A year ago tonight, I sat in a restaurant with my husband and shared with him my goals for 2013.
“2013 was the year I…”
- Settled back in Canada
- Challenged myself to be active for 365 days
- Got in touch with my feelings and truly identified what I want in life.
A year ago, we were on a work assignment in Poznan, Poland. This assignment had us spending the majority of our time there. As much as our time in Poland was simply amazing (my views on life and culture have been greatly broadened), it was isolating too. Not being able to fluently speak the language has major draw backs. It’s limiting when attending parties or even considering joining a social group. People were so kind and helpful but once the encounter of working through the language barrier was over, I both sides were happy to go along our merry ways.
Being isolated and feeling bored was no way to live. And I was also feeling like I was on a treadmill, going nowhere. I needed to get focused on something, anything (other than work) to help avoid wilting away. The building our apartment was in had a good gym and pool. We lived in a neighbourhood near three large parks. Being active seemed like a great option. I could challenge myself to try different activities and it gave me something to focus on each day. At the same time, I also wanted to be back home. We had not lived in Canada since 2005 and when we finished up in the USA, we went right to Poland. An exciting adventure far away from where I wanted to be. Exciting and boring all at the same time. 2013 had to be the year that I took my life back.
Setting these goals didn’t happen overnight. In 2008, I came up with the idea of 365 days of straight activity while reading Julie & Julia. The idea came and went because the timing wasn’t right mostly due to a lack of real motivation. Getting settled back in Canada was something my husband and I had been focused on since 2010. We knew our assignment in Poland would not last through 2013 so this was the time to seize the opportunity. Personally, I’ve been struggling with being in touch with my feelings for some years now. (Coming out of the other side of 2013, I believe this is natural for most humans.) Overall, it took me about a month (December 2012) or so to get pen to paper and narrow in on three huge goals.
It paid off.
Getting settled back in Canada. My husband and I finished up our overseas work assignment at the very end of August. We were back in Canada for Labour Day weekend. Part of settling back in Canada included stable employment, buying a home, reconnecting with friends, and getting engaged with the community. Our employer was very happy with the work accomplished in Poland (and with the Dutch office) along with our dedication and flexibility in working in three major manufacturing facilities. He has now assigned us to corporate global projects and allows us to be based in Toronto, Canada. Prior to coming back to Canada, we were searching for a condo to buy. In October, we made an offer and it was accepted. We are almost homeowners being that we do not close until May 2014. Until then, we live with my husband’s parents. (It’s everything you could possibly imagine and more.) We see our friends all of the time and we have begun to establish ourselves in our “temporary” community and in our “upcoming” community (which also happens to be the neighbourhood we lived in prior to moving to the USA in 2005).
Challenged myself to be active for 365 days. If you are a follower, “THANK YOU!!!!” There are 176 of you (and over 3800 hits!) and that is something I never expected. Being active for 365 days was something else. The first ten days were horrible. Actually, one, two and three were not bad. It was really four through ten but I’ll get more into that in tomorrow’s blog post. Blogging as part of this challenge has been a great outlet. Isolated in Poland, this blog allowed me to share with others in a free-flowing manner. Daily blogging was also a chore. I had two major times this year where 1) I had to take a break for a few days and 2) I just didn’t do it regularly. I moved past both of those phases and I’m finishing the challenge strong.
Got in touch with my feelings and truly identified what I want in life. As I mentioned above, I think most everyone goes through a phase when they feel like they are on an emotional treadmill. Sometimes you need to be there to get through. Treadmills are boring but if you use them correctly, you are a better, stronger person when you get off them. This past year I’ve let go of some hurt and I realized what it is that I want and why I couldn’t see that I was actually moving in the right direction even when it felt like I was going nowhere. Being on the back-end of this goal, I thought I would be in a different place right now but I’m not and I’m okay with that because where I thought I needed to go ended not being where I needed to be. Emotions, feelings, desires…they are all tricky but as you peel away layers the fog slowly clears out and the view gets better and better.
With 2013 about to come to a close, I’m getting ready for a big 2014. Most of my goals this year will be broken down into multiple projects, big and small. In writing my goals and using the statement, “2013 was the year I…” I create a mini vision and/or feeling of what it’s like when the goal is achieve. I start to create something to move towards. Here’s what I’ve got for 2014. Again, it’s all going to breakdown into a bunch of big and small projects this year.
“2014 was the year I…”
- Became a homeowner in a neighbourhood and condo that I love.
- Took control of my weight and moved my BMI to the lower quarter of overweight.
- Helped my family move towards where they need to be. (Yep, this one has a ton of personal content.)
- [I haven’t filled in this blank just yet.]
Today I went to the gym in the morning and spent 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer.
Avenue of Sweat Equity 