By Leo Babauta

It’s been quite an amazing year for me and Zen Habits. I’m glad I’ve had all of you along with me for the ride.

Other than the 2016 election and other craziness in the world, which I decline to discuss on this site, a lot has happened for me personally:

• Eva’s dad died this month, and we’ve flown back to Guam for the funeral. The good news is we’re finishing the year here on Guam, with family we love and miss, and it is gorgeous here.

• My son Rain graduated from high school and started college, and my daughter Chloe moved back to Guam and started working at the newspaper. We had a family reunion in the summer for my wife’s family. Our son Justin moved back to California and focused on learning 3D animation. My other son Seth got into making electronic music, my daughter Maia started playing in a band and animating, and my other daughter Noelle saved up for a trip to Guam.

• I traveled a lot: a retreat in Ecuador’s cloud rainforest, a hiking trip in Japan, a cruise from Sydney to Hawaii through New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, a nine-day drive around Iceland, and visits to Stockholm, New York, Maui, Guam, Buenos Aires, Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. Actually it was a bit too much travel, but I’m not complaining!

• I got into ultralight hiking and explored the Desolation Wilderness, and have more hikes planned for next year, and camped in the Sierra Nevada with my wife and kids.

• I dove deeper into learning about mindfulness. It became probably the biggest focus for me this year, and I hope to continue that in 2017.

• I worked with developers to develop the Habit Zen web app for habits, and did a successful Kickstarter campaign for it.

• I wrote several ebooks: the Zen Habits Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness, Ultralight: The Zen Habits Guide to Traveling Light & Living Light, and the Habit Guide Ebook

• I created 8 video courses for my Sea Change Program members.

Whew! What a year! I’m grateful to be here through all of this wondrousness.

The Best Zen Habits Posts of 2016

To wrap up this year, here are my favorite Zen Habits post from 2016:

• Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Understanding the Mind

• Let Everything Breathe

• Opt Out: A Simplicity Manifesto

• Fear Is Why We Have Too Much Stuff

• A Mini-Guide to Not Being Frustrated All the Time

• How to Write Every Day

• Unconventional Productivity

• Rules for Getting Organized & Decluttered

• Our Relationship with the Present Moment

• The Zen Habits Guide to Letting Go of Attachments

• Why We Struggle with Change

And more

For more best of Zen Habits:

• Best of Zen Habits in 2007.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2008.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2009.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2010.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2011.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2012.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2013.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2014.

• The Essential Zen Habits of 2015.