Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024
At the end of every year, I reflect on the previous year, set intentions, and come up with a word for the following year. What was my word for 2023? I don’t know as I completely forgot about it about three weeks into 2023 (which happens every year).
For 2024, the word is going to be CURIOSITY. I’m expecting even more change in 2024 and I want to face it with curiosity and openness so that I may embrace, and not resist, the change that will come with my 54th year on the planet.
Highlights from 2023
2023 was a challenging year as we supported one kid’s graduation from college and the other kid’s amazing first half of the year, and then significant challenges in the second half. There was a lot of travel, tennis, and writing, but not much IT consulting which was disconcerting but also gave me time to reflect on what I want over the next five years. Here are the highlights:
— Played lots of tennis (singles and doubles) well enough to get bumped back up to a 4.0 USTA rating (finally!). Went to sectionals in Sacramento for the first time.
— Traveled a lot: Tahoe (twice), Palm Springs (twice), Denver (three times), Burlington and Stowe Vermont, Montreal, Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Umbria, Rome, Moss Landing, Cambria, Paso Robles, Puerto Vallarta, an overnight in San Francisco, and even went camping twice at Memorial Park in Pescadero, CA.
— Wrote numerous travel blog posts here on Medium including France (Nice, Gorges du Verdon, L’Isle sur la Sorgue, Dieulefit, Paris, Lyon, Chamonix, Les Arcs 1800), Switzerland (Geneva), Italy (La Thuile), Germany (Frankfurt), Canada (Montreal), Palm Springs, San Francisco (cheap dates), Palo Alto (cheap dates), Denver (Colorado), Amsterdam, and Santa Rosa/Sebastopol (California).
— Quit angel investing after writing off my biggest direct investment into a startup, and then wrote an even bigger check into one of my earliest portfolio companies (Zum).
— Pivoted my life sciences IT consulting with an unsuccessful attempt to partner with other consulting companies and then successfully consulted with life sciences startups outside of the US looking at the US market.
— Wrote multiple blog posts on life sciences, project management and project deliverables for enterprise systems, healthcare and regulatory in the US market, right-sizing computer validation in life sciences, and my takeaways from the JPM life sciences events in San Francisco.
— Presented a webinar on Right-Sizing Computer Validation in Life Sciences, was on an AI panel for Canadian Life Sciences, and was paid to present on Healthcare and Regulatory in the US Market for Nordic Innovation House.
— Was interviewed for a few publications and podcasts, submitted for and was accepted for a speaking spot at the ISPE Europe conference (which I later had to decline).
— Was accepted to teach a spring 2024 continuing education course on navigating life after 40 for women for Stanford.
— Wrote key takeaways from books on everything from aging exuberantly, death cleaning, minimalism, philosophy, and the weaponization of the seven deadly sins to oppress/suppress women and re-enforce the patriarchy.
— Started a small group called GSD (get shit down) for weekly accountability and for virtual coworking which I desperately needed to be productive.
— Kicked off a research project on midlife women, aging, body image, self esteem, social expectations, and the patriarchy along with research for Piloting Your Life 2: The Next Adventure.
— Applied for five life sciences jobs, heard back from and interviewed for one that I was later rejected for as a candidate. Decided I didn’t want a job; I like and prefer being a consultant.
— Studied Spanish, French, and Italian in preparation for various trips; spoke all three one night at dinner with my son Adam in Venice, Italy.
— Celebrated our first Christmas without our son Adam who is now living in Denver with his girlfriend.
— Made two new, good friends whom I Zoom with almost weekly. Rekindled friendships with a few others.
— Continued to build an amazing relationship with my husband Zeke after our relationship reboot two years ago.
— Turned Good Boy George into a cuddly boy.
What’s to Come in 2024
My crystal ball continues to be a bit murky so these are more of my wishes / desires for 2024.
— Research and write Piloting Your Life 2: The Next Adventure; partner with a publisher; complete the research on midlife women, aging, self-esteem, social expectations, body image, and the patriarchy.
— Travel: Europe in May / December, Palm Springs in February/March, another trip or two to Denver, and more to be scheduled. Travel with Good Boy George.
— Travel journalism: more blog posts, travel guides, IG posts to capture what we did and help and inspire others (especially midlife travelers); start creating/sharing videos (ugh!); monetize this!
— Stanford Continuing Education class on navigating life after 40 for women in the spring and beyond.
— Life sciences consulting: continue pivot to consult with life sciences startups outside the US looking at the US market.
— Women’s advocacy and leveling the playing field: continue to use my platform to make the world a better place for all, including supporting candidates/initiatives to support our democracy.
— Keep learning / follow my interests: languages (French, Italian, Spanish), life sciences,decentralized clinical trials and patient diversity, data and technology, compliance, investing, financial planning, startup fundraising, writing, social media, and marketing.
—Streamline our life to make it easier to be and live anywhere
— Focus on my health including general maintenance, tennis, yoga, pickleball, getting outside with George, and getting to the gym for strength and mobility training. I should get back into the pool, too.
— Invest in relationships including with my husband (especially) and friends.
— Support our kids as one applies to grad school/PhD programs and the other finishes sophomore year and studies abroad.
— Financial planning for the future.
— Get back up in the air in a helicopter!
My northstar goals continue to be to live boldly, share knowledge, level the playing field, and raise non-asshole kids.
My core values continue to be freedom, self-respect, and belonging.
Going through this exercise is incredibly valuable. Fortunately it wasn’t too onerous since I capture my weekly wins in a planner (which reminds me, it’s time to order a new one). I also track alignment to my intentions on a weekly basis. In 2023, my goals/intentions were:
- Sol2Proj: revenue to live, travel, invest for comfortable future
- Creativity: writing, videos, cooking, and other things that light up my soul
- Health and Self Care: healthier, stronger, calmer, greater self acceptance
- Money: greater control and understanding; less fear; secure the future
- Relationships: balanced, deep and meaningful connections
Tomorrow I’ll assess those against my wishes / desires for 2024 and make some adjustments.
What about you? What were your highlights for 2023 and what are your desires for 2024? Let me know in the comments or send me an email at pilotingyourlife@gmail.com.
About the Author
Terri Hanson Mead is the multi-award winning author of Piloting Your Life, travel journalist, Managing Partner of Solutions2Projects, LLC, and an advocate for women through all of her platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and this blog. Terri is the mother of two (one in college and one who just graduated!), is based in Redwood City, CA and in her spare time, loves to travel, cook, play tennis, and fly helicopters around the San Francisco Bay Area, especially under the Golden Gate Bridge.
