Today is a time to flashback on the highlights of the year, but I can’t help but first think about my biggest hurdle in 2022... reassessing my own identity. This hella cute baby joined the family and absorbed all the attention/purpose of my wife and myself— and I got lost in the mix. Professional productivity got stifled and personal development halted. I couldn't help but compare my life to peers who were accomplishing so much and living on their own terms. I felt left behind. (Comparing has been a weak point at many stages in my life.) It took a lot of internal dialogue, and external dialogue with my wife❤️, to come to some important new terms for myself: Don't fight the change in identity, embrace it. If you want kids, this period is just what it takes to become a father, and it’ll make you a better person/man if you lean in. I've really learned to soak it in and make this role part of me, instead of a separate thing I'm negotiating against. I've actually never gone through this much "personal development" in such a short period of time. Sure I haven't gone to the gym or taken an enrichment class in over a yr, but I can put a crying newborn to sleep, bathe a squirmy baby, and pack up a stroller in under 10secs! You can't find thAt on any classpass. lol (but i really do need to get back to a gym 😅) I am not "behind". I'm exactly where I need to be, just doing other stuff. Maybe I didn't accomplish that one goal I set for myself in 2022, but that left room for other incredible things to happen.. like becoming a New York Times Best Selling author with @riseaabook and expanding @bopomofocafe to a 2nd location. Plus, I got the joy of rooting on my friends and watching them thrive which is just as thrilling. Friends in new relationships status', starting businesses, making shows/movies, growing their family.. it's fulfulling to be a supporting character too. With that said, I'll end my main-character recap here. This was more than I expected to write. Clearly I've been thinking a LOT in 2022, and I appreciate y'all reading and allowing me to indulge in sharing my introspection. Congrats to you for making it through another yr of challenges & triumphs.