We’re halfway through December, which means it’s officially that time of year in which every possible app, website, and community jumps on the “your year wrapped trend” that hasn’t really even been that interesting since Spotify first started it in 2015. 

I’ll admit that I used to share mine thinking that people cared (they didn’t), but hey, Australian reggae and metalcore is an interesting mix of top genres, right?

Anyway, this time of year is a good time for all of us (especially the most accomplished of us) to heed the famous words of renowned scribe Lil Wayne. And I’m not being tongue in cheek – his tidal wave of nonstop releases from 2006-2008 were about as impressive as it gets, although the eponymous line is from his post-peak career in 2011. 

Years in review are often a chance to brag and showboat a little bit – you listened to this much music, stayed in this many hotels, flew on this many flights. It’s fun to reminisce on both your adventures and the cool things that your friends and family did. 

And while that’s totally fine, I think you’ll find that the folks with the truly interesting exploits aren’t sharing the details of it all over their Instagram story. In fact, they probably aren’t even talking about it at all. 

Case in point – everybody’s favorite subreddit currently has a year in review thread up for you to brag about earning and burning this year. 

First, a disclaimer that I am in no way saying that the accomplishments shared are not amazing, and there are some people doing some awesome things in that thread.

But at the same time, you’ll notice that there isn’t much discussion around any cashback, and if there is, it’s primarily bank bonuses. I don’t see this as a referendum on travel vs. cashback, because again, they are the exact same thing. But the reason that most people graduate to cashback is hitting an inflection point where earn wildly outpaces burn. 

On less public spaces somewhere in the intermediate to advanced realm, there is still plenty of chatter around scale and personal gain. But in my experience, the heaviest of hitters aren’t the ones screaming it from the rooftop (outside of very private chats). 

Once you’re close to growing into a full-size whale, there’s not much left to be gained from openly gloating about the details of hitting something. Clout matters less and less the higher up you get, and oversharing is less and less likely to impress. 

Anyway, take some time to compile and celebrate your wins. Chances are, even with everything going on, you did very well this year. But keeping the specifics of those wins primarily within your loved ones, your probe group, or both, is going to be more beneficial to everyone in the long run. 

Saħħa!