Another year over to reflect on.  We overestimate what we can do in a day, but underestimate what we can do in a year.  Life is about making small steps forward every single day and getting a little bit better than you were yesterday.  This is my reflection on 2025.

You can see my previous years here:
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

SUMMARY

Overall a lot progress made this year but a lot more things to work on.  Seeing Andy grow has certainly been the highlight, followed by spending time in our new house in Colorado with family.  A lot in the pipeline, but to review:

  • We rang in the new year in our Phuket house with a couple friends.
  • Not far into the year my family and aunt came to visit us and our son Andy.  We had a great time exploring Phuket, rented a boat, and hung out in Bangkok.
  • At the end of January I went on the annual ski trip with friends in Japan.  Great trip solo and my first time away from Andy since he was born.  I ended up having missed flghts due to weather and got Covid on the way back so had to quarantine.
  • In February, we celebrated our friend Marc & Taime’s wedding in Khao Yai.  It was a remarkable and unique experience and very well done.  End of February I turned 36 and wrote 36 thoughts at 36.
  • In March/April, we mostly relaxed in Phuket at our house there and got some work done.
  • At the end of April, we flew to the US with the entire family and grandma for a 6 month trip.  It was a one way flight and was unsure how long it would take to get a house, but got it done before their visas expired in October.
  • While settling into Colorado, we went to Estes Park to see Frank Turner at the Stanley Hotel.  We stayed at their residence there which was great.
  • We visited lots of family, visited Blackhawk for gambling, and in June visited Steamboat Springs for a few nights.  The entire summer spent a fair amount of time outside and in nature.
  • On July 4th we celebrated Andy’s first birthday, had a July 4th party, and a housewarming party all 2 weeks after we bought our house.
  • At the end of July, we went to a friends neighborhood party
  • In August we went to el Dorado State Park which was beautiful.
  • At the end of August I went to Burning Man for the first time, incredible experience.
  • Most of the summer through September was working on and moving into the house, working on business, and spending time with family.
  • At the end of September we went to Colorado Springs for a couple nights, visited Garden of the Gods, and saw an Airforce game which was excellent.
  • A lot of checking out the local saunas in Denver and also a lot of kratom/kava bars in Denver which are booming.
  • At the end of October, we flew to Hong Kong for a few days and then back to Bangkok.
  • We spent about 40 days there, and then headed south to our house in Phuket to escape the city and spend the holidays down here, where I’m writing this yearly review.

WHAT WENT WELL THIS YEAR?

This year was once again a busy, but productive one.  Andy was around 6 months old at the New Year, and within 1 year it’s remarkable how quickly he grew.  He went from laying down unable to move much to being able to run around the house faster than I can walk.  He went from seemingly being unaware of much to being aware of almost everything, even the finest details.

It’s been a lot of growth not only for him, but for me.  Kids create us as much as we create them, and kids teach us how to be responsible, how to lead, how to guide, and to see the world through their eyes.  These things are core to us as humans and fundamentally change how we think, how we live, and how we balance priorities in life.  Life becomes from about me to about the kid and family, and that is a good thing.  It makes us better people, it makes me a better person.

Aside from the profundity of having Andy in my life now, we spent 6 months in the US with the goal of getting a house.  Over the last 10 years, I’ve spent a few months each year in the US.  I’ve stayed in Airbnbs all over Colorado but after awhile it gets tiring.  You’re constantly on the move, constantly renting a car, and it was time to get a place to stay, a home.

The plan upon arrival was the move fast as I didn’t want to move Airbnbs and I knew closing could take weeks.  After viewing 20+ properties, we never found anything that we really liked.  Three different offers fell through and when the final one did, we decided to checkout a nearby listing that just came on market, and ended up buying it unexpectedly.  Life works in mysterious ways and this one was no exception.  But I can’t complain, I love the house.

I had been studying the real estate market in Colorado for 7 years, and while I think the market is overvalued, I didn’t want to wait any longer.  An investment can be looked at 2 ways – 1) you’re maximizing the financial returns on it, and 2) you’re maximizing the lifestyle.  Ideally, you’d like to do both.  In this case it was a lot more the later as I don’t think now is a great time to buy.  But, for our lives, it is much better and I’m incredibly grateful to be able to live in our new house.

Health: Health wise this year was great overall.  Was quite active, ate quick cleanly, drank less alcohol than I ever have, and overall health was improved from the year before.  I attribute a lot of it to my son, which gave me a lot more balance and purpose.  When you have the responsibility to take care of a family in the morning, you don’t desire being out late, you desire being with your family, as we evolved.  This is why people without families almost always struggle with balance, it’s outside of the norm of how we supposed to be.

I’m currently training for Hyrox in Bangkok at the end of March.  I’ll be doing doubles with a friend and a small group of us are all training for it.  It is a fun way to train together, push ourselves a bit more than usual, and get faster, stronger, more endurance, and just better.  Looking forward to it.

Business wise it’s been a lot of reflecting.  Business has been steady but I suspect a lot of things will change in the next year with the AI revolution.  I’ve been actively using AI and recently took a course to get caught up to speed.  The ability to build almost anything is dropping towards zero and I’m in the process of launching my next venture.  It is no double a Golden Age of AI where if you seize the opportunities, there is a lot of potential.  Not only is it fascinating to be living through it, it is mind blowing how fast it is evolving.  I’ve been inspired by the friends and people around me to build and create bigger and better things.

WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL THIS YEAR?

There was a lot of moving around and a lot time spent in different places.  We’ve spent much of the year in Asia for the last 10 years and spent half of the year in the US this year.  While it is great to spend time in both places, the downside is you miss people in both places.  A lot of our optimization now is around clean air, nature, and what is best for Andy.  We could definitely improve by spending less time moving around.

I also spent more time sitting indoors than I would have liked.  A lot of progress and work done, but sitting inside and instead being outside moving around is something I’m working towards.

Reading wise – I have about 25 books I’d like to read that I need to set time aside for.  Before I had a kid, I’d read everyday.  Since having the kid, I’ve really cut back on that and want to pick it back up.  I didn’t read as much as I would have liked an next year will change that.

2025 was overall an excellent year and it’s hard for me to complain too much about it.  I feel like we’re just getting started, so still a lot to learn, to do, and to grow.

WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?

A lot of things in the pipeline, but the next year will be focused on:
– expanding the family and hopefully having another baby
– launching a few new software projects from AI, and learning along the way
– setting and sticking to a daily reading schedule to read all the books I’d like to
– spending more time in nature
– training more and harder for Hyrox
– launching at least one physical business
– growing Andy into a 2 year old boy

I look at each day as an opportunity to improve.  I plan to keep refining the systems and just making things better each day – improved health, more writing, launching more projects, learning more, more experiences, etc.

I post daily thoughts and interesting things on X here.  Say hello there.

It’s our responsibility to make life what we want it to be.  Take initiative, be proactive, take action, do the things you want to do, focus, take care of your health, build/contribute, and make the next year the best year yet.

I wish you all the best in 2026 and beyond.

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Patrick

Web Developer
I write for fun, I travel for fun, and I enjoy learning. I hate sugar-coating things. Understand the world in reality, not by dogma. Question everything.
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