The Best of 2023

For the final post of 2023, I want to share highlights, best moments, and memorable milestones from my year.

I hope this is a fun read and provides inspiration and structure for you to complete a similar practice for your year.

Please enjoy!

My Most Popular Posts

1. One Year Sober: Why I quit drinking.

2. Stories over Science: Why exercise should be inspired by people, not studies.

3. Spirit over Six Pack: Exercising for aesthetics is not enough.

4. Letting Go Like The Waffle Man: Befriending an uncertain future.

5. The Standard American Diet: If you eat the SAD, you will probably die much sooner than if you don’t.

Looking for more to read? You can find more of my most popular posts in 2023 at the bottom.¹

I published three ebooks…

• From Stiff to Supple: Your Guide to Total Flexibility

• The Traveler’s Handbook to Staying Strong on The Road

• The Complete Breathwork Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to The Art of Conscious Breathing

P.S. Paid subscribers can download PDFs for From Stiff to Supple, The Complete Breathwork Manual, and my Outlive book notes.

Annual memberships are 20% OFF until December 31st.

My Top 3 Books

1. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

3. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

If you’re the same as I was — a hard-core non-fiction reader — I strongly encourage you to read more fiction in 2024. In some ways, fiction is realer than non-fiction.

You’ll learn more than you can from most non-fiction books while getting lost in a captivating story. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a great place to start.

My Top 5 Songs

1. Stick Season by Noah Kahan

2. Northern Attitude by Noah Kahan

3. All My Love by Noah Kahan

4. She Calls Me Back by Noah Kahan

5. We Three by Cory Weeds

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of Noah Kahan. Other than Mac Miller, he’s the only artist who produces albums I love cover to cover.

Cory Weeds made the list for the sole reason We Three is the first song on the Coffee Table Jazz Spotify playlist.

My Best Decisions

• Taking the online course Write of Passage

• Quitting my job to pursue a more meaningful long-term career

• Travelling with some of the people I love most (my girlfriend, dad, and brother)

Some Big Wins

• I was a guest on my first-ever podcast

• I published 85 posts on longevityminded.ca without missing a week (which makes for 148 posts in the archive to date)

• I continued weekly calls with my best pal for the third year in a row. Nothing is off-limits on our calls. We share wins, work through problems, and can be vulnerable knowing that the other person will be supportive and provide honest and constructive counsel with your best interest at heart.

Health, Fitness, and Wellbeing

• Consistent cold showers for a year

• Completed my longest-ever water-only fast: 90 hours

• Maintained strength and fitness despite spending 140 days on the road

• Trained the hardest I ever have in the summer: 8-10 workouts per week (5 runs, 3-4 strength, 1-2 knees over toes)

• I completed my longest runs ever…

  • June 25, 2023: 16.15 km / 1:24:41 time / 5’15” pace

  • July 2, 2023: 15.08 km / 1:17:58 time / 5’10” pace

  • July 9, 2023: 20.08 km / 1:50:45 time / 5’31” pace

  • July 16, 2023: 21.30 km / 1:52:28 time / 5’17” pace

  • July 23, 2023: 23.37 km / 2:00:28 time / 5’09” pace

  • July 29, 2023: 25.05 km / 2:05:55 time / 5’02” pace

Travel

In 2023, I spent 140 days outside of my home province of Ontario travelling to destinations in seven countries across four continents. 

• Egypt with my Dad: Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada 

• Istanbul alone

• Italy and Lisbon with my girlfriend: Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Verona, Venice, Naples, Sorrento, Capri

• Hiking trip to Canmore, Banff, and Jasper with my brother, a buddy, and his brother

• Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires with my brother

• Argentina with my Dad: Salta, Córdoba, Bariloche, Ushuaia, El Calafate, El Chalten, Mar del Plata, Iguazu Falls, Foz do Iguaçu

Moments to remember

Travels with my brother

Memories with my amazing girlfriend

Travels with my Dad

Summer adventures with friends

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My 2024 Forecast

In January, I leave for Vietnam where I’ll spend three weeks before skipping over to Thailand in February to meet my Mom and Step Dad where I’ll spend three more weeks acting as their Thai tour guide.

Once I return home in late February, I plan to stick around Ontario for a while so I can be close to my girlfriend. As of right now, I don’t have any other travel plans for 2024 besides potentially continuing my four years and running annual expedition to Western Canada to fulfil my yearning to be among the mountains.

After quitting my job in 2023, I want to find work I love in 2024 while continuing to publish my most engaging and valuable writing for you.

Along with finding meaningful work, I plan to move out and buy a place of my own (I’m leaning towards a cabin on a lake if I can afford it). I turn 25 in January and don’t want to be staring down the barrel of the second half of my twenties while living in my Mom’s basement.

Other than a few flimsy predictions, my life is still very uncertain.

But uncertainty means opportunity.

So I’m chugging along one day at a time, trying to slow down, and remembering to have fun while the music is still playing.

Your turn…

Reflecting on your past year and planning the year forward is an extremely valuable practice.

It feels good to look at all you’ve done and everywhere you’ve been in the last 12 months and to make a few plans for the 12 months that lie ahead. 

To do so, I complete the YearCompass and Timeline Planning Practice every year. Both are completely free. Find more information by clicking the hyperlinks.

I want to hear from you!

I would love to hear your biggest wins, brightest memories, and best lessons learned in 2023.

If you want to share, please leave a comment on this post. I love hearing from readers and I always respond!

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Here’s to much love, joy, and prosperity in 2024.

Your friend,

Jack