Taking Stock of 2012

If you’re looking for your debt advice fix, I've got just the thing for you over at a post I did for Debt & Credit Restructuring this week, but I want to do a more personal post today.

For the last few months I've been blogging about getting out of debt and when I thought about what to write about today I realized you don’t know anything about me. I’m sure some readers could make some assumptions about my interests and my approach to life. I try to approach the debt free journey from all sides and I hope you could tell that I appreciate humans being multi-faceted. We all have different needs, vices and opportunities. I hope I've covered something for everyone in the last few months.

We don’t always think of the opportunities life gives us, but making a conscious decision to be grateful for my life got me thinking about everything that happened this year.  When I first thought back to the last ten and a half months it seemed that not a lot happened in 2012. It was just another year, another set of routines with fun thrown into the mix.

But then the firsts came to me: My first time in another country when I took a trip to India. My first yoga class. My first time going to a trance festival. There are others that are more personal but the list just grew and then I had to write it down.

Sure, some firsts came with some growing pains and having to let go, but overall it’s been a good year and taking stock of what I've been up to made me continue writing my list – no gap and no subheadings – to include the things I still want to do this year. Some are more easy than others.

Tomorrow I’m attending my first Tai Chi class. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m sure it’s going to be great. I’m going with a friend I met at a spiritual group – attending this group was another first. I saw a pattern in the firsts that had an impact on my life, the things I’m glad I tried or happened: they’re moving me in the direction I need to go.

Continuing with my list is a way to consciously invite change in my life and it made me realize that there’s a lot more I want to achieve. I usually just drift through life with my goals zooming in and out of my focus because I can’t be bothered to take steps to achieve them, but this year was different. I challenged myself to try new things, to push my body and mind with exercise and reach out to people I had a good feeling about.

Think about the firsts you've experienced this year, things that you’re glad crossed your path. If you’re not where you want to be, that’s fine too. For instance, if you want to pay back debt, focus on the solutions when you’re in debt, rather than looking at the mountain before you. You will have to get over it, so rather break your journey into smaller pieces than avoiding it altogether. Also look at how far you've come with every aspect of your life. What do you want to try differently and most importantly: what have you learned from making mistakes, going too slow or not acting at all?

Here’s to 2012 and making the most of the last few weeks. Success is great, but failure teaches us much more and prepares us for the future. Be grateful for all the lessons the year has brought on your path.