Although calendars days, dates and years are all fictional they might have an unintended or intended by a chad of a person in the past to allow people to reset, especially if you have lost your way. Did not necessarily loose my way rather forgot who I was or where I wanted to go for that matter. Although it wasn't all bad, there were a few noteworthy things I did manage to do last year.
Getting stronger
Last year was the strongest I have ever been plus it provided proof of something I'm innately drawn to. Fuck what people say. If deep down something feels right just do it, as long as it harms no one. So for the past couple of years I've been wanting to see how much I can Squat (both front and back, high bar ATG squats). At the time my max was around 80Kg so I set a goal double that. When I started to get close to that number I updated it to 220Kg. I've managed to Squat 170Kg just a couple of weeks ago, it was scary how easy it felt compared to 165 which was a struggle. Doing 7-12 sets twice a week does seem to be better than 5-7 sets. As for my front squat the last time I did a one rep max was around August and it's at 135Kg (I thought it was 140 but turns out the barbell at my previous gym is 15 not 20Kg). I've been doing reps of 125Kg for front squats so I'm pretty sure I can do more than that but I'm still happy with that number.
Squats are so simple yet I'm still learning small details in my form that help me squat just a tiny bit better. But the bulk of it you can learn it in a few minutes. All you need is a Squat rack and you are good to go. Squat shoes make a massive difference but not really necessary. I don't use a belt, my back and core have gotten much stronger and I find it's better to not rely on the belt, at least for me. Strangely my mobility has gotten much better too.
Started streaming
This one was quite scary. I never thought I would be the kind of person to stream but turns out it's a lot of fun. Most importantly for me it keeps me consistent on my side project. Most of the time it's just me streaming and there are not a lot of people watching but strangely it makes me want to show up and stick with what I've been doing. It's helped me get loads better at programming and Zig. Which is the goal of the stream for me and to build things I would otherwise never attempt. Apart from a couple of weeks where I was sick I've been streaming every week since April at 4 in the morning. It's the only time of the day where I consistently have nothing else to do. Surprisingly if you have a reason to wake up early it makes it a lot easier to stick to it. It still hasn't gotten easier but I find myself leaving the bed regardless when the alarm rings.
First year of working on my own project long term
Also another surprise. I managed to almost consistently work on my side project which has a client count of 1 for the whole of last year. Most people say not to do it, especially the ones who have done it before. But I don't think they realize it's one of the reasons for their success (not that I have succeeded but it's just a feeling). Unless you build things how are you to know what needs building. Over the last year of working on that project I've come across ideas for a few tools that I needed for myself that don't exist. I've always been waiting for the right idea. Turns out build the shit out the first idea that you have and as it interacts with the real world you'll get more ideas. One of which I'm currently working on and is scheduled to be released end of this month. I'm quite excited about it.
The not so good
I must say the amount of effort I put into the things I did has been lackluster. I gave up to easily too many times over the year. It affected how I felt about myself and in general. Something I've realized is that if you work too hard you are tired but I always feel good about myself. The rest tastes better and restful. Whereas too much time spent doing not a lot or "relaxing" just takes all the energy out of life. I'm sure there were plenty more things but I leave those for another day.