23 questions to ask myself in 2023

Grayscale Photo of Man Thinking in Front of Analog Wall Clock Brett Sayles

I’ve been trying to make small improvements in my life by working on things that were in my control. While not every change I’ve made has been a positive one, over the course a few years everything has trended in the positive direction. Taking more responsibility in my life has been great for my mental health but it does have one downside. When you fail the blame feels squarely on your shoulders. Sometimes this is true, sometimes it’s something you thought you had control of but didn’t, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. In most cases I still don’t give myself enough grace when I fail, even when my timeline was unrealistic, or my ambition to lofty. I’ll be working on that for this year.

I’m looking forward to 2023 and all it has to offer. For the new year I’ve come up with 23 questions that will help guide my actions. I hope they help you as well and that you give yourself enough grace if you don’t improve all of them. Happy New Year🎉, Happy Holidays, and here’s to 2023.

1. What problems or points of friction am I running into repeatedly? How can I solve them?

2. What have I been procrastinating that I could start this week? This month? Why have I been procrastinating?

3. If I could simplify my life only by removing things, what would I remove?

4. What do I want to accomplish in the new year?

5. What is something that makes me feel fulfilled when I complete that task everyday?

6. What is the breakdown of my expenses on a month to month basis?

7. How many books do I want to read this year? Which books? What genre?

8. What activities do I continue to participate in that make me unhappy?

9. What activities am I participating in that make me happy?

10. Has my body been trying to tell me something that I’m ignoring?

11. What things did I do well in the past year?

12. What things can I improve on in the new year?

13. Am I happy with the goals I set for myself this past year?

14. Did I accomplish what I set out to accomplish in the past year? If not why?

15. How can I be of service to my friends, family, and community in the new year?

16. Are my relationships with the people around me where I want them to be?

17. What can I do right now that will improve my overall mental health, or living situation, even if it’s not the ideal scenario?

18. Are the things that I’m doing actually what I want to be doing, or am I trying to live up to someone else’s expectation of me?

19. Have I talked to, and told the ones that I care about that I love them recently?

20. Is there someone that I said I would hang out with that I still haven’t made plans with?

21. Is there anything I haven’t used in the past year that I can donate, sell, or get rid of?

22. Is there something on my mind that I still haven’t been able to get over in the past year? Why?

23. Am I spending enough time in the present, or am I still too focused on the past or future?

Sneak Peak for the New Year 🔍

Part 3 of The Fascinating development of AI: From ChatGPT and DALL-E to Deepfakes is on the horizon. I also plan to start a series called Weird Ones 👽 where I talk about programming languages that don’t appear in your TIOBE top 20. Stay tuned 📻!