2019 Reflections

2019 is coming to a close!  Where in the world did this year go???  It’s absolutely crazy!  I blinked and months upon months passed by!   I swear, the older I get the faster time goes by.

A few weeks ago I started a tag on Youtube that was all about reflecting upon the past year and looking forward to the new year.   It was meant and created to generate positive responses.   I am not going to simply recreate the questions and answers here.  What is the fun in that?   Instead, I am going to create some similar thoughts and positive questions for myself to reflect further.    I will tell you though….some of my answers on that video were good……so if you would like…you can follow the link and watch that video here.  

But right now it’s time to reflect!  And by all means….feel free to steal the questions and post your own answers!  But let me know so I don’t miss your post!

1.        What is one thing that you did right in the year 2019?  

For the first time in my adult life, I feel as if I actually got a handle on my food addiction.  Now I’m not saying that I have totally conquered and eradicated this addiction.  No, quite the contrary, that addiction is still a very real part of who I am.  I doubt I will ever eradicate it totally.  Instead I feel as if I was able to learn some valuable lessons and techniques for dealing with that addiction.  The first and biggest thing I did was to stop saying “I CAN’T have it.”  I can have anything I want.  I changed it to “You have to CHOOSE if you want it.”   Some days the want to eat the food won out. Other days the healthy living won the battle.  Either way, it became a choice!   The other thing that I did to help learn to control this addictive impulse was to really sit down and make it a practice to tell myself that ‘you don’t have to eat 6…one will suffice.  There WILL be more tomorrow.”    The best example of this one is Reece’s Cups.  I can buy a King sized package and eat ONE and not worry about the others until a few nights later.  Yeah, sometimes Jason does eat the other three but I don’t feel the rush to gobble them up…why?  Because I have trained myself to continually tell myself. “They will gladly sell you more at the store…..this is not the last whatever on earth!”   You would be surprised how well that works!   You may also be surprised to learn how empowering this is!

2.       Name One thing that you did that made you feel proud?  

I got on a mountain bike and rode.  It wasn’t pretty!  It wasn’t fast!  It wasn’t exactly skillful!  But I got on that bike and I went up and down trails that were at times petrifying!  Oh yeah, I cried… but I did it!  I have a long way to go…but I started this past summer and for that I am proud! (video proof right here…and if you haven’t watched it, I suggest you do so….It cracks me up every time I see the video!) but I did it!  I have a long way to go…but I started this past summer and for that I am proud!

3.       Did you set any goals for the year 2019 that you reached?

I didn’t  actually set any yearly goals.  However,  I DID set some monthly goals.  One of them was to track every day.  While I didn’t exactly reach that 100%....I missed one or two days I think…..well maybe not…but I think!  Ok, I couldn’t leave it at an “I Think”  So I went back to all of  my monthly goal review posts.  I am going to call December a victory…because I tracked everything up to this point…I’m not going to fail now!  No sirree!    So out of the 12 months…I managed to totally ace 10 months.  There was ONE day in march that I missed and I went completely rogue for about a week or two in May.     This is still a massive victory.  You see, I didn’t let the little snafu of missing one day and then missing a week or two a few months later.  I picked myself back up and I started tracking again.  I call that a victory!

4.       Name one thing you wish you would have done in 2019?   This question is NOT to make me look back with regret….but to make me look forward to 2020 with the thought that ‘not another year will pass me by without doing such and such.      

 There is really only one really big regret…and that is that I did NOT reach my goal weight!   I am happy with my progress in learning to deal with my food addiction.  I think that is huge.  Honestly, that is amazing!   Where the regret comes in is that I didn’t’ start sooner.  I didn’t focus a little harder.  I didn’t reach my goal.  I have actually lost about 15-20 pounds for this year and for that I couldn’t be happier.  But NEXT year, I want to be at goal when I’m writing a reflection post!

5.       Are you setting any new goals for the year?

   I do not plan to set any yearly goals.  I like the monthly goals that I have developed for myself.  They are working well for me.  They give me freedom to live my life yet still help guide me to a healthier existence.  I may start to tighten the reigns on some of them though.  Maybe I need to up the ante and make my workout 4 or 5 times a week instead of 3!  Time will tell…stay tuned!

6.       What is one thing you hope and wish for in 2020.  

Well since this is a weight loss website….I hope to lose lots of weight and to be amazingly fit!   And yes, my plans include getting there.   

So there you have it, my reflections on the year behind us and a wee little look into how I want the future to look!    It really is good for the soul to look back and reflect.  It gives us the opportunity to see our progress in a way that we sometimes overlook.  It gives us the chance to look at ways to improve ourselves for the upcoming year.  Now go out and reflect!