The change of year is always a good time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. I invite everyone to post here with their New Year reflections and resolutions. Next Year I will make another post and link back to this one so we can read our past thoughts and ideas.
You are free to use any format you like, but I would suggest:
What are the major milestones and changes that occured this year (and further back if you like)?
What good things are happening in your life that you would like to keep going?
What would you like to change or add into your life in the future?
What challenges do you expect to arise over the next year, and how do you plan on dealing with them?
Major milestones and changes that occurred: About two years ago I made some major changes - stopped alcohol and junk food, and started to get my finances in order. Earlier this year I paid off the last of my debts and started seriously saving for retirement instead.
Good things happening in my life I’d like to keep going: Having control over my finances, building a food garden and cooking healthy food from scratch.
I would like to change in the future: I’d like to increase my fitness and lose a bit of weight. What I’ve been doing so far is really not working, so I need to try a different approach. I’d also like to be more social, maybe join a group activity of some sort. I just don’t know what I want to do.
Challenges over the next year: I have a high study load for a few months at the start of the year - 75% of a full time load (on top of full time work). I will need to make sure I am organised and don’t procrastinate to get through it. I have been able to organise a few days of leave here and there through that period to give me a bit more time.
Get into tennis! Whereabouts are you located roughly? So much fun and a great way to get into shape 😊
My history with ball sports and tennis is not good. I actually have a report card from Primary School indicating I needed remedial work in that area. I also sucked so badly when we did tennis in High School that I was not allowed to play with anyone else and had to hit the ball against the wall. Or more accurately, spend lots of time chasing the stray balls after they had bounced off the wall and I had been unable to hit them.
Not saying you should necessarily do tennis, but don’t let your past dictate your future too much. You can get better with practice. True you may never be a pro tennis player, but the value of a hobby is in the enjoyment of it, you don’t have to be “good” at it.
For most of my hobbies, I’m not what anyone would describe as good. But I enjoy them.
I have this problem too - for me it came down to an eyesight quirk. I can’t see perspective above a horizon level with the direction I’m looking in if that makes sense. That is, I can see in perspective below that horizon line but not above. I sucked at netball, tennis, etc. but excelled at hockey where the ball ran along the ground as long as I didn’t look at the ball directly. You can’t hit something if you can’t tell how far away it is or the direction it’s travelling in.
Apparently it’s quite common, and comes from not playing enough hit-the-ball or throw&catch ball games when very young - like, the toddler years. Which was pretty common for female children of my vintage. The brain circuitry that allows perspective vision just doesn’t mature to the point where your brain can interpret perspective. A classic case of use it or lose it. Might be worth getting a really good optometrist to check out your eyesight to see if that’s part of the problem. This isn’t an eyesight health problem apparently, just an inconvenience for usage. Doesn’t affect driving or reading or other activities unless you are madly into duck hunting or the like.
School sport was a major downer for me too, so I was seriously surprised when I had my reflexes measured in my 30s, and discovered that I was in the top 3% of the population for reaction speed. That’s jetfighter pilot level. I should have been good at sport, and wasn’t. Not a big issue nowadays, but growing up it surely was one.