Looking Back on 2023 and Setting Goals for the New Year
We’re in the final 10 hours of 2023 (at least here in Sydney) so I decided to do a quick look back on the positives of this year and set a few goals for 2024.
Reflecting on 2023
Overall I’d say it’s been a pretty good year with nothing really bad happening aside from a few minor health issues. I’m hoping 2024 can be even better and I can become even more focused on a few things.
It’s always great to write this type of stuff down so I can look back on it a year from now and see if things turned out the way I wanted them to. So here goes with the post.
Visited Japan
This year, I finally got to visit Japan for the first time. Originally, I was meant to go on holiday here in April 2020, but we all know why that wasn’t possible.
Each year after that, I was waiting for the border to open so we could start booking our holiday. Come March 2023, things were finally open again, so we managed to visit Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Himeji over a period of just under 3 weeks.
Japan is easily my favorite place out of everywhere I’ve traveled, and I’m already excited for my next trip there.
Celebrated One Year of Marriage
You may be thinking that one year isn’t that long to be celebrating. It’s a hard truth that many marriages don’t even make it to one year. Plus, there’s also the fact that although we’ve only been married for just 18 months at the time of writing, we’ve been together for 12 and a half years in total, which can’t be ignored.
The above photo is actually us at our wedding ceremony in Bali, a truly amazing day and place that we hope to visit again sometime soon.
Visited Queenstown
Originally, we planned to go back to Bali for our 1-year wedding anniversary, but we wanted to save a bit more, so we decided to go somewhere we’ve never been together, which was Queenstown, New Zealand.
I’m not huge on nature, but Queenstown was not only a very beautiful place but also very relaxing. Most of our holidays are very hectic, but this one was one of the most relaxing ones I’ve been on, which was a nice change.
Funny enough, it sometimes snows there around the time of year we visited, but I missed out this time, so another reason to eventually go back.
Got In Better Shape
Losing weight can be tricky, as both you and the people around you may not notice much of a difference in your physical appearance. They not only see you daily but also observe gradual changes that become less evident over time.
I honestly felt like I didn’t make much progress this year, but in the last few months, people I worked with in January commented on my weight loss. Also, seeing a few images I took of myself showed my belly had definitely shrunk quite a bit, which was great to see.
Resistance bands were something I needed for pull-ups for a long time. This year, I decided to try doing more pull-ups each week, and I went from relying on the bands to being able to do 12 pull-ups on my first set all by myself, which I’m really proud of.
I’d say my body fat is around 19-20%, so although it’s much better than this time last year, I still have more work to do to reach my goals.
Goals for 2024
Now when it comes to the new year, I don’t want to make 10 goals that I’ll never actually achieve. I’d much rather just set a few more realistic goals that I can actually stick to and make sure I achieve.
Below are my three goals that I plan to complete in 2024.
Start a Business
Now, this one is a bit of a cheat, as I’ve actually been working on this for about 6 months now, but it isn’t ready to launch.
As a bit of a preview, the name of the company will be “Strictly Scented,” and it will be selling candles purely online. I’ve got the website all ready to go, and the candles are currently being made, so it’s pretty exciting.
The reason I’ve listed it as starting a business is that to me, it hasn’t truly started until it actually launches. The cost of living is getting harder to deal with, so I’m hoping this can help alleviate things and make life a bit less stressful, so wish me luck.
Continue My Fitness and Reach 15% Body Fat
In 2020, not long after Covid hit, I started my fitness journey, and for the last 2 years, I’ve been working out 5 days a week for an hour or more each day.
When I first started, I’d estimate my body fat was close to 30%, if not higher. So, the fact that I’m down to a little under 20% is great, but I’m not quite where I want to be. I don’t expect to be ripped with a 6-pack, but at least getting down to the point where I have somewhat visible abs would be ideal.
I know muscle density has quite a bit to do with it, but I’m hoping I can get to around 13-15%, as I’ve read that’s the best balance between definition and being easy to maintain.
Save as Much as I Can
Ever since my wedding and honeymoon, my savings haven’t really recovered. As mentioned earlier in the post, the cost of living is putting a strain on everything, so I really need to start saving for any rainy day that may come.
I’d also like to start investing again, as I had a small portfolio before but used the funds for some bills, so I need to start focusing on that as well. Either way, finances are something that’s definitely a focus of mine in the coming year.
