Ok so ThrowbackFriday isn't really a thing but I have just sat down with a glass of wine... (at the time of writing it is exactly 12:50pm, but it's Friday, and it's Christmas and I need to empty the fridge as I'm going away for two weeks!). So as I'm sat here listening to all of the Christmas tunes with my glass of wine I've been reflecting on this past year. Coming into the new year I think people can have a tendency to think about all the things they haven’t done, their failed resolutions from the previous year, plans that never materialised, situations that maybe haven’t progressed where you wanted them to.
Now I’m not saying that we all do this but if you do find yourself feeling put out, as though you’ve made no progress, I want you to just take 5 minutes now to think back on all that you have done this year. Write it down, allow yourself to feel a sense of gratitude and accomplishment for the year, pour yourself a glass of wine if it helps... 💁
The places you’ve been, the people you’ve met, things you’ve learnt, healthy habits you’ve picked up, bad ones you’ve dropped… Even the seemingly small things, reconnecting with old friends, learning what spices work in what recipes, successfully keeping your house plants alive for longer than a month. These are all valid measures of success, small changes are what build up to create big shifts #CompoundEffect
Some of my highlights from 2018…
I got to spend an entire month in the beautiful town of Ubud, first with my family and then on my own, something that may not be a big deal to other but for me travelling on my own is waaaay out of my comfort zone!
I climbed a volcano to watch the first sunrise of 2018, definitely something I want to make a tradition, maybe not the volcano part but seeing in the New Year instead of seeing out the old. I even rode a bike around Singapore... Along with spiders, I have a fear of bikes!
I moved out of my family home where I lived for 20 years up to London, a big scary step! But one that lead to so many more opportunities being opened to me…
I now work at some of the top gyms in London, I put on my first retreat, I have met lots of incredible people, I’ve had the pleasure of learning from industry leaders, I even got to shoot an advert for Argos, not something I ever thought to do! Incase you missed it...
Are there things I wanted to do this year that I haven’t done? Yes. Some of those things are going to the top of my priority list for next year, but some of them I no longer want, and that’s ok too. You are allowed to reevaluate your life whenever you need, you are allowed to change the things you want. We can get so bogged down thinking about all the things we still haven’t done but actually maybe there’s a reason for that, is it really something you want now? If not, let it go, add new things to your list. But don’t think of it as a failure.
That is why people love the idea of New Years resolutions because it gives you a chance to start over, an opportunity to be better. So first look back on the year you’ve just had, feel proud for the steps you’ve made towards your goals, big or small, and start to think how you can continue to grow next year. I know New Years resolutions get a bad rap, that's because most of them fail but it doesn't have to be that way. My last blog post of this year is going to be how to set a New Years resolution and make it stick. Sign up to make sure you don't miss it and make sure you're following me on Ig @JordanStanford
