End of 2022 Reflections

 Today is December 31, 2022 and I wanted to write some reflections on how the last year has been.

One of my major goals for this year was to run 1000 miles during the year, and I'm happy to say that I achieved this goal! I ran for 1001.2 miles this year despite a few cases of illness(a case of COVID, a case of the stomach bug) as well as injury(posterior tibial tendonitis / pain in ankle and feet). In November, I was at about ~850miles completed and my feet and ankles were killing me(and still haven't completely recovered). First, it started out as pain in my right ankle and inside tendon. I thought it was because my shoes were worn out, but even after swapping in new shoes the pain didn't subside. I tried taking a few days break with no running and it did help, but I wasn't able to take enough time off for it to completely heal. As my right foot recovered, I think I started favoring my left side more and the same pain and soreness developed as a result. I was so close to my goal and too stubborn to quit at the end that I staggered through the finish line completing about 135miles in December on bad feet. This was probably not a smart decision, but I was just too determined to finish my goal because I don't think I would strongly pursue it again in the future.

I will continue to run, but at a much more leisurely pace and distance. Maybe 3-4 runs a week of 3-5miles. I definitely want to incorporate strength training in 2023 as I did absolutely none in 2022. I also am thinking about trying to read more books in 2023, but I have not set any firm goal with respect to that yet.

My work situation has improved a bit, but I think the majority of improvement has been just because the end of year workload has relaxed a bit. I still worry about things picking back up in February/March and starting to become stressed and frustrated again. I'm still hanging on to get my various bonuses though as the market is still struggling and inflation is still sky high. There has been a lot of layoffs and hiring freezes across many companies as well so a little nervous about just leaving a job during this time. We will see how 2023 progresses, but I hope to gain more clarity in what path I want to follow with respect to my career and interests.

Our daughter has grown a lot this year from not even being able to roll over to now running around everywhere. She has picked up a lot of words(both English and Vietnamese) and I think she is a very smart girl. She can recognize animals(meow meow, fish) and objects(ball, bubbles) well. She is also starting daycare back again this next week and both of us are quite nervous about the transition again. We are having a lot of challenges feeding her for the last 1-2 months and going back to daycare will be a big change both in terms of eating as well as sleeping environment. I hope she can adjust within 1-2weeks and get back on a good schedule and routine. My mother-in-law is also going back to Vietnam in 2 weeks and we will miss her a lot. I feel like I didn't really get a chance to connect with her as much as I would like, but that may be due to the language barrier as well as my hesitation to speak with her directly more. I know she had a lot of fun spending time with our daughter and will miss her dearly when returning. I hope we can visit her and my sister in laws again in Vietnam or elsewhere in the next coming years.

Some things I have noticed that I can improve on in 2023.

I have definitely noticed(and it has also been pointed out by my wife and MIL) that I have been spending too much time looking at my phone. Whether it has been a coping mechanism to escape work anxiety or stress, or just a way to have some "quiet/alone" time, I want to make a focused effort on reducing this habit and being more present for my wife and daughter. I hope with a more relaxed and less time consuming physical routine I can spend less time on subsequent tasks(showering, resting, recovering) and more time focusing on my family and relationships.

I also hope that we can spend more time with our friends and also make new friends. My wife and I have had a few talks already about how we feel we are losing our friend relationships after having a baby, but at the same time we don't have time or energy to reach out and make new friends. I hope we can find a way to reconnect more with our existing friends or learn how to be more proactive making new friends.

Overall, I would say 2022 has been a big year in terms of changes. Our daughter is growing so much, our careers have had major changes, and I achieved my physical health challenge for the year. I still have the lingering anxiety of where my career path will lead, but I hope that I can learn how to take control of my path more and gain more confidence in my decisions. 

Cheers to 2022 and welcome to 2023!