2024 is coming to an end, so I wanted to send you one last newsletter before the chaos of 2025 begins.

It's that time of year when our brains almost automatically look back on the past year.

What went right, what went wrong.

What we achieved and what we failed to achieve.

If you're anything like me, it's easy to over-index the "what went wrong" part and feel all kinds of negative emotions around it.

We may look back with guilt at something we did or didn't do. As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, I am someone who has it ​the greatest amount of "Catholic guilt"​ even though I am not a religious person.

A few months ago I came across a story that I still think about. Apparently there is no word in the Tibetan language that can be directly translated as "guilt". The closest possible translation is something closer to “intelligent grief.”

I don't speak Tibetan and I haven't been able to find a Tibetan speaker to confirm this, but I think it's a beautiful feeling that can help us as we enter 2025.

Guilt can be corrosive and unproductive. But as Dan Pink notes in his book ​The power of grief​, looking back right side Polite regrets over things that may or may not have happened can actually be powerful and have an impact on our future.

So instead of trying to live without madness (the opposite of intelligence)…

We can intelligently apply regret to how 2024 went.

So, in honor of Oasis reuniting in the coming year, ​Don't look back in anger​ (still an all-time jam, by the way).

Instead… let's look back with curiosity.

Look back with curiosity, not judgment.

Take some time today and look back on your year ​curiosity, not judgment​.

Did you achieve what they wanted to achieve? Great! I bet you learned something.

Your life has been turned upside down and you have spent most of the year trying to stay afloat! Great! I bet you learned something! Have you started, stopped and missed a goal many times? Great! I bet you learned something!

Write these things down. Notice the emotions you feel when you look back. Write down what you learned and how it may impact future decisions or choices you make.

Maybe you've found out that you hate running, that going Keto was an absolute disaster, or that becoming a first-time parent has really messed up your life, or that we can't stick to a morning routine.

That's all that happened. Now we need to decide what kind of emotion to apply to these things.

Remember, ​the past is not written in stone​and some of these failures or setbacks may be the very lesson you should learn for yourself in the future. They can be the catalyst for your next step forward.

Remember, this is NOT "I screwed up/I failed, therefore I am a failure..."

It reads: “I screwed up/failed and I learned this lesson that I can apply in 2025.”

What will be different in 2025?

We start ours next week ​free 5-day challenge​ with Coach Matt from Team NF.

If 2024 didn't turn out the way you wanted or hoped, I'm sorry.

Life is strange and change is hard.

Let's make 2025 different! After all, if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always had.

If you want it to be different, let's make it happen.

Nerd Fitness Rebellion will be with you all the time.

I wish you a nice holiday and I will contact you next week.

-Steve

PS: Here it is ​register again and take part in our free 5-day challenge​. Thanks!