December, the Month to Remember! Also, the month to reflect on my goals, as per usual. This year has been a tough year that went in a totally different direction than I had anticipated at the start of the year. Still, if things don’t go as planned, there’s always a Plan B and if that doesn’t suffice, well, you get the idea. Adaption to changing circumstances is what sets us apart and ultimately shapes us. Sometimes I did well, other times, not so much. The same applies to my goals. I managed to meet some of them, but also had to let a couple of them go for this year and I’ll just carry them over for next year. Life can’t always be planned, after all!

So, how did I do then?

Not too great. Only three of my initial ten goals have been met. Arguably the most important ones, but seeing as I always set ten goals for myself, I think all of them are important. I let go of a couple after the third quarter. Most notably my novel writing was put on hold as I had other priorities. But blogging has also been lackluster compared to what I normally put out in a year’s time. Here’s the full list of goals and the ones with an x have been met.

– [ ] 1. Outline and finish writing the first Kevar novel, by December 2022
– [ x] 2. Lose weight and get into better shape, by December 2022
– [ ] 3. Write at least one weekly blog article on JeffreyDebris.com, by December 2022
– [ ] 4. Write at least one weekly blog article on TheGreenDream.blog , by December 2022
– [ ] 5. Read 40 books, by December 2022
– [ ] 6. Write 500 words on any of my projects daily, by December 2022
– [ ] 7. Take up drawing again and practice weekly/daily, by December 2022
– [ x] 8. Practice daily journaling, by December 2022
– [ ] 9. Increase my meditation habits, by meditating longer or twice a day, by December 2022
– [x] 10. Propose to Bren, by March 2022 (22-2-2022, 22:22?)

1. Outline and finish writing the first Kevar novel, by December 2022

I have written three chapters of the book and outlined a bunch of chapters ahead. Besides that I have jotted down a lot of ideas and created some character profiles. Other than that I just couldn’t find the time and most importantly the energy to focus on my novel writing this year. Since this book focusses on the character based on Bobbie, I did promise her that I would work hard on this novel. That promise will be fulfilled next year, as I carry this goal over to 2023. Conclusion: Reschedule for 2023

2. Lose weight and get into better shape, by December 2022

Ever since my work moved I have been going to the gym consistently at a minimum of three times a week. I peaked at 7 times a week when I joined our friend Robin in the evening too. In November I decided to slow down a little bit, but I can tell that I am in a lot better shape than how I started 2022. I also lost quite a bit of weight and am now around 73 Kg, which is a stark contrast from the 78 Kg I weighed in January. I intend to keep up this habit and hope I’ll reach under 70 Kg next year. Conclusion: Goal met!

3. Write at least one weekly blog article on JeffreyDebris.com, by December 2022

Writing a weekly blog article wasn’t something I managed to do this year, although with things stabilizing at home and work now I have found more time to finally sit down and write some blogs. Next year is going to be a big year for The Green Dream as both a blog, but mostly as a shop. That means it will need a lot of content, but I think I need to differentiate between the type of content I’ll post on my personal blog and The Green Dream Blog, for various reasons. I think next year, I might not include my personal blog into my goals, so I can focus more on content writing and novel writing. That doesn’t mean I won’t post at all, just whenever I feel like it. It is always good to have a certain quota of blogs in mind, but sometimes you just don’t have anything to write about (this is rare) or you just don’t have the time (this is common). I’m not sad I didn’t complete this goal. On the other hand, I have published over 60 articles this year, so if you were to average that, I have posted more than one article per week. 😉

 Conclusion: Completed, from a certain point of view

4. Write at least one weekly blog article on TheGreenDream.blog , by December 2022

Blogging for The Green Dream Blog was something that I really didn’t come around to, as we were focussed on getting the shop up and running. This month marks a turning point for the blog, however, as I intend to amp up the content writing and focus on Yule, my reflections and our plans for 2023. That means at least three more blogs will be posted there this month, but I imagine there will be quite a few more. Conclusion: Did not complete, but will be carried over to 2023

5. Read 40 books, by December 2022

Reading wasn’t really my thing in 2022. Normally I love taking the time to sit down and do some reading every day, but with all the things keeping me busy and quite a bit of stress I find myself playing videogames more often to relax. Reading is sadly still something that costs me energy, so when you’re already tired, reading will only add more tiredness. Still, I want to set the same goal next year and try and pick up the amazing habit of daily reading. It can really be an enrichment of your life to read and while I love books, reading just wasn’t a priority for me this year. Well, there’s always 2023!

Conclusion: Half-assed and did not finish my goal, but still read some awesome books!

6. Write 500 words on any of my projects daily, by December 2022

Although I managed to journal my way through 2022, I didn’t manage to write 500 words on my projects. Do I regret it? Yes. Did I have valid reasons for not doing it? Yes, and a little bit no. Moving with both my work and privately caused this year to make a 180 degrees turn in how I expected it to go. After that my first priority was to get back on track with going to the gym and working on my bodily health. I was quite low on energy (and now in much need of a holiday, which is coming up in a week), so I just couldn’t get myself to write creatively, because I was too exhausted. Sometimes it’s better to just accept these things than keep pushing and risking a burn-out. I will reset this goal for next year, however!

Conclusion: Goal failed, but with good reason

7. Take up drawing again and practice weekly/daily, by December 2022

My creative endeavours this year have been lackluster. I’ll admit that freely. I was hoping to take up drawing again, but found a few other areas of creative interest. One is modeling with clay, which I really want to get into more. The other is wood burning, which is something Bren is extremely talented in. She let me try it a week ago and I really enjoyed it, even though it was only a couple of minutes. But I found it to be very relaxing and I could see myself doing it as well. So, yeah, drawing didn’t really work out this year, but I can tell that I really want to be more creative and I think I might have to choose a different field to explore next year.

Conclusion: Did not complete

8. Practice daily journaling, by December 2022

As I said at goal 6, I may not have managed to write 500 words a day, but journaling is something I kept doing faithfully. If I missed a day, I made sure to do it the next for both days. I love journaling and it’s a perfect ending of every day for me. In the morning I try to write a To-Do list for that day and in the evening, I journal and write down the things that most stood out for me that day. Things that bothered me and things that I enjoyed. It has really helped me to cope more easily with some of the big changes this year and I recommend everyone to start this practice!

Conclusion: On track and will continue doing this next year!

9. Increase my meditation habits, by meditating longer or twice a day, by December 2022

Meditation is something that’s been on the backburner a bit lately. Somehow I haven’t really managed to incorporate it into my daily routine since we moved and I can tell that I don’t meditate daily anymore. I vow that I will pick up this habit again. One of the few ways to do that would be to get up a little earlier, so I can do it before I head off to the gym.

Conclusion: Failed, but will set again for next year.

10. Propose to Bren, by March 2022 (22-2-2022, 22:22?)

This was completed on February 22nd and one of the proudest goals I met this year!

Overall conclusion

Three out of ten goals met. That’s not quite what I was hoping for and this was definitely a year that went in a totally different direction than I had expected. Still, I look back at this year feeling grateful and content, because the time I didn’t spend on these goals went to other wonderful things like The Green Dream Shop and working on our future together. Next year we’re going to take it to another level with the blog and shop and my novel writing will hopefully take a new flight. It would be wonderful if I could at least finish the manuscript for the first novel in the new series by next year.

As you can see, not every year will go as expected and although I’ve always stated that you should set achievable goals (which all of these were) you can’t account for some things to happen in life. So when you won’t meet your personal goals, you can either do two things. You can be bummed out about it and scold yourself, or you can simply accept these facts and move on. I chose to do the latter, knowing it’s a futile practice to be mad at myself for not completing my goals, no matter how important they were for me. The most important goals were met and those were proposing to Bren and working on my health and losing some weight. The rest would’ve been awesome, but were, in hindsight not mandatory for me to live a happy life, or to grow. I grew this year specifically because I had to deal with many of the changes that were happening around us and adapting to them. Many lessons can be learned from that. Perhaps even more than these goals would have taught me. So, yes, that’s why I’m very grateful and look forward to 2023 with determination and excitement.

Happy planning!

Jeffrey