A Year In Review

10 Feb 2026

A Year in Review

2025 was an incredible year for me, with a lot of goals achieved and milestones reached. Each year I like to do an end of year review so I can move into the next one feeling lighter, clearer, and ready for new experiences.

What Worked

Misogi

2025 was the year I first came across the idea of a Misogi. An annual, self imposed challenge that is deliberately hard, unfamiliar, and carries roughly a 50 50 chance of failure. The aim is not comfort or optimisation, but growth. You are meant to push beyond what you think you can do and come out changed on the other side.

For mine, I wanted to do something with a group and something I had never done over a long distance. That ended up being cycling with Bridges for Music from London to Amsterdam during ADE. Just under 200km over two days, raising money for a music education centre in some of South Africa’s poorest areas.

I am happy to say the challenge was completed. It was hard, uncomfortable, and genuinely one of the most fun experiences I have had all year. I am hugely grateful to have been part of it and to have helped raise a meaningful amount of money for an incredible cause.

Adding Daily Stretching

I am not getting any younger, and training 5 to 9 times per week takes a toll. Because of that, I added a daily stretching habit of around 7 to 10 minutes every morning.

It is now completely non negotiable. I cannot imagine not doing it.

Interestingly, both this and the Misogi idea came from the same podcast episode, which I will link here from Jessie Itzler.

A Short Daily Meditation

A good habit you stick to is better than a great one you give up on after two weeks. Every morning I now do a 5 to 7 minute meditation.

One of my favourites is a race day style meditation. It is short, focused, and instantly puts me in the right headspace for the day.

Listen to it HERE

Adding Gym Equipment to My Garden

Hands down the best birthday gift I could have asked for.

Summer is incredibly busy, so having proper training equipment at home removes all excuses. If I cannot make it to the gym, I still train.

Sauna

Doing 2 to 5 sauna sessions per week has been a huge win. The physical benefits are great, but the mental ones are even better.

It is the only place where I am completely phone free. The first 10 minutes are usually noisy mentally, but after that everything slows down. Ideas start flowing as fast as the sweat.

AI

AI changed everything in 2025, and it genuinely feels like we are sitting in the middle of a pivotal moment in time.

For me, the biggest value has been making ideas clearer and easier to communicate, automating small boring tasks, and pressure testing ideas and theories before acting on them.

Used properly, it is an amplifier rather than a shortcut.

Habit Tracker

I added a habit tracker to my home screen, replacing where Instagram used to be. It is slightly annoying having to tick things off every day, but I love a streak and it works.

I finished the year with a 91 percent completion rate, which I am proud of.

Training

Training is non negotiable for me. As mentioned earlier, I train between 5 and 9 times per week.

It is meditation, therapy, and momentum all rolled into one. I genuinely believe everyone should aim to train at least once a week purely for the mental benefit.

It was not always easy. Early on, going to the gym came with confidence issues. Over time I realised the thing I was avoiding was actually the answer.

What Didn’t Work

It’s just as important to understand what didn’t work as what did. This section helps me identify habits and systems that need replacing or improving.

Spanish

Living in Ibiza and still not being able to speak Spanish is genuinely embarrassing. I had a Duolingo streak of nearly 700 days. It taught me a lot of words, but not how to speak. I switched to using ChatGPT, which was far better for conversation, but it didn’t have the streak feature that helped keep me consistent. I’ve now moved to a new app. Let’s see if this finally helps me improve.

n8n

I can see huge potential in n8n. I’ve used Zapier for nearly ten years, but for some reason I just haven’t been able to crack n8n yet. This one is simple — it needs more focused, uninterrupted time.

Journaling

Journaling is a habit I’ve kept for many years. In 2025 I tried a new structured journal and it didn’t work. I ended up losing a year’s worth of thoughts. In 2026 I returned to my old method and improved it by adding a weekly recap to stay grateful and on track.

Sleep

This one is still unclear. I do everything recommended, yet I usually sleep only six to seven hours and every device tells me my sleep is “bad.” The reality is I feel refreshed 99% of the time. Before wearables, we didn’t let machines tell us how we felt, so I’m going back to trusting my own signals.

All of these have solutions. Now that they’re identified, improving them feels much easier.

The 15 Things I’m Most Proud of From 2025

Cycling from London to Amsterdam.
Delivering genuinely fun work activations, including pop-up DJ sets in supermarkets, pizza shops, and gyms.
Winning #1 Club in the World with Hï Ibiza for the fourth time — something no other club has ever done.
Getting a new role as Marketing Manager of [UNVRS].
Taking the family on an unforgettable trip to New York.
Being recognised at work for doing my job well.
Watching a Liverpool match live with Oliver.
Building solid savings.
Running a sub-20-minute 5km.
DJing with Colleen in some great places.
Seeing Sociable Guys continue to grow and do well.
Launching an art programme.
Getting Colleen a birthday gift she’ll always remember.
Staying consistent with training throughout the year.
Showing up every day and finishing what I started.

Reflection

Looking back, what stands out most isn’t any single achievement, but the consistency behind them. None of these came from one big moment. They were the result of showing up, stacking small wins, and staying in motion even when things felt messy or unfinished.

2025 wasn’t perfect, but it was honest, active, and forward-moving and that’s something I’m proud of.