year before creating New Year’s Resolutions.

If you're still recovering from the holidays, that's fine, but prioritize three to five minutes of silence today before writing down your goals.

You may need to reflect on 2022 separate occasions throughout 2023. Understanding where you’ve been is critical to identifying the path forward. Without analysis of past mistakes, you will continue to encounter similar challenges.

This week, I ignored my gut's experiences with too much food. After intense workouts or intermittent fasts, I often overeat. My calories are low, and I want the pleasure of good food to ease the pain of muscle soreness.

When I overindulge in meals, my stomach swells, and the belching and farting begins. Of course, it's my fault, but I often blame my wife’s stellar cooking skills.

On New Year’s Day, she made a vegetarian pot pie worthy of a top-tier restaurant's menu. Unfortunately, I did not follow the advice I gave you in last week’s blog and control the fork.

After my third heaping portion, the acid in my stomach extended my shirt and ignited an eruption. I felt bloated, burped, and farted about every five minutes until the gas eased after digestion.

You're aware of hangry, the combination of hunger and anger. I wasn't hangry, but I needed to eat after a fast. Vegetarian pot pie is one of my favorites.

My bout with acid reflux is a minor example, but it applies to you.

When in motion toward success, it's easy to forget about what you've learned about yourself. Driven by a blind passion for achieving a goal, you may find yourself doing things that don’t make much sense. Sometimes, progress requires slowing down.

The need to pause applies to eating and other areas of our lives. We must take our time with meals and chew every piece of food. Before pushing ahead, research about the next project, investment, or partnership is crucial.

Awareness is essential to growth in 2023 and beyond.

Through my academic roles, I lead the campus's peer mentoring program and men's cave mentoring initiative. This week I reviewed evaluations to implement changes in the Spring term.

Your time is valuable. I will spare you the details of next semester’s mentoring plans, but I will combine some of the unique elements of men's cave with the peer mentoring program.

Evaluations are often tedious tasks to complete. The feedback may be painful to receive, but it can help create pathways toward promotions and new responsibilities.

In addition to reflecting, ignoring past mistakes, and overeating, I asked my family about their best moments of 2022. Everyone referenced our time in Los Angeles and the 8-hour road trip to the Grand Canyon. I transformed their verbal reflections into a vlog episode for our YouTube channel, La Vida Lindsay.

You can see our first upload of 2023 below. After watching it, remember to reflect for 3-5 minutes and review your goals. Discard the idea that resolutions get created on the first day of a new year. Every day is a blessing to improve ourselves, our families, and our communities.