It's already November 11th. I'm at home, off from work for the Veteran's Day Holiday, and find myself contemplating all the writing that I've done this year. I'd have nothing to write about had I not done some soul searching and learning this year. If you recall, on December 31st I wrote a blog entry about how I wanted to Become My Best Self in 2015. That included three initiatives:
1. Find my optimal race weight
2. Declutter My Home and My Life
3. Be More Inspirational to Others
On the one hand, I don't think I really accomplished any of these things. I'm not "near" being My Best Self. But did I really think I was going to be? No. Self-Actualization would suggest perfection, and I'm definitely not perfect. But I think this year has been a success in terms of making strides forward, and I'm really proud of the things I did, what I learned, and how I've chosen to process it all.
However, I set out to achieve specific things, and some of those have fallen short:
1. Creating a permanent meditation practice: this was great for about 40 days. I started using the Headspace app, I reached several milestones, and earned a few "trophies". And then I think something derailed me and I dropped my subscription. The app is still on my phone, but I've not truly meditated since late summer. I have found some great podcasts that are free and provide good insight, so it's just a matter of reformulating my morning routine.
2. Being at my optimum race weight: Nope. Didn't get there at all. I'm pretty sure I weigh exactly what I did on January 1st, 2015. With a flux of about 5-7 pounds back and forth all year. But having said that, I learned a TON about healthy eating and did a ton of experiments. I now am proud to call myself a mostly Plant Based Athlete; I'm still not perfect, but I'm as vegan as someone can be. I've aligned a lifestyle that reflects my values, and I feel pretty good about that.
3. Decluttering: well, some good strides and some not so good strides. I had a successful experiment with Project 333: wearing (about) 33 pieces of clothing and accessories (a Capsule Wardrobe) for three months. But once March ended and I dug out my "summer" clothes, I failed at maintaining the energy. Although, now that it's fall weather again, I'm having a hard time finding the rest of my traditional winter clothing, so I guess I'm still doing okay in this arena. The other thing to share here is that my garage became the storage unit and staging area for all my in-law's "stuff" when they moved from Lancaster to Camarillo. So I've inherited a bunch of crap through no real fault of my own. Ugh.
4. Being more motivational to others? Yes, I think I HAVE done that. But not in the ways I had thought. I was supposed to read lots of cool books and blog about them. Well, i did a lot of blogging, but mostly of my own thoughts and reactions to podcasts. Which in itself is not a horrible thing - it just wasn't what I said I was going to do. I wanted to read more. So I really have to do that.
I'm happy to say that while I've fallen short of some of my goals, I still feel very positively about how 2015 is ending. There's more to come regarding reflection on this past year, but I think before I can fully define what I've done well, I need to put my shortcomings into perspective. So...more to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment