Goals Update

Here we are at the end of February, and I thought this would be a good time for an update on those goals that I set last month.  As a reminder, they were:

Simplicity.  Finding peace in the everyday routine and the doings of life.

Health.  Fine tuning fitness, food and my mental well-being.

Creativity.  Exploring new creative outlets while reconnecting with my favorites.

Relationships.  Being present and encouraging others.

Simplicity has probably been the most challenging for me.  I’ve mentioned a few times lately that if I could make a task challenging, I did.  This was not intentional.  My one noticeable improvement in this area has been picking up the family room before bed.  When I wrote that particular focus area, it sparked a lot of discussion around my sisters.  Some of them pick up their house in case firemen come in the middle of the night.  I didn’t realize they were so concerned about that.

Health has been up and down.  I am making much more of an effort to get my 4 ½ cups of produce every day.  Salads during the week at lunch seem to be working pretty well.  It’s on the weekends that I go back to my usual not eating a vegetable until dinner habit.  As far as running goes, I am up to 6.5 miles on my long runs.  My goal is to get back to 8 miles.  I’m sure that my sister who is a runner is reading this and shaking her head.  She wants me to run a half marathon.

Creativity has been a lot of fun.  I have finished a couple of crafting projects and have more planned.  For part of Lucy’s birthday present, we are doing a mom-daughter sewing class together.  I can’t wait to learn how to sew!  So maybe her present is more about me….although she did ask for a Michaels gift card for her birthday.  I haven’t made enough time for writing, but I discussed that yesterday.  I do want to add that I slept great last night.  Writing always helps me to get rid of those extra thoughts.

Relationships have felt a bit neglected.  I don’t know if this is reality or me being hard on myself.  Part of that is this frantic feeling lately.  Sometimes I just want to retreat.  Hopefully with gaining some quiet time, I will feel reenergized in connecting with others.

The other lingering question is have I felt more awake?  Yes and no, I suppose.  In those moments of feeling frantic and rushed, the answer is no.  When I am able to slow down, I do feel more present in my life.

If you have set goals for the new year, I hope they are going well.  I hope you aren’t giving up with some setbacks.  I certainly didn’t expect instant success.  This is a journey.  And those goals aren’t set in stone.  They can be adapted to what works for me and what is realistic for my life. 

I look forward to updating you again in a couple of months!