I hope you’ll indulge me in a personal story.
When I was 25, New Year’s Eve meant one thing – party. Hard.
I loved live music.
I loved staying up late.
I loved having a few (too many) beers with my friends.
I did not love leaving the party early.
At 25, I felt invincible. Untouchable.
I didn’t care about much beyond chasing the next good time. College was on hold, and I was biding my time at a job that barely registered as a career. Summer guiding work was on the horizon, but that felt distant – like something my future self would deal with.
Truthfully? I was drifting.
So when New Year’s Eve rolled around, I treated it like a competition.
Who could have the most fun? Me.
I danced.
I drank.
And I drove.
I didn’t hurt anyone that night (thank God), but I did get arrested.
Let me tell you – if it’s 1:00 AM and the bars are shutting down, you’ve had all the fun you’re gonna have. Just go home. I should have.
Instead, I found myself in the back of a police car – humiliated, embarrassed, and suddenly very ordinary. I wasn’t special. I wasn’t invincible. I was just another mid-twenties mess-up with more ego than sense.
That night, I learned something the hard way – it can happen to me.
When you’re floating through life without purpose, it’s easy to latch onto anything that feels good enough, even if it’s fleeting or shallow. If you don’t know where you’re going, any direction feels like the right one.
But here’s the thing:
The same patterns creep in as we get older.
We settle into routines, make excuses, and coast – unaware that we’re still choosing paths that don’t serve us.
Only when we bring intention into the picture – when our actions start aligning with a bigger vision – do we feel something real: fulfillment.
I share this not to dwell on mistakes but to remind you (and myself) that even the wrong turns can lead somewhere meaningful – if we let them.
So as the New Year approaches, I’ll ask you this:
Where are you going?
And if your answer feels a little fuzzy (mine did, too), you might like the Micro-Adventures Challenge I’m running this January. It’s 28 days of small, intentional adventures designed to shake things up – because sometimes, a new direction starts with just saying yes to something different.
No pressure. Just an invitation to see where it might lead.
Here’s to a happy, safe, and fulfilling New Year.
