Last year, I shared with you my New Year's ritual: taking inventory of my life. Unlike resolutions, which to me are about changing things that are wrong with your life, an inventory is about making sure you're on track to meet goals you've already set and evaluating your station in life.
My greatest fear is waking up one day and realizing I've wasted time, energy or potential. I try to live each day to its fullest, taking pleasure in the moment, and removing unnecessary stresses. I believe in the Power of Now, and I try to keep myself from dwelling on the negative or painful aspects of life. I try to move forward, looking back less and less.
To me, an inventory is a chance to check in with my goals and gauge my progress. It's a chance to reflect on what I want to do with my life and to ensure I'm on the right path.
I don’t want to wake up in five, 10, or 20 years, my heart heavy with regret, trapped in a life created by indecision and fear of change. So I take inventory.
In 2009, I had ideas in mind:
- Be more diligent in my yoga practice. Focus on the spiritual aspects as well as the physical aspects of yoga.
- Be as controlled and responsible about eating when out with friends and on weekends as I am during the week.
- Ride my bike 500 miles over the summer. (Not all at once--spread over a few months!)
- Ramp up my strength workouts so I am able to do more "fun" poses in yoga without fear of losing balance or falling on my face. (Mini goal: Achieve bakasana.)
Outside of nutrition/fitness:
- Remember my friends' birthdays more often. I am terrible with birthdays. I wait for Facebook reminders that birthdays are arriving, and I never remember the actual date once it passes. This year I'll try to send a card or a call (not a text message) to my friends and family on their special day.
- I want to continue to study languages, at least twice a week for two hours (French, and a bit of Italian, Korean and Spanish) to not lose the linguistic abilities I've worked so hard to amass.
- I have a list of books I want to read in 2009. My list is on my SparkPage.
So how did I do? Fairly well:
1. I earned my 200-hour yoga teacher certification this spring. I would still like to practice more often and for longer periods of time, but I feel strong and confident in my yoga practice.
2. Not bad. I don't always limit myself to one meal out a week, but I have set a specific limit on dining.
3. FAIL! I rarely rode my bike this summer, but I had a good excuse! (See #1 above. I was always at yoga class.)
4. Score! I am working on the Hundred Pushups Challenge, and I am able to hold more fun poses than I could last year. For some reason, I still falter in Bakasana, but my Parsva Bakasana is stronger. This is an on-going goal.
As for my other goals, I sent more birthday cards, studied languages a bit and read plenty of books (all of Kingsolver's book, plenty of Coelho's work, and countless travel memoirs).
Now on to 2010: - Buy a house. My boyfriend and I are just starting the process of buying a house. It will be long and difficult, but it will be exciting to have a place of our own. For years, I've been fighting the urge to flee. I've never really had roots, and I thought that settling down meant settling in life. I feel at peace these days, and I'm ready to stay put and carve out my (our) niche in the world.
- Keep up my yoga practice and studies. I want to find time for a few workshops, and I'll keep working on my inversions. Yoga is more than just fitness to me. It centers me, calms me, and helps me through tough times in life. I love sharing that feeling of peace with others, so I will continue teaching yoga and growing my practice.
- Planning and saving for my travels. In July 2010, a friend and I are going to Turkey, where we'll visit another friend, who has been traveling the world since Jan. 1, 2009. Then, in May or June 2011, to celebrate my 30th birthday, my boyfriend, sister, brother-in-law and I are going to Italy. As I'll be the group's interpreter, I plan to pick up my Italian studies after I return from Turkey. Travel is a big priority in life, one that I'm willing to sacrifice for.
- Make a new vision collage. In our spare bedroom/yoga studio/music studio hangs a collage I made a few years ago. It's mostly a collection of items from my travels. There are Metro stubs from Paris, Korean newspaper clippings, a brochure from the Cinque Terre in Italy, Japanese prayer cards from a shrine in Tokyo, and much more. The collage covers a large Eiffel Tower from college, and there is still plenty of blank space. I often meditate in front of this collage, thinking about my life and where I want to go. I realized a few weeks ago that this collage is mostly about my past. I need to think more about my present and future. I have been adding to it slowly, and I plan to keep adding to it as new goals arise.
- Write more. I started my career as a copy editor at newspapers, then an English teacher. Later, I became a reporter. When I switched from editing and teaching to writing full time, I noticed that my journaling and personal blogging lagged. Now, I write short, superficial posts a few times a week--nothing too creative or in depth. I miss spending hours a week writing and reflecting. This year, I'll be spending more free time on personal blogging, along with journaling. I need to flex my mind!
- Giving back. I feel really good about my life and where it's headed. I am incredibly fortunate. I have a strong relationship, a healthy body, and a job that makes me happy. I have love and energy to spare. In addition to mentoring a teenager, I want to find a new volunteer project, perhaps one that involves yoga.
As this decade draws to a close and a new one begins, take a look back at your life, then look forward to the life you envision. Are you on the right path? I was a freshman in college in 2000, and today I'm a woman who has traveled the world, changed careers, survived depression, had her heart broken, fallen in love and found (a touch of) inner peace. In just a few short years, my entire life has changed. Think of this new decade as a fresh start, a chance to become the human being you envision.
Are you on your ideal life path? Are you setting any goals to help you get on the road that's right for you?
|
|
