Dear self,

Here are your tasks for 2016…It may seem like a lot right now, but you have an entire year, so no whining.

Do one of those stoppie wheelie things while turning.

Keep your shit together. I.e. organize your email inbox and keep it that way for longer than 3 nanoseconds.

Cultivate a growth mindset.

Stop saying sorry when that’s not what you mean. (Acceptable times to say sorry include: when you break a plate, when you accidentally put your boyfriend’s mom’s electric kettle on the stove and melt plastic everywhere, when you step on someone’s toe, etc.)

Spend time with people who believe in you.

Stop reading comment sections, especially on Pinkbike articles written by, featuring, or otherwise involving anyone with a vagina.

Do a bigger bunny hop. Like, more than 4 inches.

When needed, remind yourself that you have a right to take up space, and that that includes your right to take up space on the trail, even during an EWS pre ride, even when Florian Nicolai is breathing down your neck. Even under those circumstances you still have a right to not have to dive off a cliff onto your head, because you’re a human being with rights.

Acknowledge that some things are out of your control.

Stop being scared of turbulence and talking on the phone.

Be nice to yourself.

Don’t completely succumb to adulthood. But still try to pay bills on time.

Reframe impossible.

Do that yoga push-up chataranga thing that currently makes you feel like you’re going to collapse and smash your nose on the ground.

Minimize trailside meltdowns.

Remember that you always, always, always have a choice. Being disappointed is a choice. Being frustrated is a choice. Smiling and laughing it off is a choice.

On that note, choose smiling.

Learn to slackline and/or do a handstand.

Try to see failure as a painful, but necessary part of success — not a mandate on your character. Try.

Keep getting stronger.

Embrace partial success. Embrace progress, even the very small, barely noticeable, infinitesimal progress.

Celebrate life.

xoxox,

you