January Update

January has come and gone (finally, does anyone else feel like there were a couple of extra days added in there?) so here is my update on how I did for the first month of P365.

Its funny because the things that I thought would be really difficult turned out to be not as much, but on the other hand what I thought would be super easy proved to be more of a challenge than I anticipated.  I began the month diligently recording the ways that I accomplished my goals every night before I went to bed.  That lasted about two weeks.  I'm not sure exactly why I stopped, I just did so I'm going to have to come up with a better way to keep track.  If you have any brilliant ideas, feel free to shoot them my way.  Because I stopped I don't have any numbers to report but I know how I did so here is my honest assessment of how the month went.

Eat Breakfast: NAILED IT. Before P365 I ate breakfast maybe twice a week so I was expecting to totally fail at this one but you guys, I can honestly say I ate breakfast EVERY day in January!! I had a little help though.  I don't think I would have made it if not for the amazingly delicious scones from the Global Cafe at Mariners Church.  Those things are a life saver.  Seriously.  I also tried making some breakfasty type things that I could freeze and then take out the night before or throw in the microwave in the morning which generally worked except that I would forget that they were in the freezer and end up just stopping at Starbucks in the morning.  Thanks friends that have sent me recipes to help with this.  I'll get it eventually.

Give Something Away:  This is the one that I thought would be soooo easy.  I have so much stuff, surely it wouldn't be difficult to give it all away.  I ran into two problems here.  1. what do I give away?  2. who do I give it to?  Some days were awesome and opportunities just presented themselves. It also helped that there is a place on campus where I work that I can donate things to, but sometimes I would forget or just not know what to give.  I accomplished this goal maybe 5 out of 7 days each week.  So far for February I have tried to be more intentional about what I give with the goal being that by the end of the year, its not something that I will have to think about any more.

Be Thankful: I have loved this. I have expressed my thanks to people in an email, a card, face to face and even began writing lists of things that I am thankful for.  It hasn't been everyday, but pretty darn close and I love the way that it has affected my attitude about life and events and the people and things around me.

Be Vulnerable: Over the last month I've learned a lot about being vulnerable, it looks a lot of different ways and each day I am growing a little more and becoming a little more comfortable with it.  At first I was afraid that it meant that I would be having conversations in which I poured out my heart and cried everyday (I wasn't looking forward to that) but being vulnerable is so much more.  Showing up and allowing myself to be seen everyday looks like asking for and accepting help when its offered; sharing things about myself and thoughts with others instead of just assuming that people don't want to be bothered, and it means being courageous in my conversations and opening up a space for others to be vulnerable with me.

So that's January.  A lot of learning, a lot of challenge and a lot of celebration and we still have 11 more months to go!!

How are you doing with your goals in January?