We’re half-way through the year. How did that happen so quickly?

As I reviewed the past six months and looked towards the next six months, I decided to do a mid-year status check. Is this challenge-a-month thing working for me? How am I doing towards the goals I set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year? Is there a better way I can structure the challenges? Do I really have six challenges left to do this year? Whose idea was this anyways? I can’t plan ahead with this setup, it breaks all the cardinal rules of blogging! It’s insanity!

Annnnd I digress. I may or may not have had too much caffeine today. I’ll apologize now, and you’ll be happy to know I switched to water not long ago. At this rate I should be coming down from this caffeine buzz around… 10pm tonight. Where were we? Oh yes, reflecting. I want to take a quick pause to look back at the first half of the year and how I’ve done so far.

On January 1, 2016 I selected three words to guide me through the year. Those words were:

• Challenge
• Healing → Strength
• Inspire (inspire others, be inspired)

 

 

 

 

 

Three Words

Challenge

I made the first one easy for myself by creating a structure of a different challenge each month. Life made it easy for me by having not one, but two job changes. And that doesn’t even include what’s to come! My “challenges” included:

• Blogging every month, all year-long
• Monthly challenges
• Pressure to write posts wrapping up the challenge, wrapping up the month’s reading challenge, and kicking off the new challenge all within a few days. Next time I need to give myself a week or two in-between them so I can catch up.
• Job changes/Unemployment
• New puppy (Westley!)
• Reading challenge
• OC1 Camp. This was a vacation, not a challenge. It made me push myself, though, learning how to surf a canoe and paddle in rough water near big rocks helped develop confidence I didn’t know I needed, or had.

 

Healing → Strength

Physically:

Physically, I feel healed and continue to monitor my body as it falls into and out of rhythms. One thing I’ve noticed is that with the additional activity, I really need to make time for stretching and increase my flexibility (hint: July’s Challenge).

• Strict anti-inflammatory diet
• Increased activity (walking Westley)
• Increased time at the gym

Mentally:

• Reading: Some of my books were perfect for creating mental balance, healing, and strength)
• Trying meditation
• Westley: My new puppy came at the perfect time to keep me company and help me quickly get past all of the changes to my employment status
• Increased time spent with friends and family

Inspire (inspire others, be inspired)

Inspire others:

• Blogging: maybe this blog is inspiring. I would hope so, but that isn’t necessarily the goal, if inspiration is an unintended outcome, then awesome!
• Work: I hope I managed to inspire others at work, but since I’m not longer working, I’m not sure how long my influence lasts. In other news, I’m singing, “Fame” both the movie version and the David Bowie version. They don’t mesh as well as you’d think, especially with my singing. For the record, Westley was sleeping under the bed before I started singing, but he would have ended up there anyway because the sound of me singing is really that bad.
• Volunteering: this will be a challenge in the upcoming months since it hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but I’m excited to be volunteering in the San Diego community, it is long overdue for me.

 

Be inspired:

• Books: In a blog post I recently outlined the books I’ve been reading throughout the year. From Big Magic to the Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, to the myriad of business books I’ve read, I’m finding inspiration in other’s words and stories.
• Friends: I have spent the past few weeks accosting people who have started their own business (another challenge!). They have been kind enough to give me their input, advice, and share their experiences. While I have read quite a few books and blogs about starting your own business, it is entirely different to talk to others who have done it and are excited to share their insights with me. Special shout out to Christina, Troy, Eeva, Clarke, David, Lars, and more! Thank you all for your time.
• Other friends: So many people share my passions, and have their own. It is a friend spending 12 hours with me wandering Balboa Park as we discuss books writing, his book, how to fix my book, and life. It’s another creating the life another friend wanted for herself, writing and publishing her books to share with the world. It’s those of you friends who raise their kids, turning small babies into thoughtful, energetic, entertaining kids. It’s my friends accomplishing amazing physical feats from races to pushing themselves beyond their limits. It’s my friends finding love, helping keep the rest of us from becoming too jaded. It’s finding moments of inspiration in all elements of life keeps me energized and motivated.

I’ve done a lot this year, and we’re only halfway through, there’s a lot more to do.

Thanks for sticking with me on this adventure, here’s to a kick-ass second half of the year!