How did I do with my resolutions?
#15 - a look back at the year
Hi there,
Only 363 days to Christmas 🎄! I’m sorry, I just had to do it. But I’m all about hope for the future. I hope you had a wonderful time on Saturday, whether you were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to rejoice with friends and family or had to spend it on your own. I’d love to know to how your C-Day went; you can either send me a reply on your email or add in a comment on the blog page. What did you have for your Christmas dinner? Any gifts to remember or you’re grateful for 😉?
My aim for the holidays is to recharge and recuperate ahead of a strenuous few months. The challenge of COVID has extended its tentacles beyond the ‘disruption to education’. The need to have another set of mocks (link to mocks) means preparation will need to begin from mid-January, especially with the arrival of our Public Enemy Number One’s cousin Omicron. A potential lockdown early next year further heightens the chance of exams being ripped apart for the 3rd year in a row. I can only pray for the trusty ‘3rd time lucky’ to come true.
Anyways, enough of this serious stuff during a period of fun and relaxation. I also got to sit down and watch 2 films: Boss Baby 2, no less amusing than the first and Dunkirk, which I was told was a must-watch but underwhelmed for me. Not sure if it was the lack of proper drama or the general sense of ambiguity and obscurity of the plot didn’t suit my movie palate. I don’t know what exactly.
Highlight of the week - got to meet my grandma after a long while.
It’s been a difficult year. I’ll apologise for the unoriginal comment but it’s been tough. We began the year with the Delta variant and end with Omicron on the rise. In between, it’s been a rough ride as any with this dreaded pandemic seeming to stay forever. That said, there has been positivity and meaning mixed in. I’ll be thinking about the year gone by in the upcoming week and invite you to, as well. It really is a fruitful experience of reflection and learning and most certainly isn’t a waste of your precious holiday time.
My plan here is to run you through my progress through my resolutions I set at the start of the year. It seems like a long long time ago.
So problem number one. Too many resolutions were set. I’ll be rectifying this for 2022. Too many resolutions makes it difficult to keep at all of them. I started the year with a habit tracker but then I kept forgetting to fill it in and eventually gave up on ticking a box on a piece of paper. Might experiment with it again next year.
Number 1 was in good shape for the first half of the year, but fell apart as the year progressed. I found the time at the start of the day invaluable but it tended to come at the expense of not attaining the full 8 hours I needed.
I wound down the 5 a day to just 3 because I wasn’t even doing that before. This is one that didn’t last for long. Water-wise, I purchased a huge 2 litre bottle and a 1 litre massive metal one to take to school. Alas I rarely got to 2 litres. But definitely drank more water than I would have, a real weakness of mine, especially in the cold, non-thirsty English weather. In the last 2 months, I have consistently been hitting 1 litre but not gotten past it.
Exercise every day - definitely been a very good one, one I’m thankful for setting. Has definitely allowed me to get fitter. Sadly it’s reliant on the 1st one, meaning it’s also fallen in frequency in the latter parts of 2021.
Meditation - the one I rue the most. It’s a bit like what people experience going to the gym. You never want to but never regret it. I simply haven’t made it a priority and haven’t applied the power of consistency to it. Yet I am much calmer and have lengthened my temper this year.
The one I am most happy is the reading every day. I have read way many more books this year compared to last, simply due to the intention of deciding to try to read when I can every day. There is no denying that me getting older and more interested in self development has contributed to the more reading of books. But my busy school and extracurricular life has hampered my progress and speed through books considerably.
Moving onto another section of this most desirable yet unrealistic list, cooking provided a lot of joy, both to me and my mouth. I’d like to keep it going, and I’ll keep your mouths watering with pictures!
Coding, we don’t speak about. I’ve realised that coding is more of a task that can’t be done in little chunks but rather in extended periods of time. And I can use this realisation to my advantage in the new year.
Finally, this was more of an optional one. However, I have witnessed a lot of inspiring, educational talks from TED that always leave me glad I spent the time to watch them. A favourite this year was this one on the paradox of choice.
So as you can see, some resolutions stuck for longer than others. But overall, I wasn’t successful. Along with this, I’m thinking of sitting with a pen and paper and considering exactly what went wrong and right with all these habits.
I still do want to incorporate all these things into my life but in different forms and timescales.
More on that below.
Book of the week 📖
I’ve been enjoying reading about Maths, something different. Finished Chapter 1 of Fermat's Last Theorem. I also binge-read through Glory in the Cup, the first in a series on an entertaining cricket team. Would recommend it to all cricket fans, and even those who aren’t: there are helpful hints along the way to assist non-specialists.
Podcast of the week🎙️
The Science of Success Podcast: The Ultimate Planning Ritual to Crush 2021 with Peter Shallard
Remember listening to this last year. Some of you may like it.
Article of the week 📰
Among the festivities and glee, you may have missed a shooting into space that could end up being the answer to our ultimate question - how did it all begin? To see what I mean, read this overview on the BBC and if you’re left wanting more, be my guest.
Quote of the week💬
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” - Zig Ziglar
Hope your holidays (or if not, end of the year) continues to go well. Next time, I'll let you know of plans for next year.
Adi