2022 Reflections

In all honesty, I don't really know where to start when it comes to reflections on my resolutions for last year. I started the year of with high expectations and so much hope. I was actually quite good for the first few months and then when everything changed in June, it just went downhill. The last 6 months have been almost a complete write off for me and I'm truly to compassionately accept that and not be harsh on myself, but it's disappointing the say the least. 


Achieved 

My main career goal was to finish my Preceptorship programme and get my band 6 promotion at work and I am so pleased that I was able to tick this off quite quickly. I ended up achieving all my competencies at the end of January, but unfortunately due to annual leave of myself and then the assessor, it got delayed a few weeks. Never the less, all done, and they have defintely used my promotion to their advantage as I have been co-ordinating most shifts on the ward ever since.


What most people would probably class as the biggest goal was buying a house and I did do this, completing in July and moving in, in August. It's been one of the most stressful experiences of my life so I'm really hoping things settle down soon. 

My word for the year was "health". I sadly can't say that I am healthy - at all! - but I have really tried to eat more healthily. I have really enjoyed getting a mix of meal subscription boxes, from both Hello Fresh and Gousto. I don't particularly like to cook so I tend to have a big meal prep day, batch cooking in one go. I then freeze these and microwave them for long shifts at work. I've also made it a priority to always have fruit and vegetables in the house. Meal prepping and planning also works well for me. I still reach for the crisps and chocolate, but this is a huge improvement for me. I've even found a new love of peppers and green beans too! 

External pressures was something I really wanted to remove from my life and I think I've been really true to this one and ultimately true to myself. I've put my own feelings above other's to a certain extend and whilst I'll always be someone empathetic to a core, I feel like I've been honest with people I've spoken to about who I am, how I feel and what I need. It doesn't always help matters, but it's important for me to say it out loud. 


Half Way There 

Minimalism is something I've always enjoyed and I think it gives me great joy being able to simplify life. I would say that I'm kept purchasing to necessities and only bought things with a purpose, but I still do have a lot of items stored at my mums. I need to go through these and defintely get rid of a lot of items to truly simplify. 


Onto cleaning. I would just like to say, I am a very tidy person, but cleaning is something else. I just don't enjoy cleaning. I feel like I have got a little better and I tend to do a big deep clean at least once a month to stay on top of it all, but I am terrible at letting things pile up, especially between night shifts! As I write this, my kitchen is an utter mess and hasn't been properly cleaned in 2 weeks...oops. 


Unsuccessful 

I say unsuccessful, but one of them wasn't hugely necessary. I was planning on buying a new car, but because of the delay and then the work needed with the new house, I didn't want to splurge on a car unless it was essential. My car is still perfectly functional and hasn't even got any minor faults on it's MOT at the moment, so I'm secretly hoping it will last until 2024, which will make it 20 years old! 


Realistically, although I would like to say I exercised, I absolutely did not. This was something I really wanted to focus on and whilst I went on regular walks for the first few months of the year, the last 6 months, I have barely got off the sofa, so exercise was defintely not at the top of my priority list and I can 100% feel it. 

Likewise with reading and that one really upsets me. I read a couple of books at the start of the year, and then four when I was on holiday in Portugal in April. Since then, nothing. Not even a single page. I'm so jealous of the person I used to be when I was younger. I would find so much joy in reading and being able to immerse myself into a book, forgetting about the real world. I think that's probably what I need right now, so stay tuned. 


That kind of links to detoxing from digital sources. I deleted the TikTok app at the start of the year, but that quickly got redownloaded after the breakup, and partially before. I spend hours on the app every day. I scroll for hours before bed and then it's the first thing I scroll through in a morning when I wake up too. I hate it, but sometimes I feel like it's the only place I find acceptance of the things I feel. 


Overall 

Despite the difficult year, I don't think I have done awfully with my resolutions. I think some of them were quite big expectations so perhaps I need to start making some smaller goals in life. What was your biggest achievement last year?

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