This
is the first year I am writing an annual review. The question I want to
ask myself, is "are my choices helping me to live the life I want.
1.What went well this year?
2. What didn't go well this year?
3. What am I working toward?
1.What went well this year?
Travel
We went on an adventure with our two kids to Costa Rica. I worked
remotely and it was an experience! We got to go to AZ for Thanksgiving
as well as take a few trips down to Zions.
Spirituality/Personal Development
I was able to bless our two daughters and become active in my
calling going on lots of camp outs with of our ward. I stopped using
adderall (which has been a crutch for me) and have been working on
creating habits in all areas of life that will help us live the life we
want. I have been more consistent with personal scripture study as well
as personal prayers.
Exercise
I have played on several
soccer teams (Indoor) this year which has been a lot of fun. We have
been fairly consistent at doing the Insanity workouts and starting back
up again even after we have taken breaks due to illness and holidays.
Mindset
I am working
quite hard to create habits that will last whether or not I feel like
doing something. I am doing a lot of listening to uplifting audiobooks
which has been good, and I feel like I'm well on my way to creating some
lasting habits that will increase the quality of our life.
Family
I feel over the year end
holidays we have connected with siblings and my parents which has been
great. I know a large part of the wonderful holidays was due to the fact
that I wasn't using adderall, and was more able to be myself.
Overall there has been more routine and
stability this year, which considering the age of our kids and my
somewhat bi-polar history, I think it is a good thing.
2. What didn't go well this year?
Finances
Work
stayed pretty much the same, and I am making a little more money then
last year. We haven't taken control of our finances and are very
undisciplined with our money. We are still on about $100 of food stamps
every month, but that is down from about $3-400 which is a great thing. I
am spending most of every day at work which isn't ideal.
Spirituality
I feel like overall I haven't
gotten terribly close to the lord this year or lived with Christs love
very often. There have been a few bright spikes though.
Physical Condition
This has been the year of the energy drinks and corn chips. I
have some extra fat around my middle for the first time in my life which
I do not like. I have gone long periods with very little exercise.
Environment
We are still in our little apartment and it
is stressful because it is often messy and we have two little girls. I
would like to live somewhere nicer for my wife, the girls, and me.
3. What I am working toward
So what is all this leading to? Where am I going with my life?
Here are a few central themes that drive me:
- Purpose. I
really want to drill down deep and figure out/discover my purposes for
being here. I want to connect my deepest, truest purposes with every
area of my life. I want to live my life with purpose which means
having an understanding of why I do everything I do and how that relates
to my purpose here on earth.
- Vision. I think this will be easier to develop after I
am more aware of my purpose and mission. I want to wake up excited each
day for an awesome future.
- Habits. I want to focus
more on doing small habits then large end goals. I want to focus on the
process of creating habits, knowing that these habits will lead to those
large end goals.
- Creativity. I want to start playing my guitar and learning
some new songs. I also want to start doing some photography and possibly
creating some art in Photoshop. Mashing up music would be a lot of fun
as well.
- Finances. I don't know if this is the year of the business or
not. I do know that I want to have control over our finances and to be
disciplined so we are proactive with our money. I feel like we might
need to build a solid foundation/ have our own house in order before we
undertake building a business.
The Bottom Line
This
year could have been better, but it is probably overall the best year I
have had in terms of stability since I was young. I am cautiously
optimistic about 2014, and I hope that I can really develop a strong
foundation in all areas of my life. Instead of big dreams, this is the
year of developing strong habits and acting instead of being acted upon.
-Ammon Hardin 1/1/2014