New Year!

I kept thinking I would get around to writing something meaningful about the end of the year and the beginning of the new one. Since nothing brilliant and inspiring has come to mind I thought I should list some of the things I accomplished last year and then go on to goals for next year.

Accomplishments:
1.Starting a blog and actually keeping with it. This was not my first blogging attempt. There were many others that were abandoned very quickly. This one stuck!

2.I finished my first sprint triathlon! I honestly thought the whole time that it would be something I thought about, discussed with some people, and then back out of right before. Actually, I thought that I would back out all the way up to standing on the edge of the pool waiting to go it.

3.Rode my fastest time ever biking 100K. I had to be done by a certain time to get to another event and apparently that was enough motivation for me to really put the pedal to the….well pedal.

4.I was happier. This should have been #1 but I just realized it. Sure, there were ups and downs but as I look back over the year, it really was great. I did several of the things I set out to do, I had fun doing everything, and overall was just happy. Yeah, the economy sucks, but it will all be ok in the long run. My job is good, my friends are great, and I am very blessed.


Ok, I am sure there were several more things that I accomplished, but you get the picture. Now for goals:

1.Continuing running and swimming to get faster and be more confident.

2.Do all of the local sprint triathlons and consider the local half.

3.Be a better friend. I love all of my friends but I am guilty of putting them off to do other things because I know that they will forgive me if I blow them off. I am going to try to realize that they are as important as gym time and horse time and make an extra effort to balance better.

4.Continue on with that happiness thing. I think that works well for me.

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Years! I am looking forward to reading about everyone’s accomplishments this year! I am going to leave you with a portion of an email I got this morning about stress that really made me stop and think.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?'
Answers called out ranged from 8oz. To 20oz.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.'

'If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.'

'In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.'

'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. '

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.'

'Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

Life is short. Enjoy !'