New Year's Resolutions

 

Since 2011, I’ve posted my New Year’s resolutions at the end of each year.  It’s a good way to do a year-end check-up and see how I did and what I need to recommit to into the New Year.  So without further ado: 

1. Body - run 800 miles, swim 100 miles, lift 200 times, bike 2,000 miles; eat better.

Actual counts for 1st 11 months of 2022: run 682 miles, swim 104 miles, lift 186 times, bike 1,997 miles. Glad to have settled into a workout routine that keeps me in shape and gives me the energy boost I need to start every day. Also glad to have life-hacked my way to healthier eating by forcing myself to take and post pictures of all my meals. On the doorstep of 50, you have to do these things for everything else to fall into place. Grade: A

2. Civic – leverage skill/opportunity for maximum social impact, make a difference on the hard issues. 

Pleased to serve with good people at Missio Seminary, PIDC, and Penn’s Weitzman School, as well as to join the boards of Greater Philadelphia YMCA and Public Health Management Corporation and get more deeply involved in matters of wellness in the region. Makes for a full schedule and the occasional heartache, but civic engagement is also energizing and grounding. Grade: A

3. Friends and family – quality if not quantity, be there when needed. 

Schedule too busy and logistics too difficult to really invest in so many dear relationships that otherwise have longevity and meaning. Golf is forging a pathway for some new friendships, for which I’m grateful. Sunday Zoom calls with my dad and sister have been a lovely way to stay in touch. Grade: C

4. House – an ounce of prevention, making it a home. 

Home is a mess but the major things get tended to, which we’ll count as a W at this stage in our lives. Our rental portfolio now spans four places in four states – Philly, DC, OCNJ, and Miami Beach – and while each has had its hiccups this year overall I’m very pleased to be an owner, landlord, and aspiring real estate mogul. Grade: B 

5. Kids – 1-on-1 times each quarter. 

Really striving to find the time and then make the most of it. Trying to not leave things unsaid, and to have my actions line up with those words. Parenting is so hard and yet so rewarding. I fall short but am giving it all I got. Grade: B 

6. Marriage – three kid-free trips. 

Our two kid-free trips got wrecked, once my COVID and once by Asher getting kicked out of sleepaway camp. Working better together on the operations of the household, but falling short on making time for the relationship itself. Grade: C

7. Mind – read 50 books. 

Tomorrow I’ll post the 58 titles I read over the past 12 months.  Really trying to lean into a diversity of genres, lengths, and perspectives. Love the activity and what it yields. Grade: A.

8. Self – three hours per week of uninterrupted me time, three personal day getaways. 

Golf has proven to be great time away from work and parenting, whether solo or with friends. Scheduling personal days and fully enjoying them has been life-giving. I still run myself too hard but that makes these escapes all the more necessary. Grade: B.

9. Spiritual – 100 Bible memory verses, time each morning for Bible/prayer. 

Consistent in making the time, but too little time and too rushed with that time. Need to reclaim the importance of this morning routine.  Grade: C

10. Work – set the course for the firm. 

Being president of a professional services firm is a heavy load of taking care of staff, helping run the company, and bringing in business, alongside a full complement of project work itself.  I run our Universities & Hospitals practice as well as our Equity & Inclusion practice, and I’m proud of the work we did in both spaces. Eager to springboard into 2023 with an additional thrust towards prescriptive, forward-looking content.  Grade: B