Tuesday, December 24, 2013

At the close of 2013

Hey peeps, long time, no blog.

It's been hectic. Crazy. And all that.

After 3 days of couch surfing and not doing terribly much I have finally come to the conclusion that 2013 has been a big year. Massive, in fact. In all areas, in stretching me literally and figuratively!

For starters, I had one of my dearest wishes granted. I spent the year with a funny, honest, crazy-like-me, caring person who really gets me. We broke all the rules in the dating handbook and somehow it works. However, being in a relationship for a year now has taught me a really valuable lesson. While I often thought it would somehow mean the end of my problems as I knew them to be, I have learned that it does nothing of the sort. I am still me, with my same anxieties and hopes and fears, with or without a relationship. Being with someone doesn't automatically make everything unicorns and rainbows... it just means I have someone to share real-life stuff n fings with.

Go figure.

My job has been another huge area of growth. The saying 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going' was really hammered into me this year. I learned how to get real tough real quick while managing multiple projects and teams. Resilience is a muscle that only grows when flexed, and I flexed my resilience muscle a lot this year. I am facing another big year in 2014, so let the chips fall where they may, we are all in for an interesting time!

Health was another area of growth (or should I say shrink), when I finally learned what was holding me back weight-wise. I lost 20kg (put a few kilos back on in the last few weeks of celebrations) but hey, I know what works now so look out 2014, I intend to shrink some more!

I would like to say my outlook has improved, and that I am more positive and calm and zen-like about everything. But the truth is that the more success I attract to my life, the less likely I am to feel successful. Hmmmm, interesting to reflect on why this is. Is it because the weight of success comes with its own fear of hubris? That it couldn't possibly last? That if I took pride in what i have achieved it would attract the inevitable fall? Who knows, all I do know is that I need to continually remind myself that I have earned success, and it has been down to hard work and persistence. and that no-one can take that away from me. Hear that, Tash? Take note!

This blog post is a reflection to force myself to look at what I have achieved and where I have grown in 2013, and to stop and smell the roses. To get my positive mindset squarely focused on 2014, and start with a cheer!

Hip hip hooray! Thanks for the ride, 2013.... looking forward to making your acquaintance, 2014!