Looking Back, Looking Forward, Making Progress

It’s that time of year again. Time for us to reflect on the past year and plan for the upcoming year. I took some time to read through my reflection post from last year — What Does 2011 Mean to You? — in preparation for this post. While I think it’s important to reflect on your goals, accomplishments, and failures (but don’t dwell on these) often, I find that the year end, however cliché it is, is a great time to take an overall look at where you are and where you want to be.

I wanted to take a moment to see what my goals were and if I had achieved any or all of them. I feel like I did OK in meeting those goals, but definitely didn’t do as well as I had hoped. Some of my goals for 2011 were:

1. Re-establish a regular exercise routine.

2. Practice yoga regularly (at least twice a week).

3. Eat more veggies.

4. De-clutter and de-stress.

5. Spend more quality time with the dogs.

6. Create more art (and not be judgmental of my work).

I did meet my goal of establishing a (somewhat) regular exercise routing, as well as at least two yoga classes per week (I am typically doing 3-4). I would say that overall, I ate more veggies, but not nearly as many as I’d like. While I didn’t really manage to do much de-cluttering, I did manage to get a little more control over my stress levels. I have physically seen the results of that, and I am quite pleased and only expect it to get better! We did spend more quality time with the dogs. I did not create more art … sigh … 🙁

But, it’s OK! I have acknowledged my accomplishments and my failures and I am moving on into another year. And I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be spectacular! Here are my goals for 2012 (in no particular order):

Read more. I have tons of books on my to-read list. I WILL get through those!

Sleep more. I need to become a member of the 10pm bedtime club again. I am sleeping far less than I should be.

Spend more time with loved ones. Friends and family are the most important parts of our lives. I need to focus more on them.

Disconnect. My day job requires me to sit in front of a computer for 8-10 hours a day. Then, I come home and work on the computer for 3-5 more hours. Not good. That is time I could be reading. Or spending time with family and friends. Or practicing yoga. Etc., etc., etc. 2012 will be the year of scheduling and prioritizing my time to be more efficient and less tied to the computer.

Practice more yoga. Let’s see if I can sneak a little yoga in every day, even if it’s only five minutes.

Write more posts on my other blog. In 2011, I started another blog called Bright Blue Elephants, to house my non-food related adventures, thoughts, etc. I have not dedicated nearly enough time to it and would like to spend more time on the creative aspect of my life.

Eat and drink more fermented foods. Because we all need more good bacteria in my gut. ‘nough said 🙂

Be more active. I’m going to the beach in June, which means a bathing suit. Enough said.

Budget more. We need more money going into savings and less money being leaked out on unnecessary items! I think most of us probably have this problem! 🙂

Eat out less. Helps with the budget issue AND the bathing suit issue. A double whammy! 🙂

Declutter and stay organized. Oh boy. This one’s going to take some work. But, with the discovery of a super handy calendar from Beth at My Simpler Life, I have full confidence that I WILL accomplish this goal. Go check the calendar out. It’s awesome!!

Paint more. I finally have a little art studio area set up in the basement. And, since I’m stepping away from the computer more often, I can channel some of that energy into my overly neglected easel.

Take more risks. I’m such a creature of habit. I don’t like to be uncomfortable, even if I know the discomfort will lead to personal growth. In 2012, I am going to work on taking more risks and stepping outside my comfort zone more often.

2012 is a new year, a time for new growth and development, a time for new achievements and experiences. I plan on seizing every opportunity I can!

So, where have you been in 2011? Are you happy with the outcome of the year? What goals do you have for 2012? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment below and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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