2022 in review — jënni jalonen

I had planned to write a resume of 2022 in my diary. But we live in a digital world, and I am just as addicted to all things digital as everyone else. So, here we go: a public digital resume of my two-thousand-twenty-two.

How did 2022 stand out for you?

It’s been a soul-seeking journey more than any previous year that I’ve walked this earth. It’s been a year of extreme highs mixed with extreme lows and an attempt to connect with my intuition as well as figuring out what I really want from this life. I’ve been extremely anxious about turning 29, realizing that I will not be young forever and that life passes by so quickly. I’ve come to the simple conclusion that I want to choose love and exploration instead of being ruled by the limiting fears and doubts in my mind. So this year has been very much about navigating this inner path.

How have you been in comparison to previous years?

I’ve been a bit of an emotional wreck. The first six months were great — I was not feeling like a prisoner in my own body anymore (I’d had ankle surgery in October 2021) and I was able to move more freely again. I spent a lot of the time in the mountains and felt very hopeful that I’d be able to go on all the adventures and do all the races in the summer. Unfortunately that didn’t happen; I did three races at the beginning of the summer, but then I started getting problems with my right ankle (the “good” ankle) and things went downward from there.

In October I fractured my right foot during a run and was extremely worried what that meant for me. Again, I felt like a prisoner in my own body at the same time as I was trying to do the best I could in that situation. I’ve been “that injured runner” for the better part of four years and if there’s one thing I’m pretty good at, it’s doing the work that needs to be done, finding joy in the suffering and staying hopeful that better days are to come.

In November I went to India to become a yoga teacher, and considering how I’d been doing in the months prior and how much I needed to connect with myself again, the trip couldn’t have begun at a better time.

Instagram post: How quickly your world can be turned upside down >>

Any insights from 2022?

So many.

Listen more and speak less.

Every action has a result — it’s the law of cause and effect. I choose good actions as well as good thoughts.

On the other side of suffering, there is joy. Where there is life, there will always be death. The one cannot exist without the other, and the only thing I can aim to do is to accept this fact and law of nature. I wrote this in my diary the day I turned 29:

Life is but one giant paradox
So much time — so little time
Forever young — always aging
Present — Past
Beginning — End
Life — Death

But more than anything: I’ve realized that the greatest obstacle to growth is my own mind. The fears, doubts and anxieties in my head that tell me I can’t or that I’m not good enough. I’ve also figured out that many, if not most of these limiting stories that I’m telling myself come from past experiences and traumas. I’ve started the process of debunking these false truths to find out where they come from and how I can come to terms with them. I am enough, and I always have been.

Instagram post: What stories are you telling yourself?

What made you happy in 2022?

All the hours spent in the mountains. Suffering a little (or a lot) on the way up only to be rewarded by jaw-dropping views and the greatest sense of freedom in the world.

Winning my first skyrace. Not because I finished first, but because I had never before believed that I am capable to do so, and there I was, proving myself wrong.

Travelling around in my new old car (baptized Daenerys the Campervan), turning into a mini-moving home and exploring new places with it and together with Jost.

Sharing many mountain (and other) moments with likeminded friends. People from all around the world who have a similar life philosophy as I do. My tribe.

Baking and cooking delicious vegan things.

Seeing how the things I do and pursue can equally inspire other people to want to explore more.

Finally getting around to doing my yoga teacher training after 6 years of wanting to but never daring to take the leap.

Only to name a few things.

What do you wish for in 2023?

Personally: In short — do more of the things that make me happy. Pretty simple.

In detail: Spend time building meaningful relationships, as well deepening the ones that I already have and that matter to me. Express my creativity more — paint, draw, write, bake… Go on more adventures, exploring places I have not yet been to. Climb my first 7000 m peak in the Himalayas. Maybe have a go at a few more skyraces next summer. Participate in my first skimo race this winter. Read books. Appreciate being slow, not always rushing from one thing to the other, rest and recover more. Visit museums.

Write fewer to-do lists.

I also wish for everyone to be happy and to know that they are loved. And even if this will likely not become reality for all of us, sadly — I’m doing what I can to send out these well-wishes to the universe and maybe someone will hear them one day.

Last but not least I hope that you, reader, will spend 2023 doing more of the things that are truly meaningful to you. I hope that you’ll be able to overcome the limiting beliefs in your head in order to allow your best life to unfold.

True change starts with knowledge and awareness.

Thanks for the inspiration, Flora Wiström!

Now it’s your turn to answer these questions, dear reader, if you’d like (for everyone to see or for your own eyes only):

How did 2022 stand out for you?
How have you been in comparison to previous years?
Any insights from 2022?
What made you happy in 2022?
What do you wish for in 2023?

With love,
Jënni