Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What did I learn?


This year has been a very full year for me.  It seems that one day I received Sihing status and all of a sudden I had committed myself to a path with a list of requirements and challenges that have at times felt overwhelming and crazy.  But what a year!   I feel much better going into the year of the snake with having an idea of what to expect.  I have learnt, most times the hard way, what worked and what didn’t for me.  Reflecting on the year of the dragon I would have to say that I have never had such an opportunity to learn and grow in every aspect of my life.  I have had opportunities to face fears, to push myself (mentally, physically and spiritually), to learn from mistakes, to set a list of personal goals and be held accountable for them and at the same time get to know some really great people who are passionate about what they do and have similar goals and priorities in their own lives.  

For myself, I would say that the best part of this year was the setting of personal goals. I have over the years casually said “this year I’m going to…” but have never followed through.  I wasn’t held accountable to anyone so I soon forgot and never felt the need to pursue.  This year was different.  I had people come right up to me and ask ”so how you doing with…”  This turned out to be a needed push and encouragement to strive towards meeting the goals that I had carefully chosen for myself.   I’ve learnt the importance of choosing goals that are realistic and sustainable and fit with what is important in my life.   I don’t want a list I can just cross things off of and never visit or think of again, but rather have goals I can not only meet but build on and make even bigger.

My biggest obstacle right now is convincing my family that my decision to be a part of the snake team is a good one.  This has been the first year I have been a part of the I Ho Chuan team and I have to admit that I have had my moments of struggle.  Fortunately these are the times I have probably learned the most about myself and what I need to change.  I haven’t always done a great job at convincing my family that this is good for me and in turn for them.  Although I have accomplished a list of things this past year, I have put my focus and attention in the wrong direction at times. I have pushed a little too far with injuries and had a breakdown of body parts here and there.   I have been guilty of making choices that were not always considerate of my entire family.  This last one especially is a very humbling and a hard one to admit.  For these reasons I can understand my family’s doubt in committing to another year.  This isn’t just a commitment I am making for myself, but one that involves my entire family.  This makes it absolutely necessary for me to be diligent in continuing to make them a priority.    

So how do I prove to them that this is all good?  All I can do is to prove it to them by my actions.  My personal challenges are hugely related to my time and how I spend it.  I am making the commitment to them that I will be the mother, the wife, the daughter, the sister and the friend that I want to be and that they need me to be.  At the same time I am going to strive to set an example of what committing myself, engaging myself and working towards mastery can achieve.  I’m not going to pretend that I’ve got the whole balance thing figured out (that would be a lie).  Every time I think I might be getting a little closer, situations and circumstances arise that have a tendency to throw things all out of whack again.   However, I do believe that I have learned a great deal this past year and am anxious for the chance to prove it.

Alana Regier                       http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

 

 

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