25,000+ Visits and Counting!!!

 
Hi readers! This blog has made it past the 25,000 mark and I am just pleased as punch! Thank you so much for stopping by!

And do keep following and commenting as well!

Love, Vanessa

2015 Goals Review and 2016 Goals

Today, my hangover is not from last night (I rang in the new year at home), but has been years in the making. Five years of transition, with the preceding few years being especially dark, and the last twenty years of living on my own in Vancouver, getting established, working through deep emotional/spiritual issues, forming and maintaining friendships, managing my life and, then, preparing for and undertaking transition, and recovering from surgery. As I write this, nearly ten months after SRS, I am most of the way through my year long recovery. I have for the most part been very staunch about boundaries around my recovery, doing my aftercare no matter how demanding and tedious, resting when I needed to, taking sick time when I needed it, not taking on any activities beyond what I could handle and, perhaps most important of all, not taking on the emotional energy of others. All in the service of my sole 2015 goal: to get through surgery and my recovery, to put myself first, physical and mental health-wise. Yes, this was a challenge; like other people, I do not live in a vacuum and processing the distress of the world, past and present, has been a burden for most of us.

Now that I have almost completely recovered (I realize that last years' goal carries over into the first quarter of this year), I set my sights on this year. Health will continue to be a top priority: overwhelm, sleep, mood, nutrition and diet, and fitness will remain important. This year, I have three goals:

1. Finishing my recovery period

2. Improving my overall health and fitness

3. Focusing only on my writing (outside of work) as a creative activity

To elaborate:

1. I will continue to follow my aftercare (dilation) schedule which is currently once daily and will change to once weekly starting March 21 and continue that way for the rest of my life. Also, I will get regular check-ups, lab tests and any other health care service I require as soon as required.

2. I will (other than this blog) avoid social media involvement after 11:00 pm nightly and will get to sleep promptly, doing anything I need to do to facilitate the proper amount of night time sleep. I will eat a more balanced diet (I have a sweet tooth which I am sure has deep emotional roots) and take up a fitness routine, likely something t'ai chi related along with some light cardio.

3. For years, I have tried to do as much as possible: I can no longer sustain this. I choose to focus on writing this year as I would to further develop some ideas I have had in mind.

Those are my 2016 goals! Best of luck with whatever goals you may set for yourself!