Welcome to 2023!! It's almost unbelievable that another year has come and gone... When January rolls around, it always feels like there is so much time ahead, but in retrospect, even though a year feels long, it also goes by quickly.
In 2022, I committed to creating. Creating more of the things I love. I decided to create and launch my mindfulness program. Naturally, because mindfulness changed my life, I really wanted to create a mindfulness program that helps others. My program ended up taking me a little bit longer than expected.
I struggled with procrastination. I struggled with distractions (lots and lots of distractions- I would do everything other than work on my program). I struggled with mental blocks. Some days I took on way more than I could chew and so often, I self-sabotaged by changing course, or further adapting my program.
Part of me hesitated to finally finish my program because once it is done and ready for launch, shit gets real, right? This would mean that I would finally have to put myself out there - which is frightening as hell!
I am still not finished but I did get about 90% through - including a pilot launch which really helped to inform the latest version. I will keep at it and have it launched this year!
One thing I did commit to seriously, was my health. Like many others, COVID restrictions and the lack of activity resulted in muscle mass loss and weight gain. I didn't commit to losing a certain amount of weight, but instead I committed to getting healthy and strengthening my muscles. Reality hit me the hardest last winter when I decided to learn to ski. My friend graciously volunteered to teach me.
Skiing was hard. REALLY hard. TOO hard. I have never sweated so much in -25 temps in my entire life. I was out of breath, struggled to get up after falling (and I fell a lot), and at the end of a two-hour lesson, I was not getting better. I realized that I was in really bad shape.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity (ok, I self-pitied for a few days while I worked through the range of feelings related to my weight gain and current health status), I took it as an opportunity to get healthy again so from there on out, I worked out 4 days a week doing a variety of strength training workouts and even joined a badminton club. In one year, I didn't see any major physical changes, BUT, I feel stronger, and have a lot more stamina, energy, and resistance. In the beginning, doing a jump squat felt impossible, now I can do burpees.
As far as my meditation practice has gone - that was my toughest goal to maintain. In part, because it was challenging for me to make the time to insert meditation into my routine. Life often got in the way. However, what I have learned from this past year in trying to maintain regular meditations is that they don't have to take place in the traditional way. Meditation can take form in many ways that work best for you. For example, to reground from stressful situations I would take five-minute breaks to close my eyes and take deep calculated breaths. When I needed to reflect on a situation, I would take meditative walks.
While I may not have created a consistent practice in meditation, I have adopted meditation into my life in a way that helped calm my mind and let go of the things that don't serve me - so I guess that's a win!
As I reflect on my own mindfulness practice over this past year, I have to admit, there were difficult moments during which I really needed to force myself to be more mindful. I faced difficult moments at work and in my personal life when I allowed myself to slip back into my old behavioural and thinking patterns. There were moments when my inner critic would take over and interfere with my rational and mindful thinking. Sometimes for days before I realized.
I learned the truth behind the saying "what you resist, persists". The more I focused on a situation or feeling I didn't want, the more I lived it. Urgh! For example, the more I focused on the negativity and toxicity at work, the more it was present in my life. The same went for more positive experiences too! The more gratitude I had about my life, or certain parts of it, the more resilient I was at dealing with the more challenging moments. The difficult and challenging moments we face in life will never go away. But when we practice mindfulness, our relationship with these bad moments changes.
2022 was amazing in many ways. And, I am grateful for all the good things last year brought. I look forward to seeing what 2023 has in store for me.
This year my focus is on the ONE thing for 2023 that I love of which I want to do more. There are a lot of things I want to experience this year, but if I have to choose just one, it is baking.
It is far too easy to get caught up in life and forgo all the things we love in life. We, too often, sacrifice the joy in life in the name of work, family, or whatever other excuse we might have. And before we know it, we are miserable. We crave the creativity of life and all of the things we love. Why? Because our soul needs it to thrive.
I get that money can be an issue or that family and work responsibilities consume a lot of hours in a day. I get that we, as women, are conditioned to put our needs aside for the "betterment" of society, including the sacrifice of doing the things we love. No wonder moms are stressed to the max. Life has become all work and no play!
We can make all the excuses in the world to find reasons why we can't do more of the things that bring us joy, but at the end of the day, if we don't commit to happiness and simple joys in life, then, what would we have to look forward to in life? The more of the same...
For 2023, I URGE you to identify ONE thing (or two, or three) that you love doing (that is possible in your circumstance) and of which you want to do more this upcoming year. It doesn't have to be something you do every day. If you can devote at least one to two hours a week to it, not only will you have something to look forward to, but at the end of the year, you will find great happiness and gratitude that you took time, for yourself!
And maybe, depending on what you choose, you will have something to show for it. I like to catalog my baking so that at the end of the year I can look back and appreciate all the food I was able to make and what I learned along the way. Well, that is my plan anyway!
What will your ONE thing be for 2023??
Perfectly Imperfect,
S
#mindfulness #perfectlyimperfect #newyearsresolution #youronething #selfawareness #lifelessons #growth
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