CHOOSING TWO OUT OF THREE: MY 2025 REALITY CHECK

This year didn’t go how I thought it would. Things got off to a rocky start and never really settled into their usual rhythm.

For the past few years, I’d built a pretty good streak. More than 1,000 miles run. Over 100 books read. A long list of personal goals checked off. This year was different.

Austin Kleon has this philosophy that makes more sense now than it ever did before. He says there are three main categories in life—work, family, and scene (the Run Club, the pickup games, the stuff you do for yourself). You can really only have two at a time.

This year, my two were work and family. That was new for me.

I chose Tee Ball over Run Club. Getting two kids to school in the morning made those 5 a.m. workouts a lot harder to pull off. My job demanded more of me than it ever has. And having two kids is just more taxing than one.

That’s not a complaint, just math.

I’m writing this to give myself some perspective. To remind myself that things change. Life shifts. You adjust.

Next year I want to get back to running, but I’m building it around my family and work priorities. That means keeping my expectations in check with my reality.

It wasn’t a total loss. My role at work has expanded in ways I didn’t expect. And I found a new hobby in photography that’s already changing how I see the world.

So 2025 was okay. Not the year I planned. But the year I needed.

Here’s to working hard in 2026.