For J.D., the founder of the prominent personal finance platform Get Rich Slowly, the start of a new calendar year brings a radical shift in perspective. Following a period of profound personal grief and introspection, he has announced that he is dedicating the coming months entirely to his own well-being. Two months after the passing of his mother, the lingering emotional fog has finally begun to lift, and with it has come a renewed drive to reevaluate how he allocates his time, energy, and mental health.
In a candid update addressed to readers and friends, J.D. explained that after weeks of serious soul-searching, both he and Kim came to a stark realization: above all else, 2023 must become "the year of me." For someone who has spent a lifetime placing his own needs secondary, tertiary, or even lower on the priority list, this deliberate pivot represents a major psychological and lifestyle adjustment.
2023 — The Year of Me
The concept of intentional pacing and lifestyle design is not entirely new to J.D.’s routine. More than a decade ago, he established a habit of assigning thematic focuses to his years and months. During that period, designating specific spans of time to singular pursuits—whether physical fitness, writing, or dating—yielded deeply fruitful and satisfying results. Eventually, however, that practice faded as daily obligations and competing demands took precedence.
Reflecting on the intervening years, J.D. acknowledged a long-standing pattern of self-neglect. Starting recently, his primary objective for the foreseeable future is to place himself first. Admitting that the shift feels unnatural, and at times even selfish or wrong, he emphasized that years of making excuses and allowing external factors to interfere with his physical and mental health have taken a heavy toll. For the immediate future, his own well-being is job one.
At the same time, J.D. noted that prioritizing his own health and boundaries is ultimately a benefit to those around him, including his audience. Advising others to prioritize self-care is a philosophy he has frequently espoused, but acting upon that foundational wisdom has proven difficult until now.
For the regular readers of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. anticipates that the external experience will remain largely unchanged. The transformation will take place internally, driven by a conscious decision to put his own needs and desires ahead of everything else. This shift is expected to generate fresh insights and perspectives for future articles on the site, while finally clearing the path for the long-awaited completion of the platform’s site redesign.
However, as part of this new chapter, J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing schedules or forced content production quotas. If he has something meaningful to say, he will share it; otherwise, nothing will be forced. This organic approach mirrors his current lifestyle adjustments, where personal reflection and exercises from resources like the book Designing Your Life take precedence over arbitrary production metrics.
The Courage to Be Disliked
The philosophical foundation for this internal shift has been shaped by recent experiences and reading materials. During a Thanksgiving road trip to California to visit Kim’s family, the couple listened to The Courage to Be Disliked by authors Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book explores the psychological framework of Alfred Adler, challenging conventional mindsets around interpersonal relationships, validation, and personal agency.
Although the audio format occasionally made it difficult to pause and reflect on specific passages, the book left a lasting impression. J.D. noted that the title itself might be more accurately understood as The Courage to Be Happy, as it addresses the underlying anxieties that prevent individuals from pursuing authentic paths unburdened by the expectations of others. Finding the Socratic dialogue structure of the book both engaging and occasionally challenging for continuous review, he plans to revisit the material digitally to extract key concepts, with the possibility of publishing a full review or summary on Get Rich Slowly in the future.
A Values-Driven Life
The broader framework of J.D.’s renewed focus is deeply rooted in intentional living and psychological proactivity. Highlighting a passage from Stephen R. Covey’s influential work The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, retrieved through his Readwise account, J.D. emphasized the distinction between reactive and proactive behaviors. Covey notes that the ability to subordinate a passing impulse to a deeply held value is the true essence of a proactive person, whereas reactive individuals are driven entirely by fleeting feelings, environmental conditions, and external circumstances.
Recognizing that he had gradually lost control over his impulses while neglecting his core values, J.D. has already begun taking concrete steps to course-correct. This includes practical boundaries, such as removing time-consuming distractions like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad, and refocusing his daily habits around carefully chosen internal values.
While these shifts point toward a more conversational and fluid blogging style—with thoughts appearing as they naturally develop rather than conforming to structured content calendars—the overarching commitment to the Get Rich Slowly community remains intact. By centering his year around personal recovery and alignment, J.D. is establishing a sustainable rhythm that balances authentic self-care with his enduring passion for writing and financial philosophy.
