Yesterday was my 42nd birthday, half way if I am lucky..that gets you thinking.
I booked the day off with my partner, luckily it coincided with the relaxing of some of the Covid related restrictions so we were able to enjoy breakfast at a local cafe. We then picked up the dog and headed to the Norfolk coast. After a stop for coffee and cake, sitting as close to the roaring open fire as we could, we hit the beach. This is when it decided to really start raining. The tide was out so it was a brisk 10 minute walk to get to the sea where we stood and took in the bleakness of the landscape. This part of the world always holds a certain beauty for me no matter what the season. As we walked back to the car we both discovered holes in our wellies and the fact that jeans soak up ever drop of water that ran off our perfectly waterproof coats!
I think I have put myself under too much pressure to use dads death as a catalyst to supercharge every aspect of my life with immediate effect. Whilst is does bring home my own mortality and a strong desire to ensure I strive for fulfilment in life, I am setting unrealistic aspirations with no goals or plans. It’s been less than 4 weeks, and only a week since the funeral. I have not had time to really reflect, so to make big changes now would most likely result in a series of misguided knee jerk reactions. I need to give myself the time and space to think about what direction I want my life to take, what I want to achieve and where I want to go. I then need to be honest about what I am willing to do, or not do, in order to hit those goals. And if there is a gap between these I need to change the goal to be more realistic, change my willingness to take certain actions to increase my chances of hitting the goals or quite simply accept that I am going to fail. Even if these goals were never achievable, by failing them I am going to take a mental health hit in terms of self esteem and motivation.
I only have 12 days left in the office, most of these will be laying the foundations for next year and defining goals. The kickboxing clubs are reopening this week to various degree depending on the local Covid restrictions. The next couple of weeks is all about maintaining student engagement before look to grow in 2021. Then I break for two weeks at Christmas. This is my time to reflect. To look at all aspects of my life – family, health, work, Kickboxing and come February study, and decide what I want to achieve in each area and how I am going to do it. To set realistic goals and to keep coming back to them to see how I am progressing and where required, yes to adjust them to keep them meaningful. If nothing else 2020 has clearly shown us that you never truly know what’s around the corner, and one of the keys to success is the ability and willingness to adapt.
Total Wellbeing 