Challenge #2: Wrap Up and Reflection

I don't know how I feel about this challenge.

Last month I had a sense of accomplishment when it was all over. I knew I had a achieved  my goal. This month... I'm not sure what success looks like. I don't know how to measure my success. Do I feel better about myself? Maybe a little bit. Do I feel like I achieved something? No. It wasn't a well thought out challenge and I regret that a little.

Do I regret choosing this challenge, though?

No.

I really needed this challenge. These first two months of 2015 have been hectic, stressful, and pretty depressing. Work is busy, my friends and colleagues have been going through a rough time, I had to skip a family vacation, and the record low temperatures have been confining me inside most days. It's really easy to only notice the bad stuff when life looks like this.

I feel better now, though, than I did on February 1st. And I chalk that up at least partly to my challenge.

I refused to let myself wallow. This has always been a weakness for me, so starting to break out of this habit has been a big improvement. Most of the time it's as simple as telling myself "no" and finding a new focus for my attention.

I sought out positive social interactions. Jesse and I went to the range at Fort Dix with some friends for Valentines day. I met up with my friends Kim and Sam for some Galentine's beer sampling and Chipotle. I spent a day building a snowtube run in my parents' front yard with my mom, dad, and brother. Yvonne and I are working to get out of our post-college social slump together. These small, novel social interactions are exactly what my introverted self needs.

I started taking better care of myself. I was getting lazy and eating copious amounts of sugar as the days got colder. This month I took steps to reverse that. I've been snacking on carrots and just started going to the gym again. I feel significantly better already.


I am not confining these changes to this month. Much in the way that January was a reset button for my spending habit, February was a chance to reset my relationship with myself. I hope to continue these changes through the year and beyond.



Now, on to next month: Develop a morning ritual.