Another Year Comes To An End...With A New Beginning

2015 was an exciting, busy, and challenging year for me. I took a two week vacation to Washington DC, Virginia, and North Carolina with family, I was blessed with another grandchild, a grandson, I barely survived a year of working swing shift, sadly I lost family members and friends to death this year, and I completed my two goals that I set for myself last year; my first 10K and The 365project (you can read about both of these goals a little further down on my blog). This year has left me...weary. I am praying 2016 will bring me further on my journey toward balance in my life.

As the year is ending, it is time to really stop and reflect on the past 12 months. Did I get everything done that I wanted? What am I grateful for in my life? What did I want to do, but really never did accomplish?

As I think about these questions, I also think about my goals for the new year. Am I going to call them my New Year’s Resolutions? Nope. See, to me it seems most people make New Year’s Resolutions at midnight on December 31, then probably go full force with them for say two weeks, and then they start to slip away from our minds.

I am reflecting on 2015 and seeing what I loved, liked and yes disliked throughout the year. I am seeing what I want now, which many call dreams, but I call them my goals!

A new year brings reflection and introspection, and as 2015 is now over and 2016 is in front of me, I have been doing a lot of that. Looking back over the year, deciding what went right and what went not so right, what habits to keep and what to discard, what I need to start fresh and what I need to renew. With each new year comes the litany of resolutions, often times with no plan to get there. “Lose weight”, “quit smoking”, “eat better” are typically among the top resolutions we hear. The downfall to these types of resolutions is that they are vague, and lack a game plan. I want my faith to be evident, I want to try new adventures, and I want to achieve greater strength/fitness. I want to push myself. So I sat down and thought about what challenges I want to accomplish this year. Here are my 16 goals for 2016.

1. I will make and keep a Gratitude Jar – But having gratitude does not just happen! It is a practice we have to foster every day. You would not expect a flower to grow without water, and you would not expect your body to get healthier without nourishing it. So you cannot expect to feel like you have enough and you are enough, without nurturing a gratitude for the life God gave you and an appreciation of yourself.
   
2. I will focus on my spiritual health by doing devotions daily – I want to grow my faith. I like you have a lot on my plate and any little bit can help.
   
3. Pick and memorize a life verse – When I chose one, you will know what it is.
   
4. I will spend more time off the couch than on the couch – There are many ways of achieving this goal. I want to get in better physical shape so that I can do more outdoors. I will continue to improve my fitness by getting back to walking at least two days a week as well as participate in two days of Refit a week and hiking when springtime comes.
   
5. I will set up permanent residence in onederland – I cannot believe I just shared that one out loud on my blog, but there is accountability in that. I do not want to be losing this weight this same time next year. Well, that just got real, real quick.
   
6. I will stretch 5 minutes after most walks – I am SO BAD about this now and I can feel it. My risk of injury is increased, and I know this! Somehow, I still cannot talk myself into stretching after I walk. Realistically, I will not stretch after every walk, but setting a goal to stretch after MOST walks feels productive AND attainable.
   
7. I will participate in the 4T – Trains, trails, trams, and trolleys – oh my! The unique 4T trail is a self-guided urban nature tour that lets you explore the city — and see some of the best views — without a car. All it takes is about four hours, five dollars and a bit of leg power. The route is well marked with signs, and includes about 2.5 miles of walking.
8. I will take my photography habit to the next level – This year I will start charging for my photography. Mind you, it will not be outrageous, but if I do not value my work, will anybody else?
9. I will be doing a photography challenge – I have joined the 52 Week Challenge. Last year, I did the 365 and while this may seem easier, after reading the 'assignment sheets,' I will definitely be challenged.
10. I will have a word a year, and my word for 2016 is – Truth. My next year will be based on honesty and genuineness. This word will guide me through the year of 2016! It will support me in my daily struggles and situations that may appear hopeless. This word will always show me - the silver lining so that I will not ever need to worry. It was chosen specifically for me (by Facebook) so I will embrace it!
11. I will read a minimum of six books this year – As you all know, I am not much of a reader. A couple of years ago one of my goals was to read one book a month – I failed. I only read five, but at least it was five more than I read the year prior.
12. I will finish unfinished projects – As a crafty person, I have started many projects and for various reasons, I did not complete them. This year, I will complete one project a month.
13. I will write my story – Early in 2015, Pastor Jesse challenged the congregation to write their story, I never did it. This will be the year!
14. I will do the 7-day smartphone detox – The average person uses their phone or tablet 158 minutes a day. This daily 2 hours and 38 minutes translates into 3.3 days a month, and 1.35 months a year. Can you go without checking your phone for 20 minutes? If the answer is no, you might want to consider a phone detox.
    
15. I will practice having more balance in my life – Though weight loss is an important goal, I need to remember to focus on other things that I enjoy and try not to get too hung up on the number on the scale. I will spend more time working on my purpose here on earth.
    
16. I will blog about each goal – Blogging helps me reflect and focus on the positive. I am not the most consistent blogger and I would like to fix that. I plan to blog as I complete each of these challenges, to keep myself accountable and to keep you all informed!
    

I accomplished many simple things I thought I would never do in life this past year. Like being more social – stepping out of my shell and going on a date, being more active – went hiking more, accomplished my first 10K, and did one picture a day for 365 days. Again, very simple. Simple to others but a leap for me. When you are an introvert, simple things seems impossible to get done, but with the right people by your side you can literally accomplish anything!

Spend 10 minutes this week and set some goals for yourself! It does not have to be 16, and it does not have to be outlandish. Let me know your number one fitness goal this year. 
 
If we live through all of 2016, we will each have 366 days (leap year) or 527,040 precious minutes, and each of us gets to choose whether we will waste them, or use them to make ourselves and the world we live in a better place. What is your choice?

Happy New Year’s my friends!

365Project

My 365 project was all about picking up my camera every day. It was about discipline. It was about creativity, thinking outside the box, which for me can be a challenge in and of itself. I did not think I would have the discipline to pick up my camera every day, go out and take shots, or stay inside and manufacture shots, but I have surprised myself.

Discipline – This might seem obvious, but did I ever get to work on my discipline skills. Shortly after I took on the 365Project, I was moved to swing shift, working from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This made taking a picture a day challenging to say the least. I did not let excuses stop me though. 365 days of anything is a marathon of epic proportions, and this was a huge commitment. I made it, and it has given me a certain confidence.

Creativity – Again this one is obvious, but making something for 365 days will force you to get creative. Particularly on days, or in locations, when your materials are limited.

Respect for my family and friends – Oceans of love to my family and friends for their intense support and patience with this project over the last year. None of them complained when I would stop in the middle of some hike or outing and say “wait, give me 10 minutes I need to shoot that!”

Giving myself credit – Wow I am hard on myself. It is in my DNA. This project was good for learning to get okay with a pass/fail grade. I set out in my opening post that the goal of this project was not perfection. If it was a person, place, or thing, it passed, which was good, because some of the objects were pretty lame, but they were objects. Out of 365 days, I posted 362 pictures. Before this project, I would have considered anything less than 365 pictures a failure. That was a tough lesson for me.

Being present, and noticing line and color – Spending every day keeping my eyes open for material to shoot really improved my ability to be present in the moment, and notice my surroundings. I am now so much more open to noticing line, shape and color, and picking up on how those things influence the viewer.

Meeting new people – Here is a great way to meet new people. This story played out many times over the year, from chatting with complete strangers to striking up conversations with others who share my passion.

Why did I do it - Taking a photo a day was a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why I did it:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned…Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!
  
• My year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document my travels and accomplishments. Time moves surprisingly fast.
  
• Taking a photo a day did make me a better photographer. Using my camera every day did help me learn its limits. I got better at composing my shots, I did start to care about lighting, and I became more creative with my photography when I was forced to come up with something new every single day.
  
• It become a place to learn for me. I am not documenting my daily life there anymore, but the discussions, challenges and photos have taught me more about the art and techniques of photography than I could have imagined. I tried many things and learned much in the past year. I never would have thought I would love it so much. I started this project to improve my skills in photography - not with the view to becoming a pro/selling shots, just to take better shots and take some time for myself. I have started wanting to take better shots and only uploading shots I think are 'good'. I did this more for myself, just to see if I could do this photo a day thing. The amazing shots I saw on 365project.com were an added bonus! The site really gave me the needed outlet to learn about the art of photography. Sure, I started out with just taking a daily picture but as I learned more about editing and photography I felt this project change me and is still changing me. I have since joined a couple photography clubs and entered pictures into a competition. I do not know where I am headed but I am excited about photography and am more than willing to see where it takes me. I do not expect to ever stop learning and there is so much to learn. That is what keeps things fresh for me. Every day I wonder if today will be the day I do not see something that I can photograph, but I always find something, always. So, I keep taking pictures because I truly enjoy the whole process.
  

I started the project to create a discipline of having my camera in my hand more regularly and to document a photo journal of a year in my life. I have since found this community to be a place of strengths, resolve, friendship, global connections, triumphing over adversity, sharing blessings and sorrows, and ART beyond anything I would have imagined. My eyes have been opened wide in a way I would never have dreamed possible - find myself deeply LOVING this place as I might never have without the "eyes" 365 has opened for me. If my photographs improved in the meantime, I will always feel doubly blessed. This project gave me the ability to create and capture my own version of art, amateurish though it may be.