Priit's 2021 Year-End Review

Jan 30

2021 was a hell of a ride.

Outwardly - Finding the love of my life. Growing a fast-moving startup. Coaching brilliant and inspiring people. Educating about microbiome, health and wellbeing. Giving my all to practice what I preach.

Inwardly - a profound journey of exploration, trying to bring the unconscious conscious and reveal my inner operating principles. Contemplating which potentialities within me do I most wish to spend my limited time cultivating, developing and actualising in this world.

First I'll revisit the goals I set for 2021, and capture the biggest insights and learnings.

Next - the stories I'm letting go of, the intentions & theme for 2022, and the essence of what I see as my role in the world.

I'll finish with some quotes that most resonated, and best books and other resources that will hopefully benefit you.

Let's go.

2021 goals revisited

Personal goals

Maintain the daily pillars of healthy nutrition, regular and sufficient sleep, meditation, journaling, and exercise

The more I practice the fundamentals, the more I realize that in the long run they're the only thing that really counts.

Growing Elsavie has taught me a ton about food and nutrition. Talking to scientists, nutritionists, and doctors; reading books on functional nutrition and microbiome, contributing to writing blog posts, and replying to our newsletter readers about sugar cravings and other troubles with food has opened my eyes to the extent of rampant 'nutrition blindness' in our society.

Take for example a recent Arla-foods backed study which found that 66% of consumers in the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Germany do not see nutrition as part of sustainable diets. Moreover, half (49%) of the 8,000 consumers surveyed feel confused about how to eat sustainably and 52% state that they would like more information.

That has been my experience this year as well - people are confused about food, and bombarded by too much information.

And if that hasn't been enough learning about food - finding my amazing life companion Kristel has broadened my horizons a lot about biohacking - she and her super health-conscious biohacker friends had spent a ton of time researching the highest quality food ingredients and supplements to support their health. I've taken note and adjusted my eating and supplementation, reaching levels of well-being I didn't know existed.

For sleeping the target was 7-8h daily - in reality I barely managed 7h for the first half of the year. The second half of the year was enlightening - if I deliberately take time to be in bed for 9 - 9.5h each day (thus sleeping around 8 - 8.5h) then I can reduce my anxiety levels to close to zero. In the past I've struggled with overthinking and ruminating on all sorts of stuff, so this has been a big relief.

At first I didn't think it's possible for me to sleep already at 10:30 PM, but practice has shown otherwise. I have to thank Kristel again for this, who taught me about circadian rhythm, and what makes a quality night's sleep. We have a proper biohacker bedroom with blackout curtains, air humidifier, temperature control, sleep tracking, and so on.

For several months I managed to keep a schedule where I sat in meditation for 20-40 min, wrote a journal 20-30 min, and did yoga every morning. It served me very well, but ultimately I couldn't maintain it. Regular exercise has been the easiest to maintain, as sport has always been a staple in my life.

This year, when I had completely let go of the strong desire to become the Estonian champion in squash, I made it to my first final and added a silver medal to bronze. Still aiming for gold in 2022, but holding the goal lightly :)

Deepen my existing friendships and create new amazing connections

I read from somewhere a quip that every year your life is more less the same, except for the people you meet and books you read. So true.

The deepening of existing friendships and creation of so many new wonderful connections was the best part of my year. I'm enormously grateful to have met some new souls who are very close to my heart - you know who you are :)

I’m ready for a new joyous and exciting relationship

Speaking of creating new connections - the best and deepest one blossomed in spring.

I had intentionally created space in my life for a new relationship, and tried my best to keep my mind and heart open.

Earlier in the year I tried to put into writing who I was looking for to appear in my life:

You know what you are. You know what you like. You know what you want and you're committed to being a full expression of that.
You're committed to the journey. You strive for excellence. You empower others with possibility, and a passion for life.
You base your value on your humanity, your integrity, your intelligence, and your strength. You have standards you hold yourself to, not expectations that you project on to others.
I want you to enter my world, my reality. But there's no way to really describe it. Instead, I have a proposition. Let's dance. See what happens.

And to my amazement, that's exactly what happened. I met the love of my life - Kristel.

We walked and danced on the beach. We danced in a lookout tower in Viru bog during sunset, and fell in love.

This time it feels like there's a deep inner knowing inside me - a quiet, safe and secure kind of love.

I'm grateful beyond any words to have met her, and I'm so proud to call her my life partner. We've been together for only a bit over half a year, yet both feel like it's been many years.

She's an extraordinary human being and a human doing. She's found her mission in life, as a coach, helping high-achieving women reach their goals. She helps them perform and feel at their best by managing their energy, not time. She's passionate about tapping into women's unique biology and their feminine-masculine traits to help them effortlessly thrive in life.

Practice deliberately throughout the year to get to intermediate level in bachata, kizomba, urban kiz and tarraxo. Attend social dancing events, create choreographies and have epic fun

Mid-year I summarized my emotions about dancing in a blog post "Don't learn to lead. Lead to learn..

Dancing was a source of joy and intimate connection, as well as a constant challenge to keep learning. I'm so grateful to be a part of the dance community in Estonia.

As far as choreography challenges go - at Casa De Baile summer camp I performed a choreo by our instructors Marcus and Victoria, and earlier in the year me and Jonne-Liis put together a small choreo of our own.

Challenging, addictive, life-affirming, and full of warmth and joy - that's what dancing has been for me this year.

Level up to consistent level 3 in Personal Knowledge Management, and make solid headway towards level 4

Beginning of year I summarized my current understanding on creating sustainable habits and living a balanced life in an Elsavie blog post.

Tiago Forte course Building a Second Brain took this to a whole new level.

It was definitely one of the best courses I've ever taken. The levels of Personal Knowledge Management that I'm alluding to in the headline are taken from this self-assessment. Try it, and check what's your current level.

A realization of sorts - it seems that for whatever reason I decide to take any course or attend a retreat, the biggest value always ends up being the fantastic people I meet.

Have at least one transformative personal growth experience

The year was filled with growth in different areas, but looking back I count three massively impactful personal growth experiences that thoroughly reframed my understanding of the world and my role in it.

They've all included deep inner journeys, in the nature, away from the city and technology.

Instead of going into the specifics of each journey, I'll instead highlight the insights in the sectionn “Biggest learnings of 2022”

Work goals

Spearhead the effort at Elsavie to launch the first prototype of a prevention-focused health & wellness platform (called Health Account) that integrates next-generation virtual learning on an online community platform with health data and personalized nutrition, creating a safe space for journeys of learning by doing.

The biggest success this year was that we managed to get EU support funding for a three-way collaboration to build the Health Account (Tervisekonto), together with scientists (TFTAK) and software developers (Net Group).

We made it in the accepted projects roster by the thinnest of margins, in the last minute. It was a great team effort, a short period of very long workdays that took a significant chunk out of me.

How do I know? After managing to submit the project I was exhausted.

One by one my most important keystone habits fell away, exhaustion and anxiety set in, and by March I realized something has to change. I took more time for myself and started to slowly rebuild all the systems that I'd let go of. By end of April, the beginning of the Building a Second Brain course, I was back on track and brimming with enthusiasm.

How has building Elsavie progressed?

Overall, fantastic. Fast growth and ambitious plans.

We want to create a future where people focus on prevention and know how to take care for their own health and well-being.

Our whole team works diligently on it each day. I'm very privileged to be in the company of such inspiring people.

Our mission is to raise your awareness about everything that you can do for your health. And then give you the most powerful tools so you can take your health to the next level.

Our team has more than doubled in size, as we've added a fabulous nutrition therapist, high-level sales & marketing people, a talented coach/community organizer, and an experienced product owner. We've carried out many webinars and partnerships on the topics of microbiome, nutrition and root causes of health and wellbeing.

Soon we'll be ready with our new and even more user-friendly versions of health questionnaires and microbiome reports. A clinical trial about the effect of dietary fibers on humans is also due to start in February.

In 2021 I set the target of 10k newsletter subscribers by end of year. This was much more difficult to reach than expected. Starting a weekly newsletter from scratch and keeping up the quality took a lot of effort from us. The choice to enroll Elsavie in the Growth University program was a wise one - it taught me and the whole team a ton about how to write newsletter and create partnerships.

Instead of 10k followers we reached 2.5k - still a decent number, and a great team effort.

End of the year we finished our first Health Accelerator program - a 11-week virtual program that changes people's perspective about nutrition, health and wellness.

Instead of a diet program we aim to give a proper science-based system that gives the participant a comprehensive understanding of their nutrition and gut health, and root causes of health and disease, and the confidence and trust to listen to their own body and stop listening to everyone else.

It's foundation is on four pillars - nutrition and gut health, exercise, sleep and emotional wellbeing.

It's cohort-based online learning that gives the participants tools to transform her life, and access to a community of people on the same unique journey as they are.

The program has before & after microbiome and blood testing, self assessment questionnaires, and nutrition and habit tracking. Each week we have workshops by nutrition therapists, scientists, doctors, and group discussions as well as 1-to-1 coaching.

It's already been a success - in February we'll launch the next accelerator (still in Estonian), but the next one after that (most likely in September) will definitely be international and in English already.

Deepen my listening skills and maintain a stable coaching practice, aimed towards ambitious, committed, and fun high-achievers

Coaching has been a steady practice throughout the year. Each year I find that I get more relentless in finding the best possible fit between me and the client.

We have to both light up like a Christmas tree when facing the idea of collaboration, and then be ready to fully commit.

I've learned a ton about coaching, about being coached, and met some super inspiring people on the way.

The aim for the next few years is to never settle for less than a 9/10 fit, and to always have a small number of long-term committed clients.

Take my writing skills to a new level by learning how to create great outlines and tell captivating stories

I realized I was being very harsh on myself in this regard. In the first drafts of this review I wrote that there was no particular progress in this regard. Only much later I realized I'd completely forgotten all the steady and arduous writing I'd done during the year, because of the feeling of being not there yet, or not good enough.

I'll change this statement now. I did very well. I started my blog priitlumi.com, wrote my first year-end review, + posts about dancing and leadership, and habit formation and how to live a life in balance.

I journaled every day for 5 months for ~30 minutes, wrote a weekly Elsavie newsletter, and held ~10 webinars on the topics of microbiome, health, nutrition and sustainable habits.

Still, it's become evident that writing isn't my calling - I'd much rather have 3-hour long fascinating discussions on a podcast or with my friends and colleagues. My aim in writing publicly is to distill my learnings to its essence and hand them over in the shortest form possible. Talking about what fascinates me - that I can do for ages.

Resolve half of all my financial commitments

I accepted in 2020 that it will take years before I can manage to resolve all my commitments from bankruptcy of the previous enterprise, and 2021 was the first year I got to make good headway into paying back a lot of loans. Didn't make it to 50%, but resolved ~25%. Looking back I don't see how it could have been significantly more, so I'll give myself A for the effort.

Do my best to be a role model for squash juniors in trainings

It's been steady progress, and I think me and the whole team of coaches has been fully committed to help the kids learn squash and love the process. The juniors are exponentially getting more skillful and faster each month - a few more years like this and our national team will be struggling to keep the youngsters from snatching the top championship places.

Biggest learnings of 2021

Every day can be Christmas

It makes no sense that we wait for holidays to celebrate something.

I can create a life where absolutely every day for me is a celebration of life.

There's no "I will be happy if X happens". I choose to create my own reality, and I choose to be happy, no matter what.

At the same time I am able to let the full spectrum of life's emotions flow through me, accepting them all.

Health starts from the inside. If you can change your gut, you can change your life

Trust me - anything you may have heard about the importance of microbiome is only the tip of the iceberg.

Gut is the command center of your health. Gut health is critical for happiness, well-being, productivity, high-energy and high-performance.

You live together with a huge number of bacteria and other microorganisms, and it's your responsibility to keep them happy and healthy.

The idea that the human cell isn't at the center of our health is for sure one of the most (if not the) groundbreaking discoveries of this millennia.

Over time it will fundamentally shift how we see ourselves and the world around us, leading us to change our behavior in almost every aspect of our lives.

I'm sold on this idea, and digging deeper each year in the science and practice of well-being.

All you need to create a life in balance is the guts to do so.

The essence of humanity is that we are beings made of pure light and love

For me this observation comes as a deep inner knowing, not something to prove or disprove.

I've done quite a lot of trauma healing in the past year, as well as witnessed profound healing on both individual and group levels. It's as if a new consciousness is being birthed - slowly and painfully, but surely.

I've learned that control is an illusion, and that I can consciously use my attention, a very limited resource, to direct where my (physical and emotional) energy goes.

Each of us has a choice whether to live in circles of victimhood, or to take responsibility and step out if it.

The key is to stay present, and in touch with your body, and with anything that may come up.

Stories I'm letting go of

This year the question "What stories are you letting go of?" hit me hard. I realized there had been two stories I'd been carrying with me that I'd managed to let go of in 2021 - both huge wins for me.

1) I'm not able to feel much

The extent of my capacity to sense the emotions of others came as a huge surprise at a 3-day deep inner work retreat. I could attune myself at will to somebody and feel very strongly what they were feeling.

Not only, but I was also able to hold space for them to deeply support their inner process.

This completely shifted my understanding of what's possible for me, and how sensitive I really can be, if I only keep myself clean - quality food, good sleep, enough exercise, and a daily spiritual practice. Or 'mental fitness', as is apparently popular to say nowadays.

2) I am not enough

Throughout the year there had been a persistent feeling of being insufficient, of needing to learn X or Y before I'd be ready to teach anything.

The Building A Second Brain course in May was an incredible opportunity to be a part of a community of smart and enthusiastic people obsessed with Personal Knowledge Management. I had already been building my Second Brain for 8 months in Roam Research, but the course gave me a much deeper understanding of the fundamentals of how to capture notes and create my own work.

The climax of the course coincided with me finishing the Vadim Zeland - Transurfing in 78 Days book, and somehow a lot that had been brimming under the surface of my conscious mind came together in an insight - I am a teacher. I am ready. There's nothing left to learn before I can start to teach. Action is the biggest teacher.

The FOMO around not being able to read and listen all I want to listen also disappeared.

This was sparked by a question from a Second Brain course participant - "What if during the next year you didn't learn anything else and only implemented?"

I suddenly realized if I only had access to my Roam second brain for the next 10 years, I'd be completely fine to still be a prolific creator. One or a hundred more articles wouldn't change a thing.

All of this resulted in an absolute peace of mind with regards to consumption of information, and inspired me to put together a personal manifesto. Here's a part of it:

Personal manifesto

I'm Priit Lumi and the sentence that used to have power over me was, “I'm not good enough".
From this moment on, I choose myself.
I am capable and worthy because I have decided it is so. I don't want and I don't hope. I intend.
I don't need to prove anything to anyone.
The most important work I can do on this planet is to know, love and accept my Self for the glorious being that I am.
I put who I be over what I do. I always lead with love.
I do everything effortlessly, and transform my life into a constant celebration.
My legacy is every life I touch, each day.

Theme for 2022

This year, instead of goal-setting I'm trying to fully embrace the process-driven approach and set a theme for the year.

The theme for 2022 will be forging extraordinary rituals.

In the words of Steven Kotler - "Human beings are habit machines and the easiest way to live an extraordinary life is to develop extraordinary habits"

But why the word 'rituals', instead of 'habits' or 'routines'?

A habit is something done repeatedly for the purpose of performing the action itself. A ritual is something done repeatedly with a purpose outside of the action itself.
theritualculture.com/rituals

I aim to have meaning and mindfulness behind everything I do - to turn my routines and habits into rituals, and bring more presence into each day.

Intentions for 2022

Each month experiment with creating at least one new ritual.
- Always do things in the simplest way possible. The only rituals that survive over the years are the most simple, useful and obvious ones.
- Learn to create sustainable and supportive rituals with ease.
Ask for help when the going gets tough.
Commit to building Elsavie, to help create a future where people focus on prevention and know how to take care for their own health and well-being.
- Commit to serving my people.
Speak your mind, as truthfully as you possibly can. Develop your voice.
- Understand you have something to say, and that your voice counts. Every voice does.
Be of service. Help build communities wherever you go. Share meals, meet new fascinating people and deepen existing bonds.
Further develop your own Personal Health Management system. This includes practice of the fundamentals (as last year), as well as a whole village of specialists, who can support me when the need arises - dentist, physio, therapist, coach, functional medicine doctor, and so on.
- Fix your teeth and support mouth microbiome
- Take daily care of your skin microbiome.
Commit to coaching a small number of extraordinary people. Fill the last two spots for my long-term transformational coaching practice.
Develop my Personal Knowledge Management system by 1% each day. One big step for the beginning of year is to rebuild my Gmail Inbox according to Tiago Forte groundbreaking system.
Keep walking the path of deep inner exploration, and say yes to opportunities that speak to your soul.

Why am I here?

I spent the end of the year in Zanzibar Tanzania, resting and contemplating about my passion and purpose.

Put on one page, this is what came of it:

Mission

My mission is to awaken consciousness.

To be fully in service of cultivating the future society - by harnessing all that I am in the service of realizing the best version of myself.

Why? So I can help raise the bar for the whole humanity.

My deepest values are health, growth and relationships.

I want to be a role model for others. To teach by example, through who I am and what I do, not just by what I say. To embody.

Vision

I believe we as humans are on our way to becoming a fully conscious species - a new form of human being, firmly grounded and wise, deeply aware of the interconnectedness of everything.

Individually each of us is becoming a whole person - reaching higher and higher levels of integration and harmony within ourselves and within the outside world.

It's a journey of exploration, courage and being fully open to experience.

Becoming fully conscious requires a profound shift in awareness. It requires a lifelong commitment to learning, and taking full responsibility for our actions, and health & well-being

This is an undertaking that will take many generations to complete. Yet I want to throw my entire being into this.

What's my role to play ?

I want to help you to be more free to become who you truly want to become - to be able to put the whole of yourself into your work, your relationships, your beliefs and your feelings. I want you to realize your true potential.

For this you need a safe space to explore your depths and to understand why you are on this planet to begin with. My superpower is the ability to create safe spaces for insight.

I help you discover and fully live out your genius.

Quotes that most resonated in 2022

The father of information theory, Claude Shannon, had the simplest possible definition of information: Information is that which surprises you. Surprise is a good indicator. It's a good rule of thumb for when you should take note of something, because it is a sign. It's a signal that a piece of information isn't already part of your mental model of the world.
Tiago Forte

Information may have a shelf life but experience is evergreen.
Julie Ann Nepomuceno

First expand experience, then clarify and evaluate with critical reflection.
Christopher M. Bache

For transformation to succeed, you have to create the space for insight. Without insight, there’s no true transformation. And to create the space for insight, something unusual, unique or startling is often required
Rich Litvin

Simply hold this thought: «I am looking for the thing that will turn my life into a constant celebration». The goal will come as a revelation. When you come across information that lights your soul up and your mind takes great pleasure in pondering it from all sides, and then you can assume that you have found the very thing.
Vadim Zeland