49 questions to ask yourself every year - 2024 edition
This year I'm removing some questions I find boring, and adding some questions I find interesting 🤓 The question list will probably change a bit every year.
What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
Visited Japan, got a tattoo, got an earring!
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?
Don't think I had any :)
Did anyone close to you give birth?
I'm removing this since it's not really a question I care about, lol
Did anyone close to you die?
Luckily no
What cities/countries did you visit?
I visited Turin and Tokyo. Tokyo had been on my bucket list for a long time and I reaaally loved it. It felt like a real life Night City. So many high buildings. Full of people, sounds and screens, yet, in a strange way, it's a quiet and peaceful place. At least that's how it felt to me (when not in Shinjuku lol). Definitely going there again!!
In Finland, I visited Turku for the first time!! Actually I was there twice this year :P
What country would you love to visit?
Korea is next on my list of big-adventures-i-wanna-do
What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?
Last year I wrote that I want many things but that doesn't really matter, I just wanna try to live in the moment. I think that I really succeeded in that. A lot happened this year, and it felt like a one quick swoosh, like it's over the moment you catch it happening. So I think that's a win. Of course, there were also plenty of bad seasons where I was stuck in my own head :)
This year I would like more routines. Part of learning to live in the moment, for me, was to give up all my stupid habits and routines and 'productivity'. On the downside, I learned and accepted that I really do have mental problems, and not having any routines makes me prone to not do anything and fall into depression, lol. So this year I want to develop some habits and routines, not to be 'productive' (hate that word), but have even some construct to my days when not feeling too good, to keep myself sane :D
What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- Cottage trip to Turku at the beginning of 2024 was really special for me
- First trip to Japan for sure
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I think I managed to internalize that I am lovable and great just the way I am, I don't need to try to be anything else. I also cut back my alcohol usage like 95%
Also I made a movie of our Tokyo trip which was something I have always wanted to do 🎉
What was your biggest failure?
Yea I don't really like thinking of stuff as failures, so removing this question as well.
What other hardships did you face?
Relationship problems, and more specifically, attachment problems. Learned so much from studying attachment theory and finally started therapy.
Also had to learn to say no to people whose company I didn't really enjoy that much. Nothing wrong with those people, but I really really have to like you to prefer your company over my solitude :D
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Some kind of burnout at the end of the year :D
What was the best thing you bought?
Holidays and experiences are always the best things I can buy, but for material things, Aer Go Pack 2 for sure.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
I think I could list all of my close people, they all grew as a person and did something worth celebration. But to name one, I'd say 🧙🏼♂️, for being a superb friend and just generally growing to a more healthy and balanced person.
Whose behavior made you appalled?
Yeahhh I like this question but don't really want to answer it publicly so removing this as well :D
Where did most of your money go?
Traveling and eating :D worth every penny
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Parkour ❤️🔥
What song will always remind you of this year?
Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
Happiness: I don't knowww. Probably sadder. But I have accepted that, I also have noticed that I have great ppl around me and learned to appreciate them, I'm in therapy etc.
Thickness: Ate so much so probably fatter 🤤
Richness: More money I think
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Meditate and be mindful
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Loop stupid things in my head lol. Use nicotine products.
How are you spending Christmas?
Spend Christmas at my sis once again, was great. Was there a few dice, nice and peaceful Christmas :3
Did you fall in love this year?
I think it was more limerence than love but I guess so :D didn't end well tho
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Still not capable of hating people, lol
What was your favorite [insert medium]?
TV Show: I didn't watch too many shows so I have to say Arcane S2, even though I didn't like it too much
Movie: (500) Days of Summer, The Fall Guy, The Wild Robot and The Shawshank Redemption
Anime: Ping Pong the Animation
Manga: Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Book (fiction): The Emperor's Soul
Book (non-fiction): Virtahepo olohuoneessa (Finnish book about mental health and trauma)
What's your favorite color right now?
Blackkkkk 🖤
What was your favorite meal?
Ramen in Japan 🤤
What did you want and get?
Love
What did you want and not get?
Stable relationship, lol
What did you do on your birthday?
I was in Tokyo but I didn't celebrate my bd otherwise
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able to hear and trust my intuition at all times
How would you describe your personal fashion this year?
Cargo pants + oversized hoodie or sweater, long messy hair :D
What kept you sane?
Friends
Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most?
I don't think I had any celebrities I admired this year :)
What political issue stirred you the most?
I don't really follow politics, but if I stop to think about it, humanity's lack of action about climate change does make me mad 🤬 That's why I don't think about it lol
Who did you miss?
The part of myself who is organized and never forgets anything
Who was the best new person you met?
🥕
What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?
People are who they are, not who you need them to be.
What advice would you give yourself a year from now?
Make a list of bare minimum routines which will ensure that you stay healthy and well, even if you don't feel that way and you're going through shit. Stick to the plan (routines)
What advice would you give yourself a year ago?
Start therapy asap, lol. Also, keep doing a 4-day work week, the extra money from the fifth day isn't worth it.
What's your philosophy?
Trust your gut, do things, enjoy life, have no regrets and learn from everything you do. And remember to breathe, life is a journey not a race.
What's most important to you right now?
Friends, family, and my own mental health
Are you more confident this year compared to last year?
Absolutely, probably in every aspect of my life. I'm also more confident in being the quiet introvert, which is fun.
Any other thoughts about the year?
One can probably deduce from the answers above but 2024 was definitely not the happiest or easiest year I've had. But it did teach me important lessons I had to learn at some point anyway, and forced me to grow as a person. Maybe next year's answers will be more fun and lighthearted, or maybe not, we'll see!
What is a quote that sums up your year?
Damnn there are so many, here are some of my favorites which are really relevant to my 2024:
“There was rarely an obvious branching point in a person's life. People changed slowly, over time. You didn't take on step, then find yourself in a completely new location. You first took a little step off a path to avoid some rocks. For a while, you walked alongside the path, but then you wandered out a little way to step on softer soil. Then you stopped paying attention as you drifted farther and farther away. Finally, you found yourself in the wrong city, wondering why the signs on the roadway hadn't led you better.”
— Brandon Sanderson (The Emperor's Soul)
“Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself....To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountains which sustain life, not the top.”
— Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
“Think of it like Pandora's box. Within it there are all these cursed feelings that by themselves should make you turn and run away at first sight of them. But then, there's also Hope in there amongst them, so instead you stay, in defiance of your better judgement.”
— from Reddit, can't find the source anymore :(