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Published: December 31st 2014
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Six months ago, I wrote about the first half of my year, and my aim of setting a new resolution each month. As 2014 comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on the latter end of the year, and the resolutions it entailed.
Basically, at the beginning of the year I decided I would soon forget any new years reolution, so instead I created one every month. It only had to last for 30/31 days! The blog on the first six months can be found in the link below:
https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Hong-Kong-Island/blog-847723.html
So....
August I tried something new called oil pulling - using coconut oil. I tried to do it once a day and felt the benefits. Looking back, it's something that didn't turn into a habit, but I'd like to do it again. Have a google for the benefits of it and give it a try. This was during a time I was away in the UK, and it was much harder to keep up when abroad. It's not something you would do with company! Even less so if you were on the road in hostels or long journeys!
September was "Sugar free September"
and one of the best challenges I did. I still ate fruit, and drank hot water with honey in it. Other than that I did my best to avoid processed sugar which basically meant no chocolate, desserts, and flavoured coffees. I felt great with no energy dips and happened to lose weight as an added bonus. This is definitely something that is possible when travelling as well. However, I am also one for trying every sort of local or traditional, handmade edibles, and sometimes these do involve sugar.
October - I tried to focus on photography. This one was hard to measure as it did not involve a daily routine or specific action. During the month, I put together a photography book which I have now published. This in itself was very time consuming. I did some reading about certain methods of photography, and I tried to keep my eyes open to what was around me rather than have my head in my phone as can easily happen. As much as I love photography, it was hard to turn it into a resolution, and as many a theory book will tell you, it's important to have a
challenge that is measurable, or clearly defined in order to achieve it.
November - I enjoyed Sugar Free September so much that I repeated it in November! Perfect before the temptations of December. One thing I did notice was that on 1st December when I treated myself to a sweet coffee, that it was in fact too sweet and my tastes had changed. No doubt this was a good thing which I hope to maintain as much as I can.
December was yoga time! I do a lot of exercise, and am not naturally flexible, so I decided to focus on stretching and yoga to improve my flexibility. My goal was to attend a yoga class at least twice a week, and if I couldn't make it to yoga I would do my own twenty minute stretching routine. This was a successful month (until I went on holiday!) as I got my two classes a week. I then began to attend more, and tried hot yoga which I surprisingly enjoyed. This is one that will hopefully continue as a habit into 2015.
So as I look back, it has been a
successful year of challenges! I'm pleased that I completed most of them to the best of my ability and it gave me a focus for each month, with a specific time limit that was achievable. Good old S.M.A.R.T. If you're not aware of it - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based. All these things together can make a good objective/resolution.
Whether you are travelling, living abroad, saving for travels, or busy working, give it a try! It's made a difference to my year. Let's see what happens in 2015! Fittingly, I am finishing off the year reading "The Power of Habit" which is a great read on the psychology and business implications of habit patterns as far as I can tell so far!
JHG
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