Yesterday was my birthday! And that means it’s been 31 trips around the sun.
Each year I take the time to briefly reflect on the previous year and consider what I could do to improve or grow over the coming year. It’s like a mini New Years for me.
Upon reflection, I realized that I am very much in an era of making moves and doing my best to grow and get to where I want to go. So much has changed over the past year. Almost every aspect of life is different. It’s a beautiful thing and it’s an awakening realization. Once you realize just how much can change in a year, that can cripple you into a state of freeze or it can empower you to make positive changes.
Seeing the drastic differences has empowered me.
This year I started counting macros. This is something that I was very much against for years but I humbled myself enough to try it out and have been doing it for over 6 months now! I love it. It has changed everything in the best way. Now that I’m over 6 months in I recognize some shifts that I’d like to make with it and so that’s what I’m bringing focus on now. But trying something that I was against and realizing that it’s so supportive for me at this time in life was the best!
Mitch and I continued on with our Holy Health Podcast endeavor. We have been consistent AF and haven’t missed a single Thursday since we started almost two years ago. There were some close calls this past year with almost not posting on time. A few late Thursday night recordings. But we did it and continue to do it!
I came back to writing and started this Substack on January 1. In general, this past year has been a coming home to things that I abandoned in 2020. Yoga, exercise, writing, journaling, etc. I’m back at it and it is the greatest gift.
I also ran not one… but two marathons! I did not go into the year thinking that I would do this. It was a bucket list goal to run one but it’s such an intimidating goal. Luckily, Mitch was driven to do one with or without me, and so I signed up too. There were so many frustrations, doubts, and obstacles to overcome on the way to that initial 26.2 but I busted through all of them and made it happen! And then I did it again. Just seeing where I was last year at this time, unable to workout without getting sick, this is amazing and I am so grateful.
And then, the 100 mile bike ride! The absolute hardest physical task that I completely underestimated. I almost quit, but I didn’t, and gained another notch on my confidence and perseverance belt.
Those are just a few highlights that I’ve shared about on here along the way. But the moral of the story is that reflection is so important. It helps us to see where we are, where we’re going, and how we’re getting there. It’s a great time to check in and to go inward. In a world where our attention is pulled to so many things outside of ourselves, going in with intention is key to happiness, joy, contentment, confidence, and living a beautiful life.
I spent the day yesterday baking cupcakes. Yes, I baked my own cupcakes. I love to bake and I don’t get to do it very often so I figured what the heck, let’s do it. I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. Picture this: vanilla cupcake (of course), cookie dough center, AND cookie dough buttercream. I even went wild and crazy and made some cake balls too. YUM.
And then, Lily and I took a long walk. She played with a stick and I simmered in the silence of the woods.
Those two things had me content. I am in a time of my life where the simplicity is all I want and all I need. It’s a beautiful thing.
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