It can be very easy at this time of year to get caught up in what you want next year to look like… BEFORE you do that, can you take a pause to reflect on the year just gone by? I was a chronic overachiever who never took time to celebrate (or even acknowledge) anything I had done. It was always ‘what’s next?’.
Being in that mindset, I was never satisfied with life. Arguably, I have headed down the wrong road for way too long before realising that I took a wrong turn somewhere… If only I had stopped to reflect, acknowledge, celebrate or change course.
But, you live and learn.
A couple of my achievements that went unacknowledged by myself for a number of years that I now am proud of:
I passed my driving test 1st time 2 months after I turned 17.
I moved to Greece in 2002 to go to a job on my own, where I knew no one and didn’t speak a word of the language.
Approximately 13% of the UK population have written a book; I am one of them and am not a natural writer. The only reason I got Higher English was because I had a tutor. (You can check it out here: https://amzn.to/3vncz0U).
Approximately 0.17% of the world’s population has run a marathon (as a registered runner in an event). I ran the Edinburgh marathon in 2011 (and hated every step of it). I then also took part in the Moonwalk, which is walking a marathon distance overnight to raise money for breast cancer.
I have been self-employed since 2010 and am still here, teaching, coaching and guiding you through my life lessons. Check out my offerings at www.iamjenwilson.com
From 2023 into 2024, I took a pause (yes, this is a new phenomenon for me). It could have been easy for me to end the year feeling like I had failed because I hadn’t met my business goals. When you are self-employed, it can feel like everything needs to be a business goal. If I don’t earn, I don’t eat.
In 2023, I had bigger priorities. My health. Let’s face it: if I don’t have my health, I can’t work, and I definitely can’t eat! In the world of self-employment, there is so much about the hustle, the drive, the keep pushing and doing. So many entrepreneurs are living on coffee and/or energy drinks to keep the buzz up. I used to live on adrenalin and cortisol.
Then I burned out, frazzled my nervous system digestive system, and got chronically ill (with a pile of debt). Since 2017, when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, my focus has had to change; my priorities are now about healing, rebuilding, repairing and continuing to share my life’s lessons.
My 2023 Reflections
In reflection, I am grateful for the collaborations with other businesses I feel aligned with and love what they do, and we have more plans for 2024.
I am grateful for my lifers, my Pilates family, who have been coming to my classes for 10+ years!!
I am grateful for my scheduling, taking a down week every 7/8 weeks, and getting to go camping or to a caravan in those weeks off.
The joy (after the initial anxiety) of returning to the gym to slowly rebuild the strength I have lost over the last few years that I know is imperative to work on as I enter the menopausal years.
My 2024 Plan
Continue to wake up when I wake up. No alarm unless necessary – yes, I know that this goes against all the ‘productivity rules’, but fuck that. I did the 5 am thing for years, and it contributed to my nervous system dysregulation. I am working with my body and its natural rhythms.
Move my body every day.
Lift some weights 3 times per week.
Get outside for at least 30 minutes every day.
Listen to my body to nourish it in the way that’s right for me.
Pick up a book instead of my phone at 9 pm… And I encourage you to call me out if you see me sharing funny memes after 9 pm!!
What are your reflections and plans?
