At the beginning of the year, I chose three words to grow in and help guide me throughout 2016: balance, fullness, and detachment. It’s been a long year and a lot has happened. For a few of my highlight, I…
- Traveled… a LOT (see here, here, and here for a few of my blogs on my trips).
- Taught more than 100 hours of yoga.
- Binged on Stranger Things, New Girl, and a whole lot of Netflix.
- Read over 52 books.
- Learned to better honor my body.
- Loved being single.
- Started a long distance relationship.
- Got a tattoo!
- Let my plans change.
It wouldn’t be real life if there wasn’t bad mixed in with the good — I had my fair share of drama, stress, roommate issues, injuries, and illnesses. But it’s the mix of good and bad that make us who we are.
Here’s how each of the words I chose were reflected throughout 2016:
Balance
If I had to pick one word that I was trying to cultivate in 2016, it would have been balance. Like most of us, my life is a constant struggle to find balance — work/life balance, alone time versus social time, balancing the multiple jobs I’ve worked over the past year. There were many times this year when I found myself getting too busy (I was working 5-6 jobs at one point) that I had to make a conscious effort to slow down. I had to make “me time” a priority many times this year. A balanced life doesn’t just happen. It’s something you have to work hard at. And what that balance is will look different in different seasons.
“Balance is not something you find. It’s something you create.” – Jana Kingsford.
Fullness
I had a pretty full life this year — I worked a ton, traveled a ton, built some awesome relationships. There are many things I’m saving up for and debt I’m trying to pay off, but I didn’t want future worries to stop me from living in the present. There were plenty of times this year I said, oh why not, and ended up going on some crazy adventures. I wanted to take advantage of the stage of life I’m in now. I aim to live in a way that I won’t regret in 50 years.
Detachment
Detachment is a weird term and will probably be misunderstood (to read what I intended with it, click here). Sometimes you have to learn to let go of your personal attachment and preferences when it comes to how you think things should be done, the outcomes of different events, and things like that. It’s learning to accept the things you can’t control and being content despite things not always going your way. I had a lot of stressors this year (and stress can come from both good and bad things), but the more I was able to let go and trust that it was in God’s hands, the easier it was to deal with.
What about you? How have you grown over the past year?
Kayla Sheely 