I always end the year by writing about my accomplishments, failures, regrets, and resolutions. I love this time of year because the calendar naturally motivates me to reflect and act. This post is all about 2023 failures.
Year after year, I write about my failures. Why? On the surface, I do it to teach you something about yourself. But the real reason is that it allows me to grapple with the gaps between my intention and behavior.
This year, I had a personal awakening that no matter how big my mistakes, nothing I could ever do could fail as much as humanity fails itself.
Humanity fails itself through various means, including environmental degradation, such as pollution, deforestation, and climate change; social injustice, including inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism; war and conflict, evident in territorial disputes, genocide, and terrorism; economic disparities, marked by poverty, wealth inequality, and exploitation of labor; health crises, including pandemics and inadequate healthcare systems; educational gaps, such as lack of access and outdated curricula; political corruption, including authoritarianism and political oppression; technological misuses like the weaponization of surveillance and data privacy breaches; cultural erosion, seen in the loss of cultural heritage; and ethical lapses, such as corporate greed and media bias.
Sometimes I’m cranky with people. I’m not always great with my money. There are aspects of my life that aren’t ideal. But even in my worst moments, I’m not part of the problem. As of 2023, there are 2,640 billionaires globally, according to the annual Forbes list of the world’s billionaires. This figure includes individuals and some families, where the wealth is shared among family members and counted as a single “family fortune.”The number can fluctuate yearly based on economic factors, business deals, and market conditions.
Those people are the problem. Not you and me. We’re fine. In fact, we’re the opposite of failures.
I might take “failure” off my future lists now that I understand this in my bones.