The inspiration for this year’s theme derived from the stack of (at least 6) books that I’ve purchased throughout 2017 and either never started them or started them and never finished them. Oh, and the countless projects that I’ve started (or planned) and never finished them (or execute them). I’m legit disappointed in myself.
Yoda/Giphy.com
With inspiration on deck, creating the theme was as simple as moving some words around. What I came up with was this:
FINISH WHAT YOU START
It’s long overdue. It would be delusional for me to continue to think that I can accomplish goals when I have a tendency to leave things unfinished. This year, I’m hellbent on starting, finishing, and repeat. No more half-assing.
Do you have a theme/mantra for 2018? I would love to hear about it.
Writing these annual write-ups is one of my favorite end-of-the-year blog tasks (see here and here for earlier posts). In the past, I’ve broken down the post into sections (personal/blog highlights, top blog posts of the year, etc).
I wanted to switch things up for this year. The highlights and memories that I experienced this year were awesome. I also had some lows that would’ve broken me. All of that provided me with some valuable lessons that I wanted to share as my annual wrap up for 2017.
Do what works for me.
Comparison is one of those things that you can get wrapped up in and not realize that it’s happening. I would browse social media and find myself comparing where I was in various areas of my life in regards to others. I found myself looking up tips and signing up for all kinds of newsletters, none of which I needed. Instead of soaking up all of this information, I got overwhelmed.
[tweetshare tweet=”It takes longer to get past overwhelm than it did to get overwhelmed.” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
To get past the overwhelm, I needed to get rid of the sources of the overwhelm. I unsubscribed from several newsletters and stopped searching for tips on things that I really didn’t need. I stuck to doing the things that worked for me and refrained from comparing myself to others. I won’t lie, it’s not always easy, but I feel so much better.
Leave the past in the past.
I have this thing where I get a case of the “what ifs” regarding people of my past. I go through the motions of wondering if things between us could be different. I would reach out, we’d reconnect, and things would be cool for months. Then, things would fall apart again and we would go back to being the past. This year, I didn’t reach out when I felt the urge. Progress.
[tweetshare tweet=”No matter how many times I reach out to my past, sometimes the past needs to stay where it is.” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
Be flexible.
I’m a stickler for a routine. When that routine is disrupted, I feel frazzled. I’ve turned down several opportunities because they interfered with my routine. I know how ridiculous that is, but when I decide that I’m doing something at a certain moment of the day, I don’t like to change the plans.
However, I realized that this isn’t feasible.
I have a routine and when that routine is disrupted, I feel frazzled. It would take days to get back on track. I learned to add some room in the routine so when it gets disrupted, I can pick up where I left off. That allows me to partake in the opportunities that pop up while still having my routine.
“No” is not a means to an end.
“No” is one of those things that can make or break you. When you want something so badly just to be told you can’t have it for whatever reason, it hurts real bad. Like when someone takes the last cupcake in the display case that you had your eye on in line. Yeah, that bad. I refused to become discouraged and instead allowed “no” to motivate me to find alternate means to get what I want.
[tweetshare tweet=”The difference between ‘no’ and ‘yes’ is persistence. ” username=”irzY3n0P88iH(Ehn#F@pCiV3bViiRWon:1:1″]
It’s been a hell of a year, FULL of ups and downs. But as the elders say, if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.
It’s the home stretch of 2017. One of my favorite times of the year is to sit down and start prepping for the following year (see here and here). For whatever reason, the last 60 days of the year tend to go by in a blur for me. Sitting down and preparing for the following year allows me to slow down for a bit.
In addition to doing the things I’ve done in previous years (see here and here), the lessons I learned this year also changed the way I prep for the upcoming year.
Creating Theme for 2018
The theme for 2018 is the result of a moment of fed-up-ness (not an actual word, but rock with me anyway). It’s the perfect follow-up to this year’s theme of Stay Ready. It’s one of those things that I’ve struggled with for a while now. The theme alone has me super excited for the upcoming year.
Batching Tasks
Multitasking has been a nightmare this year. When I’m not at work, I work on a blog post while doing another blog-related task at the same time. What ends up happening is that I don’t finish either of those tasks that day and carry them over to the next day. This is a horrible use of time.
Batching my tasks would be a good use of time management plus it would help me focus on one thing at a time which would make sure that I finish my tasks in a timely fashion. I can choose specific days for blog post writing, blog maintenance, etc. Hopefully, this will eliminate the bouts of burnout I experienced this year.
Planning Differently
For the past few years, I write all of my goals for the year and that’s it. I’ve ended the year not accomplishing a quarter of the goals I made. This year, I’m being more flexible with my planning by breaking my goals down into quarters. This makes things a lot less overwhelming and I’ll be more likely to actually accomplish my goals. Plus I can focus on each goal versus all of my goals as a whole.
Taking the time the prepare for 2018 by doing these things will alleviate a lot of anxiety, burnout, and overwhelm. I look forward to whatever 2018 brings my way.
I got the idea for this blog post from a conversation I had with some family members some time ago. They ask the same questions all the time and I’m sure they mean well when they ask, but bruh, you don’t have to ask me:
When are you getting married?
When are you going to have some kids?
Will and Grace/Giphy.com
For the record, I have no desire to get married and I never wanted children. Both of those decisions are perfectly fine. However, people legit act like you spit in their eyes with ghost pepper hot sauce.
Seriously, why do YOU feel disrespected?
I often wonder if people feel a way about your life choices because they have regrets. Maybe they wanted to make the moves you’re making but they fell victim to society’s expectations. Regardless of their reasons, you don’t owe them a “why” for the decisions you make. In all honesty, they can kiss your ass, but I digress.
[tweetshare tweet=”Your Life. Your Choices. The End.” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
I made progress on a lot of my goals and ideas this year. I also had a few setbacks, which allowed me to determine if the goal or idea is worth reassessing or if I should scrap it altogether. I also doubted myself, wondering if I was doing the right thing.
I would’ve quit, however, quitting won’t get me where I want to be. I refused to give up. With my goals in mind, I restrategized and carried on. I’m thankful for the process of growth that I’ve experienced this year. The progress, the setbacks, and the doubts were all learning experiences that helped me better myself and sharpen my focus.
[tweetshare tweet=”Growth is learning from your progress, setbacks, and doubts.” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
I love talking about intuition (click here and here for earlier posts). This year, intuition helped me avoid some potentially sticky situations. I had opportunities that appeared to be awesome on the outside. My support system would give me the green light of approval, but I couldn’t knock the feeling that something wasn’t right.
Intuition reminded me to trust my decision-making. That feeling keeps nagging at me for a reason. Clearly, it’s trying to tell me something, right?
[tweetshare tweet=”You can ignore your intuition, or you can take heed. Choose wisely.” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
I understood the importance of having a support system long ago. I needed people around me who had my best interest in mind, even if their honesty was brutal. This year, I learned another lesson about my support system:
[tweetshare tweet=”A successful support system is about quality, not quantity. ” username=”2n$28p1ijG!jkr6qAqbM5JM&XPcH%QfD:1:0″]
I had a small support system of 5-6 people initially. When I reached out those 5-6 people, only 2-3 would always show up. What was the point of having those extra people if I can’t depend on them?
RuPaul/Giphy.com
After trimming the fat, my support system now consists of 2-3 people. When I was too stubborn to listen to their thoughts and opinions, they could’ve let me drown in my stubbornness. Instead, they waited patiently for me to get my shi*t together. They cheered for me when I couldn’t cheer for myself. Most importantly, they genuinely care about my well-being.
My appreciation for these people runs deeper than words can express. I’m thankful for all that they’ve done and continue to do for me.
The Universe went out of her way to throw some curveballs my way this year. When I decided that I wanted to “Stay Ready” this year, I’m convinced that Universe not only heard me, but she was testing me.
I would get thisclose to checking off a goal and then WHAM, an unexpected expense would pop up. Don’t you hate that? I could approach this situation in two ways:
One: I could wave the white flag of defeat and wallow in my failure.
Two: I can figure out how I can check off the goal AND how I can handle the unexpected expense without it negatively affecting me.
I ain’t gonna lie (yes, you read that right), it’s way easier for me to wave the white flag of defeat than it is to carry on. But because I promised myself that I was going to make this goal happen, I’m hellbent on seeing it through.
Here’s where persistence comes in.
Persistence is a skill that I didn’t always appreciate. Why? Because it required me to keep going, even when I would rather throw my hands up and quit. But, when I want something, I want something. I do research, create a master plan, and even a few “just in case” contingency plans.
[tweetshare tweet=”I refuse to allow anyone and anything, including myself, to get in the way of what I want in life.” username=”MsWalton”]
I’ve written about my strong dislike of the retail aspect of the holiday season before (see here, here, and here). This year is much of the same with a not-so-surprising twist: I already have holiday fatigue and November isn’t even here yet.
A few observations this year:
In many stores, Halloween items were at least 40% off by November 15th. Halloween displays made way for 6 foot tall Christmas trees and large plastic candy canes complete with lights.
My favorite stores started sending me emails featuring gift sets and other seasonal items to consider as gifts mid-October.
People are counting down how many days are left until Christmas.
In all honesty, I can deal with everything mentioned above MINUS the countdown. The counting down is high-key annoying as hell. Can we put the turkey in the oven first?
The inspiration for this year’s theme derived from the stack of (at least 6) books that I’ve purchased throughout 2017 and either never started them or started them and never finished them. Oh, and the countless projects that I’ve started (or planned) and never finished them (or execute them). I’m legit disappointed in myself.
