The Dragons of 2024: A Year in Review

2024 didn’t meet expectations despite personal milestoneS

Allow yourself to process and release the emotions tied to unmet expectations from 2024 before embracing a fresh mindset in the new year

According to the Chinese Lunar calendar, 2024 was the Year of the Dragon—my year. My mother texted me last year in early February to inform me that horoscopes predicted it was going to be a tough year for Dragons. I don’t subscribe to horoscopes... but she was spot on. As the year ended, it was hard for me to figure out why 2024 wasn’t all the magic and feel-good vibes I had hoped for. On paper, it was a great year: big steps in my relationship, the first steps toward building a new home, more international travel than I had ever done, and a very stress-free job. Yet, in the last week of the year, I felt uneasy—a tightness in my gut and a hum of anxiety. My cup wasn’t filled.

I felt so unsettled in the city that I sought the magic of the mountains to clear my head and take solo time to focus on myself. I love end-of-year rituals and taking intentional time to reflect on the past year and set myself up for the one ahead. I shut myself off from social media and TV screens. Instead, I did nature walks, journaled, meditated, soaked in rooftop hot pools, practiced breathwork in saunas, and did yoga. Finally, toward the end of my trip, I found clarity.

As I read through journal entries from the year prior, I found myself re-reading themes like “ready to conquer,” “get back to growth,” and “feeling ready to do challenging things.” For those who have read my blog, you know I recently experienced a terrible episode of burnout. I started 2024 with a renewed sense of energy I hadn’t felt in a while. It sparked a fire, excitement, and a craving to return to being full-fledged RED, accelerating my career. But as I continued reading my words, I could see how the flame slowly flickered out as my career came to a standstill. I knew moments of frustration and anger had seeped out, but I had never truly given myself the opportunity to feel the immense disappointment.

I had tried to skirt around the topic and tell myself it was okay—careers can’t always be at a high. But I never let myself fully feel the sadness and process the fact that it wasn’t what I had hoped for. I unknowingly put so much pressure and expectation on myself to make 2024 THE year to get back to myself. It’s no wonder that the compounding pressure left me feeling empty, dissatisfied, and like a tightly wound spring.

So, what happens now? I guess I’ll try the difficult process (for me) of feeling what I actually feel to let it go. Feeling the “softer” emotions has always been hard for me, as it is for many REDs out there. Anger is always the comfortable, default emotion—it feels safer than letting the tears flow. It wasn’t the year I had hoped for; it wasn’t even close. Although it’s not ideal, a lot of my identity is tied to success at my job. It was hard to decide to take a break to deal with my burnout when all I wanted was to feel strong again.

Here we go: I’m going to feel disappointed in myself for not doing more. I’m going to feel let down by my company for not allowing me to take on more opportunities when I asked. I’m going to feel ashamed that I didn’t achieve my goals for the year. No feeling is “correct,” but I can’t move forward unless I let the frustrations of 2024 go. I will not let the shadows block out the light of the positive personal moments and milestones of last year.

Heading into the new year, my words are “grace and grounding.” I’ll explore the softer edges, feel things first, leave space, unwind, and focus on being present.