Self Reflection

Another year has come to an end, and it marks another new beginning. I love the idea of the new year as a fresh start, a blank slate, a chance to look back over all that has happened as well as looking forward.

As the last day of December passes, I have successfully completed my 100 Words of Work project. It was an interesting year, and it wasn’t always easy to meet my goals. I’ve learned more than I ever expected, as I’ve previously noted, and I consider the project a huge success. While I do think many of the lessons I learned this year will bolster me in the upcoming months, I plan to make several changes to my writing schedule, based on what have learned.

• While it’s great to maintain the momentum of a project across vacations, I will probably allow myself to skip words while I’m on actual vacations. Writing on a train or plane isn’t too hard, but writing in the car is dreadful and there are some times I’d rather not detract from vacation activities even if it’s only for half an hour. I’ll take the time if it’s presented, but won’t sledgehammer the time out of the day.
• It’s a good idea to designate time for side projects, which have gotten lost in the demand for daily work on the master project. Since I’ve been counting my side projects and outlines as work anyway (they are), it still serves the overall purpose. This would be good for weekends and breaks between major projects.
• Taking short breaks between major projects to orient and recover is a good idea (even if that time is filled with side projects)
• I really need a dedicated blog day (moving has made regular blogging somewhat impossible), and I should count blogging as work writing (I have not for the past year, and I probably should have)
• It’s a good idea to try to maintain at least a small amount of work every day, even when I’m not feeling well, except for extreme circumstances.

I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made as a writer this past year, so I think I’ll look to improve other aspects of my life in the coming months. Lately, I’ve grown concerned with positive voice. I think we tend to be cruel to ourselves as well as others. We beat ourselves up over things which are outside of our control and demand impossible levels of perfection. I have struggled to narrate my life with a positive voice. I think it’s important to highlight the good in our lives. The more we seek it, the more we find it. And the more positive our interactions become, as well as putting more positivity into the world.

To that end, I’ll call this year’s self-improvment goal ‘The Search for Positivity.’ At the end of each day (or the next morning), I will try to list at least three positive things which happened during the day.

• They must be positive things that happened such as ‘Ate my favourite meal for dinner’
• They cannot include things such as ‘Didn’t end up with a headache’ (because this actually highlights a negative rather than a positive)

There are many reasons why I want to undertake this task.

• Negativity often overwhelms me. I have grown increasingly aware of my tendency to fold under that pressure, causing more negativity for myself and others. I wish to eliminate this habit.
• It is possible to train our minds to be more positive via activities such as this one.
• Life is too short to waste on discontent. Positive people are happier and happier people adapt more easily. I believe this will also help me focus better and be more productive.
• I believe this will help me think more clearly.

What are your goals for the new year?

Regular blogging resumes on the 12th of January! See you then!