Spotify’s 2023 Wrapped came first. I enjoyed the harmless recap of what I’d listened to this year. But then there was a presentation of ‘our year in numbers’ at work. Then Monzo sent me ‘my year in numbers’ along with a congratulatory message for being in the top 5% spenders at Spinach, East Dulwich - a cafe I bought a lot of coffee from this year. These, along with many more reports from apps I’d forgotten I’d downloaded, were the metrics of my 2023.
It’s funny, light hearted content gently poking fun at my habits. But I do think it scratches at a deeper pressure which is ever-present at this time of year to assess what we have achieved in the last twelve months.
We get our own set of our ‘year in numbers’ as if our lives are plotted on a line graph which must always show growth. We use the milestone of a New Year as a time to look back and we weigh up and compare.
It’s natural and good to reflect but for me, the undertone of these reports – where the bigger number is always better – adds to this feeling that I must always be driving my life forwards.
It works for businesses. But applying these same end of year reviews to our actual lives feels problematic. We don’t need to see year on year growth like a business. In fact, it’s probably a good thing to stand still some years or take a sideways step, or what outwardly looks like a backwards one, to make room for rest or change.
Yasmina Floyer wrote something lovely about favouring a word for the year over New Years resolutions.
“My word for 2023 was 'connect', and it has served me so well. I have deepened connections with friends and family, messaged people to let them know I'm thinking of them, messaged artists and authors to tell them their work resonated (where I would not have done so) Connection to me also means sharing something of yourself with others, which is exactly what I aim to do through my writing. It means listening to yourself and your intuition, which I'm learning to do more and more.”
It works retrospectively too. Choosing a word to capture the year we’re about to depart feels like a kinder way to ‘wrap up’. We can choose one that makes room for the challenging and the rewarding, without feeling like we’re summarising year-end results and deciding that we’re ending 2023 at a loss or a gain.
Thinking of a word to sum up my 2023 encouraged me to look at my year on balance, without being preoccupied with growth. And to look at the tough decisions alongside all the good times and choose a word that is neither positive or negative, neither about gains or losses but that simply sets the year apart from others. I picked ‘trust’ - a word that touches on so much of what 2023 taught me and brought me.
What word would you pick? I’d love you to share in the comments
I’m sending my newsletter today to catch you before the New Year. You’ll hear from me again on Tuesday 9th.