Reflecting on 2024: What Lessons and Takeaways Are Shaping My New Year?

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How would you describe your 2024?

I hope I'm not projecting, but it feels like everyone I've talked to so far about the previous year described it as challenging in some way. Whether it was external or internal, it seemed like there was some challenge to overcome. And yet, despite the challenges, there are still others that believed their year to be helpful and fulfilling.

When I sat down to think about it, I found that my year was filled with introspection. Generally, there were just a lot of things I had to think about when it came to just about everything: faith, health, relationships, purpose, and everything in between.

I want to take some time to share what takeaways I obtained from the past year, and how I'm allowing it to shape my new year.

Lesson One: It's Okay for Plans to Change

I realized that, despite entering my 30s, I didn't really have a good idea of what I wanted out of life. Of course, I always thought I knew; but when it came down to it, I realized that a lot of decisions I made for myself revolved around what other people thought I should be doing.

When I was 16, 18, 25, etc. I had certain expectations of what my life would look like by the time I hit my 30s. My expectations and desires changed over time, but for some reason, I still handled life with a checklist mentality. "If I accomplish this, I'll be happy" or "If I make x amount of money I'll be considered successful" "If I have this type of job I'll feel fulfilled", etc. At some point, however, I had to ask myself if what I am pursuing is what I actually want or if it's part of some plan that I haven't thought to deviate from.

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Sometimes when we set up goals for ourselves, whether it's for our careers or other ventures, we create a plan tied to what we're already good at or what may seem the most convenient. Other times it's because "this was the plan" and we don't have the nerve or bravery to deviate from that plan even if deep down we know we should. When I completed my undergraduate degree I went straight into an online Master's program less than a month later. I did this because, from my Freshman year of college, I had already planned to get a Master's degree (even though I didn't know what I wanted to study for my Master's yet). However, it took a full semester (and working my first and most stressful corporate job) for me to realize that I actually didn't want that degree. In fact, with the way my life was going at the time, I didn't think it made sense because I wasn't sure if I even wanted to pursue that career at all. I told myself that I would take a break from my degree program, but I ended up just pulling the plug on it entirely.

I remember feeling like this was such a big and scary decision but looking back, I don't regret the choice I made. It turns out it wasn't nearly as big of a deal as I made it out to be. However, I found that within the past few years, I've fallen into the same line of thinking: "This is the plan and I have to stick to it". It can be scary to deviate from a plan or walk away from a project, but that typically just keeps us in a comfort zone. Not only that, but we tend to think that we have to stick to something because of all the time, effort, or money that went into it. It was a hard pill for me to swallow, but I had to realize that it was okay for plans to change. Just like not pursuing graduate school didn't make me a failure then, choosing to step away from a certain venture doesn't make you a failure either.

Lesson Two: It's Okay for a Hobby to Be a Hobby

We're in an amazing era right now. More than ever, people can profit off of things they love to do. Whether it's selling custom items on Etsy, offering a service on Fiverr, creating a podcast, streaming video games, or creating content on multiple social media platforms, there are countless ways for someone to make their hobbies and passions profitable.

Even though it's not guaranteed, the fact that there is potential for profitability through these avenues is enough for people to pursue and create business plans for them. While it's great that we can make a profit from our passions, it also creates the issue of people avoiding hobbies. Especially for those of us who have a strong desire to create wealth and multiple streams of income, it can be hard to embrace things that we don't believe to be "productive".

When I was in school, all the way up through college, I liked to spend my free time playing The Sims. It was a relaxing hobby that helped me unwind and create stories. But as I got older and as my focus started moving towards financial gain, I found that I stopped having "non-productive" hobbies. It feels like, up until recently, I tried my best to only do things that felt productive. And if I participated in something that didn't feel productive, I would feel guilty about it afterward. As I got older I stopped playing games, reading and writing fiction stories, and other activities that I enjoy.

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One day I shared with my husband the idea of streaming gameplay. It's something I've thought about for a while now, but just never felt would be the right time to pursue it. I didn't think much of it and wasn't expecting him to take me so seriously. However, barely a month after talking about it, he helped me figure out how to get started. And then he surprised me with a new PC that would make streaming much easier! Granted, there is potential profitability in streaming, but the point is that I'm making time to engage in a hobby regardless of the profitability.

Having a hobby helps to reduce stress, improve relationships, and overall helps to improve well-being and mental health. Sadly, a lot of people still view hobbies as a waste of valuable time that could be used to make money. Of course, there's nothing wrong with wanting to create multiple income streams and work our way out of a traditional job (honestly, I encourage it). However, if we don't have hobbies and activities outside of what could be profitable, we are essentially saying that our life's meaning is directly tied to what we can make. Our value as people is only as good as what we can produce. This year I'm still making time for my profitable projects, but also the things that bring me joy and keep me sane.

Lesson Four: Tomorrow is Never Promised (Make Time for Others)

An interesting thing happens after we graduate high school or college. For a lot of us, it's the first time we are solely responsible for maintaining our social circle. We go from having a set schedule (school) in which we see our friends/classmates, as well as extracurriculars where we see even more friends on a day-to-day basis.

However, adulthood comes around and now we can no longer depend on seeing people around campus, in a class, or after-school activities. If we want to maintain our friendships (and create new ones) we have to make an intentional effort to do so. Last year I realized that I have not been doing a good job with this part of my life at all.

It's unfortunate, but there are local friends (i.e. within a 30-mile radius) that I have not seen in person for quite some time now. We may contact each other on the phone or exchange memes online, but we haven't hung out, grabbed dinner, caught a movie, etc. While I do acknowledge that the height of the pandemic contributed heavily to this, it doesn't explain why we still don't make time now. The short answer is this: Life be lifeing. We are all caught up with our own schedules, plans, worries, concerns, etc. I admit that at the end of a workday, the only thing I really care about is unwinding. But what about the weekends?

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I can't speak for everyone, but I know for me it's usually just a combination of fatigue and fear. It sounds silly, but sometimes I think about reaching out to a friend to hang out and I don't follow through. For whatever reason, I plant this idea in my mind that this friend probably doesn't miss me like I miss them, they probably don't care if I contact them or not, they probably have better things to do, etc. Whatever the reason that I come up with on the spot, it's enough to make me put my phone down and continue doing what I was doing.

I realize that this mindset is very dangerous because tomorrow is never promised. Unfortunately, the past year or so has come with a great deal of loss. There are people who I would have never thought would be gone today who are no longer with us. There is no question that we take our very lives for granted; we make plans for the next day, the following week or the following month fully expecting to be here but it's never guaranteed. I don't want to make the same mistake as last year, which is why I'm making it a point to not let my friendships die out. There are times when I've had an old friend reach out and it makes me happy, so why shouldn't I expect the same reaction when I do the same?

Think About It

Reader, I'm glad that you are blessed to see another year. And I'm very happy that you've come to the end of this post. If you haven't already, I think it's worth contemplating your own takeaways from last year. What are some things you learned? What are some things that you loved about last year that you want to keep going? Is there anything that happened that makes you want to shape your 2025 differently?

I had a great time reflecting on last year, but I'm being careful not to dwell on it. The past gives me lessons that I can use for the future, but the past also doesn't dictate my future.

Thanks for reading,

--Raven