2024 in Review
In 2024 I learned a few new concepts which I put into practice in my life.
The first being curating your own life. This is a concept that really resonated with me given the multiple career fields I’ve worked in and also just having many interests. It’s about editing and focussing life around you values, goals, vision, and overall who you want to be. A big part of this for me was consistent and regular exercise. You toss out what doesn’t fit. For me it was downgrading friends who don’t respond or laugh at memes, who are flakes, and are just not very supportive or practice reciprocity.
This year I also learned about zones of tolerance, limiting beliefs, and self-sabotage. I learned that often-times, we revert back to our comfort zone. That often times we can even be beyond the amount of happiness that we’re accustomed to. But small changes over time can compound over time and create a new upper limit of happiness. It’s especially applicable to intergenerational residential school survivors who have been through trauma. Our zones of tolerance are generally very small as a result of trauma. As such, one of my personal goals was to continue to be outside of my comfort zone, whether that was speaking to billion dollar fund managers or learning to fish on the coastal rivers. This has also lead me to want to spend more time with people who are also continuously growing and have growth mindsets. Doing the same thing over and over again is just not for me.
To quote my favourite book, The Mountain is You, “your new life is going to cost you your old one. It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and sense of direction. It’s going to cost you relationships and friends. It’s going to cost you being liked and understood. It doesn’t matter. The people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side. All you’re going to lose is what was built for a person you no longer are.”
In fact the book “The Mountain is You” has taught me a lot. Many of these self-sabotaging behaviours I’ve witnessed in my own community. Hitting the upper limit, disorganization, judging others, fear of failing or succeeding, being “busy”. Thankfully the book teaches some things to overcome those self-sabotaging behaviours. Slowly adding things to become accustomed to more happiness, keeping a more organized and neat space. But some are more prevalent. Being busy for example, which is to intentionally create chaos in your day when there is no need for it. And the antidote is to get comfortable with simplicity and routine. Or finding more healthy ways to cope with your feelings and finding genuine self-confidence. I really liked the antidote to fear of failure. There is a difference between failing because you are trying something new, and failing because you are not showing up. “When we fail out of negligence, we take a step back. When we fail because we are attempting new feats, we take one step closer to what will work.” This is a teaching I will take with me into the new year. On judgement it says “when we set up judgements for others, they become rules that we have to play by too. By judging others, we sabotage our own lives far more than we hurt anyone else. The antidote, learn to love yourself by learning to love others. When you see someone who has something you want, congratulate them, even if it feels hard at first. It will extend back and open you up to receiving it as well.
Some things I was able to accomplish this year by putting these teachings into practice were:
learned how to catch fish on the coast. My all time fave accomplishment. It took so much patience! I didn’t catch fish for two years! Each time I didn’t catch anything though instead of giving up I asked someone for another little bit of help to steer me in the right direction. It paid off with catching the biggest fish of my life.
Started CFA journey. I had so much doubts about this. Especially after my last job and boss. But many years ago, I made a commitment to double down on the professional learning based on the next industry that takes a risk on me. It happened to be finance.
Started certificate in data science for investment professionals. This one is in furtherance of a long time goal to start a financial analytics company. It’s been so interesting so far.
Learned Silversmithing. I started this because nobody makes jewelry in a style that I would like. Particularly with stone setting. So I learned and bought some tools for myself.
Went on a trip to Seattle with my mom and aunty Mary. It was pretty cool to let them experience being in a different country.
Dropped friends who didn't practice reciprocity. This one is straight forward. But it opens up space for friends who more closely align with my values.
Limited work to 50 hours per month max. This was part of focussing on my well-being. I fell better and am looking to work more in the new year.
Started collection of rare and cool houseplants. I’ve always loved growing plants. I didn’t because I don’t have the most stable life. But a friend, Adrien, inspired me back in 2018 to grow plants again.
Did some very cool work with super smart and hard working people.
Got more land back for my community. Announcements to come in the new year on this.
Went to the symphony. I’ve always loved orchestral music. It’s so fun to dress up and go to the symbiont.
Saw Marlon Wayans comedy show live. The Wayans Bros was a favourite childhood show. And so were all of their movies. It was cool to do something I never thought I would.
Travelled to The Forks to see the location where “Twilight” was filmed. This was not on my bucket list. But the opportunity came up. And I love holidays which are based on films.
More major announcements
