Wow, I’m glad that one is over. That was a tough one. In a decade of tough and shitty years, that one was the worst. Maybe the toughest year I’ve had. There wasn’t a week that went by without any sort of chaos. I thought it was going to be much better than 2020. I was so wrong. It just goes to show how little I know and how unpredictable the future is.

I won’t get into the specifics, because frankly they hurt thinking about them. I feel like all areas of my life suffered in one form or another repeatedly throughout the year. Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially. I took a thrashing non-stop. A whole can of whoop-ass. It was tough, man…

But, it’s over, so screw it. It’s in my rear-view now and I’m looking forward. There are still problems I need to address lingering from the previous year, but they’ll get resolved. Anyway, I do feel like 2022 is going to be a better year. But that’s what I said about 2021 and boy was I wrong. I feel like it will be better but again I know so little. I just feel like all of the pain and suffering I went through in 2021 has allowed a smoother ride going forward.

Take mailfloss, for example. There were serious growing pains that required long, long, lonngggg hours and many late, stressful nights. A lot of issues that plagued the system have been resolved. And mailfloss grew quite steadily. I’m very grateful and thankful for that. And I do believe that things will get better from here on out.

I didn’t do as much reading this year as in previous years. Books have taken a back burner in my life in recent years and that’s unfortunate, but I still try to make time to read some. This year I read mostly business books, many from Mike Michalowicz who has some gems like Profit First, Clockwork, The Pumpkin Plan and Fix This Next.

Healthwise this was probably the worst year I’ve had in the past 8 or 9 years. For the first half of the year, I hardly did much exercising and ate whatever the heck I wanted. Finally, I bought some calisthenics equipment in the summer and put it to daily use but even that wasn’t as much as I would have liked. Once I got the equipment consistency wasn’t really the problem, more like volume and effectiveness. I hope I can improve that this year.

The biggest takeaway from 2020 aside from the overarching theme of knowing very little about the future is to stay in the game. If it’s important to you, stay in the game! With health, staying in the game might mean eating healthily consistently or working out regularly to see results. In business, it might mean suffering for a while but staying in the game will allow you to weather those tough storms. If there’s a relationship worth fighting for, then fight for it. Stay in the game.

I’m happy 2021 is over and I’m excited for 2022. I feel like the future is going to be brighter starting now. There are surely going to be obstacles, but as long as I stay in the game, I’ll be ready for them. At least, that’s the plan. Wishing you and your family all the best for a prosperous 2022. And if you’re hurting, know that it won’t last forever. Hang in there, take care of yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask for some help when needed. Stay in the game.