I hope this finds you well-immersed in the joys of the holiday season. This year has been an especially propitious one for me. I am fond of saying that things are not new often nor do they stay new for long, so we should celebrate! And 2024 was certainly a year of things being new—from my New York-to-Ohio commute to the launch of Madrina Molly™.

In a few weeks, we can all start our Wish/Want/Will exercise for 2025—articulating what we wish for, what we are willing to work for, and what we are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of … well, whatever it is that we choose to pursue. And that requires, for me, a review of my list for 2024 and an assessment of my progress.

Before I go into the detail, I must cut to the chase: No, I did not successfully learn to juggle, although it had been on my Wish list. I did move from unable to catch a beanbag to able to catch two beanbags, thrown in opposing arcs. But, for failure to commit to a schedule for practice, I made little progress beyond the two bags. And that is exactly why the Wish/Want/Will exercise is valuable and instructive. I didn’t put in the time. So, I didn’t get the result.

Here are a few of the items on my Wish list that resolved themselves without too much effort on my part. There are some personal items, along with items that smack of vanity (or trauma?) that I won’t share. But rest assured, they’re there.

Have whiter teeth. I vowed to improve my smile to be more camera ready. I received a referral to a cosmetic dentist but did not want to spend the money on “toilet bowl white” veneers just yet.  Instead, I tried two different types of whiteners: One is a paste that I combine with my regular toothpaste, and the other is a dissolving strip. Yes, there has been progress. And, since I’m not giving up coffee in this lifetime, I’d best keep at it. I’ll let you know if I pull the trigger on the veneers. But I’m declaring success on this.

Cook most of our own meals. Col. Mustard and I have been highly successful at staying out of restaurants this year, unless we are traveling. Our reasoning? To control the volume and ingredients in our food. But, also, we are dreadfully disappointed most of the time with the meals we are served and think we can do better. So, we buy expensive ingredients, and we do. Mission accomplished.

Increase my movement/Regain my cardio capacity/Add muscle back to my body. These are individual line items in my Wish/Want/Will list. Notice that they don’t have a particular metric or goal associated with them. They are just “make progress in this area” items. And I most certainly did. I started the year stressed, having just completed transferring my portfolio clients to other advisors in order to exit my practice. I was at my highest weight and in tremendous cervical pain. This year, I clocked more walking mileage than ever before. (And do not let anyone tell you that you have to sprint or run for distance to improve your shape and feel good. My walking pace is anywhere between 17 and 20 minutes per mile, so I’m not setting any land speed records. Although, I do look like a gerbil.) Now that my neck is behaving (courtesy of a C4 corticosteroid epidural injection), I’ve been back in the gym and lifting heavy 2 to 3 times per week. And I recently noticed, while swimming laps, that my warmup time has gotten shorter and my ability to do a more advanced breathing technique is coming easier. The whole thing is a giant win. I will add this to my list in 2025 as well, but I expect that incremental progress will be less. And that’s fine.

Aside:  There are some days when my exercise consists only of stretching and doing ten kneel/kneel/standup/standup exercises on each leg and that’s it. I begin each year wherever I am and just do the best I can to move each day. And, you know what? It’s the process that makes the progress, not the goal. The goal is arbitrary. If your exercise consists of getting onto the floor and up twice a day, that’s a great place to start.

Love my hairstyle. This is one of those perennial list items. My hair does not behave well. However, I’m declaring this a success because I chopped it all off. It’s shorter than it’s ever been. It takes under 5 minutes to style it. And I could not be happier. Yippee!

Be a tennis tourist. I spent the entire Cincinnati Open in the stands. It was glorious. It took a bit of planning to be out-of-office, so to speak. But I gave myself a gift that I’d been promising for a long time. (In fairness, it was a gift from Col. Mustard, who promises to join me in 2025.)

Here are some items that made it from the Wish list to the Want list. They had a corresponding plan, and I was willing to work the plan:

Reduce my weight, LDL, and A1C. This represents probably the greatest success of my year. I improved the numbers that represent metabolic and cardiovascular health after letting them get just a tad out of control. The year included joining Virta, losing 20 pounds, and monitoring blood glucose levels; and self-paying for an executive physical, wherein I learned that my ApoB lipoprotein is “sticky.” Thus, even with a low coronary calcium score, I can benefit from a statin. Courtesy of the cervical epidural, I was able to return to movement to help everything along. This item was also on the Will list.  And, yes, sometimes it required sacrifice. I told myself that what I chose to eat was an act of self-love. In 2025, my list will include further reduction of LDL and A1C.  My understanding is “the lower the better” should be what I aim for.

Add muscle back to my frame. As you may know, I’m on this #BulkyNotFrail mission. We lose 3 to 8% of our muscle mass per decade after our 30s. And I’m determined to get to my tenth (and eleventh?) decade under my own steam. I have not been happy with my strength and musculature since my complete hysterectomy in 2019. This was the year of adding creatine supplementation back to my diet and, for me, it works. I’ve been feeling better and stronger.

Grow and monetize Madrina Molly™. Well, of course. I had many interim goals for this year, and they all amount to growing audience, building a platform, and establishing a brand. With respect to building a platform, I think I did okay. With respect to organic PR and promotion, that was slow. There are only 168 hours in a week, some of which are personal. And I am going to give myself grace to say, with more/different direction, I would have made more progress. I think I need to give myself credit for trying things that were educational but did not yield results. The plan for 2025 will improve the branding and public relations. It also includes adding a fractional Chief Marketing Officer and a public relations firm to the team.

Be present in Ohio and New York for family. Traveling between New York and Ohio was quite the time suck. In addition to a day lost driving (although I completed many audiobooks), I lost a day in recovery each trip. Other than distance truckers, most people don’t realize the stress toll continuous alertness takes, and how the vibration of the wheel through the hands creates micro-trauma in the body. My original plan was three weeks in New York and two in Ohio. While it was successful, and I have offices in both locations to work, it’s not ideal for myself or my family. I will fine tune the plan for 2025. But is it a success? Are we living a flexible lifestyle to be of service to both parent and children? Yes. Yes, we are. This item made it to the Will list—something I’m also willing to sacrifice for.

Last is the stuff that I didn’t get to or turned out to be just wishful thinking:

As I indicated, I will push juggling back onto the list for 2025 and see if I want to make a plan to practice. Eye-hand coordination is still important for neural pathway growth. I did not take up painting. I did not take up needle crafts. I did not practice my Spanish. I did not become a creator on Instagram (although I did learn a little about videoing myself on my phone). I did not paint the apartment walls. I did not take tennis lessons. (Alas, I have not yet gotten to “play” tennis on the local court with grandchild #4. Definitely on the 2025 list!) I did not read enough fiction. I did not digitize the family photos. I did not get a book proposal(s) done. I did not visit friends in Florida. I did not do a quick spa getaway. I did not finish decorating EITHER location in Ohio or New York. 

Trust me, the list is long. But I realize that where we spend our 168 hours a week is a choice. And I’m okay not completing/accomplishing what I haven’t invested in. I hope you are too. On the flip side, I’m very pleased with what was intentional in my year. And I feel blessed to be healthy and of service going into my #Peak65 birthday year. Bring it on!

By all means, pick up your copy of the Wish/Want/Will workbook and join me for 2025. It’s all about falling in love with process.  Once you do, the outcomes take care of themselves.

If you want to learn more or have questions for me about your finances, become a subscription member of Financial & Longevity Planning in the Madrina Molly™ Community. If you’d like the company of other Women of a Certain Age(ncy), join our free Shared Wisdom discussions or take individual courses. 

Copyright © Madrina Molly, LLC 2024. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein and shared by Madrina Molly™ constitutes financial education and not investment or financial advice.

Sherry Finkel Murphy, CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, is the Founder and CEO of Madrina Molly, LLC. 

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