My birthday is coming up in a few days time (it’s the 22nd if you want to wish me a Happy Birthday!) and I want to take some time to reflect on my achievements since turning 35 years old.
I love a bit of past reflection and forward planning. Taking some time to think about how things turned out and what I’d do differently next time. I always enjoy doing this at the end of the calendar year and usually spend a lot of time reflecting, dreaming and planning. My birthday is a great time to kick this off and start thinking about it.
The first six months of 35
Last October I was still trying to find my groove after our return to the UK. We were still getting our house organised after our belongings arrived late August. My son was settling into the UK school system and my husband was getting the hang of his job in the UK. We tried to make the most of Autumn and being close to family and friends. And we got into the spirit of our son’s first Winter Christmas. It was a fun close out to 2016.
As the end of 2016 approached I did a lot of reflecting and planning. In January 2017 I kicked off my daily Yoga practice with Yoga with Adriene’s Yoga Revolution. I also started working my way through The Artist’s Way one week at a time. These 2 things were massive game-changers for me in 2017. Along with my weight loss journey and writing my New Zealand story (a memoir) I was kept very busy indeed!
Setting Six Month Goals for the second half of the year
On Earth Day which fell on the 22nd April (exactly 6 months from my birthday) I had a good think about what I wanted to achieve before I turned 36. Six months was a decent amount of time to make real progress with some of my goals. Plus I liked the idea of welcoming my next year on the planet with a celebration of what I’d achieved in 6 months!
Here’s a look at that list I wrote on 22nd April 2017 and the progress I’ve made:
Get my 3½, 4, 4½ and 5 stone awards with Slimming World
I’ve been a member of Slimming World since the end of August 2016 and am pleased to say that I’ve lost 4 stone, 3 pounds in that time. My weight loss slowed right down over Summer due to holidays, celebrations and lots of social occasions. I may not have got that 5 stone award but it will be mine this year!
Finish my NZ Story (memoir), edit it and submit at least 1 enquiry
For months my goal was to reach a 50,000 word count with my NZ story. I knew it may not be finished at that point but it was a really good start. I reached my 50k goal on the same day I created this blog (late September!) and I’ve been reading and editing since then. I’ve not made an official “enquiry” but I plan to reach out to a friend to see if she’d be willing to read an excerpt for me.
Yoga Everyday: get to 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275 days of yoga
My commitment to daily Yoga practice has been my biggest achievement this year. I’ve already written about how amazing the experience has been for me here.
Start prep and planning for NaNoWriMo in November
Not content with writing a memoir and starting a blog this year I thought I’d have a crack at a 50k novel as well! NaNoWriMo involves writing a 50k novel in the month of November. Yes I’m crazy! I’ve managed to complete this once before and will be sharing more about my love of NaNoWriMo soon. Prep and planning is underway for this year.
Continue with personal development and self love journey
It’s been a great year in terms of my personal development and self love. My biggest progress these last 6 months has been implementing some of the tools from The Artist’s Way such as artist’s dates and daily self nurturing activities. I’ve also carried on with Morning pages.
Have a family holiday overseas
This was such a lovely one to tick off the list! We spent a week in Mallorca at the end of August 2017 and had a relaxing and chilled out break as a family of three.
Celebrate my hubby’s birthday in June and my son’s birthday in August
This was always going to happen! We couldn’t not celebrate but I wanted to include it on the list as focus points during the 6 months. Both husband and son enjoyed their birthdays complete with celebratory dinners, gifts and homemade cakes/brownies!
Earn some money from writing
I haven’t managed to tick this one off but I feel like I’ve made big leaps and bounds as a writer this year. This blog, my memoir (NZ story) and plans for NaNoWriMo are all helping to develop my writing skills. This is now something I want to achieve over the next year.
Start a blog
Given that you’re reading this post I think it’s safe to say that I completed this task. I’m thoroughly enjoying blogging and sharing my words and thoughts here on Find the Good Everyday!
Looking Forward to 36
I’m happy with my achievements since turning 35. The rest of 2017 is set to be full of excitement and activity. I plan to show up – every day – trying my best as a Mum, Wife, Daughter, Friend and ME! My focus for the next few months is lots of writing and time with family celebrating the festive season.
I’m already excited to start dreaming and planning for 2018 and what I want to achieve. And I’ll be sharing more about how I set and achieve goals and how it helps me to Find the Good Everyday.
Next week I’ll be sharing What I’ve Learnt as a 35 Year Old.