Moving Forward (Still)

Any year that starts off to dancing to great music with good friends is bound to be a good one – at least that’s what I’m hoping for!

At the end of each year in the past I used to frantically go around trying to finish things I started – make sure the dishes/laundry are done, cross of a few more errands on my list, etc. However, this year, it was different.

I felt like 2011 was the end to a frantic and chaotic year … and 2012 is the year that I’m going to be putting myself back together again and continue my journey moving forward – the title of my first blog post last July. This includes steadily working towards accomplishing each task that I have set for myself – not quickly rushing around to clean the house just before company comes over or going on a crash diet one week before a big event … no. I’ve got to be consistent and persistent!!

A lot of my resolutions for last year remain the same – lose weight, adopt a healthier lifestyle, spend more time with family/friends, and finish my PhD – so I don’t have much to add or change when it comes to the resolutions for this year. However what I do hope is different this year is the attitude/approach I take towards accomplishing these goals.

The over-arching goal for me is to just let it go --- I am haunted by so many things in my past that I often feel like I can’t move under all that pressure. A fantastic conversation with my boxing trainer (more details on that in a post later this week) really got me thinking. Since I am still recovery from my surgery and am not ready to go back into my boxing training he pulled me aside and started to talk to me about the importance of mental training as well – how having a clear mind, as well as a clear heart, can give me an enormous amount of strength. The conversation was like none I’ve ever had before and it is something that I’ve been thinking about for the past five days … The basic theme – Let it go – all the grudges, regrets, anger … as well as the bad habits – the idea that something is absolutely necessary, that I MUST have it, that it MUST be done right now, my way …

So that is my focus this year – letting go of bad/negative thoughts and emotions as well as the excess baggage I carry around my waistline and my house!! I hope that lightening this load will help me lighten the heaviness I feel in my heart more often than I should.

Of course I am committed to continuing my weight loss journey. I start this year 5 kg less than last year, but still heavier than my lightest (August 2009). I have no specific fitness goals per se – perhaps finishing the NROL4W program. My overall goal for fitness is to just keep improving.

On that note, I started off the year with a great cardio session. I was keeping a chart to track my post-surgery recovery progress … today I will start a new chart.

Date	Time	Distance	Av. speed	Calories	Maximum
Jan. 1	1 hour	5.9 km	5.9 km/hr	340	15 min @ 6.2 km/hr

For those of you keeping track, my average speed for my first cardio session after surgery was 4.3 km/hr – so I’ve managed to improve by 1.6 km/hr in just 3 weeks. I am really happy with that.

This is Day 1 of a new year … my goal for the rest of the year is to just keep improving this statistic in one way or another – go faster, walk for longer, burn more calories – whatever … I just want it to improve.

In addition to all of this, I have also joined The Happiness Project (hosted by weightwars.co.uk). To be honest, I do feel a bit skeptical about how much going through a project like this will really help my inner happiness … but it’s something that I’m striving to achieve this year, so I’m going to try it.

Since this is already quite a long post, I’ll write my entry for the Happiness Project tomorrow …

In the meantime, I’m sharing a quote and a photo that have inspired me and helped give me the confidence to try to let it all go …

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu