2013 Review

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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