It’s that time of the year again where we look back on the last year of our lives and look forward to the next. It is useful because it allows us to review what we did right, and what we can improve on in the future. You can see my previous years here:
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Here’s a look back in what I did in 2020.
SUMMARY
- New Years started in Phuket in southern Thailand at a beach club with a few friends.
- At the end of January, we went to Krabi and Railay in southern Thailand for a week. A small escape from the pollution in Bangkok.
- In February, a group of friends and I went to Niseko ski resort in Japan for a week. Was an awesome experience. In late February, we celebrated my birthday, with some great friends making me a proper Rubik’s Cube cake. We also visited Nan and Chiang Rai in February.
- In March we went to Kolour Music Festival in Bangkok, had a few friends visiting from abroad, and Covid restrictions began. We also attended a few house parties from our close friends. I had a few pints of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day just before lockdown in Bangkok.
- April, May and June were largely spent working on various online projects, running up and down the 24 flights of stairs at my building, and lifting water jugs to stay active, despite not being able to go outside much or visit a gym.
- June found a new appreciation for the small things in life – visiting a cafe, eating at a restaurant, or visiting a gym. In the middle of June, a group of us visited Koh Samui, and then Koh Tao, a nice break from the city after lockdown. The amount of deals on AirBnb was hard to overstate.
- In July, a group of us rented a yacht in southern Thailand and sailed for a few days. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful trips in Thailand I’ve done, with an incredible group of people. At the end of July, we took Kemji’s family to Pattaya for a weekend trip.
- In August, I did a month of no drinking, while we enjoyed a few friends birthday parties, and I also did cryo therapy for the first time, cooling the air temperature to 200-300 degrees F. We also did a trip to Naithon Beach in Phuket with friends.
- September was largely spent going to saunas, working, working out, and hanging out with friends.
- In October, we went to Chiang Mai with a group, followed by a visit to some friends to Chiang Rai. It’s always beautiful visiting there. At the end of October, we had a big group and celebrated Kemji’s birthday.
- In November we went to Karma Fest in Bang Krachao with a group of friends, and it was an awesome experience along the water. I also played a decent amount of basketball, and bought a VR headset for the first time (recommended, incredible technology). We also did a boat trip with my girlfriends mom near Asiatique.
- In December we moved to a new apartment, and spent 5 days in Phuket for Christmas with a good group of friends. We celebrated New Years on our roof with friends.
WHAT WENT WELL THIS YEAR?
Health: Even with lockdown from the pandemic, I stayed quite active doing stair runs, lifting big jugs of water, pullups, running, and when things were open, going to the gym. I also tended to eat quite well, though I did indulge in a fair number of parties which involved drinking, a net negative on health. A work in progress. Overall I’m quite happy with my health this year.
Knowledge: I didn’t read as many books as usual, but did read a fair amount of articles, magazines, and had a fair number of conversations. I learned a lot this year, in large credit to the conversations I’ve had with the people around me. I do plan to dedicate more time each day to actively reading though.
Relationships: With lockdown and less traveling, it meant creating stronger bonds with the people we could hangout with. I’m happy with the progress made this year with the friends around us, though was unable to visit my family this year, so will hopefully improve on that aspect in 2021. Not traveling meant more time at home, in Bangkok, which definitely created stronger relationships here.
Business: 2020 was perhaps the most interesting year in business for me ever, and I’m happy with the progress made. I expect 2021 will be even better as I plan to launch a lot more projects.
I also had the goal by the end of the year to buy a property and restructure my business, both ended being in the works by the end of the year. I’m happy with the progress on this front.
WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL THIS YEAR?
While I’m happy with the progress made in 2020 for my health, I could definitely cut back on the late nights and the drinking. I did moderate, but working to improve further and further.
I also meditated a fair bit in 2020, but wasn’t as consistent in my practice as I’d like to be. Like with anything, I need to work further on consistency.
I’ve slacked a lot in my writing schedule for 2020, perhaps the worst ever. I plan to get back on track in 2021.
WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?
I’m currently enrolled in a 21 day hip opening course to improve my mobility, and I’m enjoying it. I plan to make flexibility a much bigger priority in 2021. I’ve also lined up a few 30 day challenges, and hopefully will complete 6-12 30 day challenges in the coming year. Starting in January, I will be doing 50 pullups each day for 30 days.
I also plan to run more in 2021 to keep my heart going strong – I’ve done a lot of resistance training this year, but only ran in the last couple months while training for an obstable course. I want to integrate running more into my weekly schedule.
I’m in the process of simplifying life – that is to say cleaning up my to-do lists/email, setting better priorities, and alloting more time each day to reading/thinking. It’s easy to have the days pass with no real progress, and I want to get a lot of the admin work out of the way so I can make the most of the time each week.
Business wise, I have a lot lined up in the pipeline. I tend to think that success in business (or in life in general) comes from stepping up to bat and giving yourself as many chances as possible to succeed. While 2020 was successful to me, I think I can do a lot better in improving my output in 2021, and I’m in the process of doing that now.
ALL TOGETHER
Like for everybody, 2020 was an incredibly unique year. It was perhaps the first year in 8-10 years where I wasn’t on the road every few weeks, or wasn’t traveling abroad for an extended time. This meant exploring more of the places in my own community in Bangkok, connecting with friends at a deeper level, and traveling within Thailand more. We also took advantage of all the cheap Airbnb prices all over Thailand, something I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do.
Contrary to many, 2020 was perhaps one of the best years of my life. It is not something I’d like to say, I wish everyone was enjoying their lives, living their dreams, and pursuring their desires. I’ve lucked out in the fact that the internet has blossemed even further in 2020, and was well positioned to provide tools, products, and services for people around the world. We’re at a time in history where we all need to adapt to the new ways of life, grow and learn each day, and connect with one another to make everyone better off.
I believe that we evolved to create, to produce, to provide value to one another. The more that each of us tries to provide value to society, the better off we are and the better off society is. Everyone should contribute to whatever extent and whatever means they desire. If this means bulding a business that helps others, or if it means spending time educating children, I think the only way to truly reap the value you create in the world is to do it yourself, with your ideas. Then bring together others who share that vision and grow. Everyone should contribute.
I think 2020 is the year where we all stop blaming each other, the government, or big corporations for our failings. While these all need to be improved, we all need to take responsibility for our lives, our actions, our discipline, and contribute. Make 2021 the best year ever of growth, of new experiences, and of contributions to society as a whole.
Here are a few posts I wrote this year, if you haven’t read them yet:
Here are a couple things worth checking out:
Just look around you and take a moment to feel how lucky you are. You get another day to live on this earth. Enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/P58chm9geS
— Waking Up (@wakingup) August 27, 2019
And as a repost from last year, here are….
Habits that have a high rate of return in life:
– sleeping 8+ hours each day
– lifting weights 3x week
– going for a walk each day
– saving at least 10 percent of your income
– reading every day
– drinking more water and less of everything else
– leaving your phone in another room while you work
You can see all of my posts from 2020 here: http://www.patjk.com/posts/2020
I wish you all a happy new year, let’s make 2021 the best year of our lives.
Thanks for reading.
Note: You can follow what I’m reading and things I find interesting daily on my Twitter and/or Facebook page.
Patrick
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