Resilience or emotional resilience is our ability to deal with adverse events in life that cause pressure or stress. I like to think of resilience as being like water in a well:
We only have so much resilience within us, like there is only so much water in a well. Adverse events cause us to use our resilience water by the bucket loads. But there is good news.
We can make it rain to add more resilience water to the well or just top it up a little at any time. We can do this by: Taking a Break, Relaxation, undertaking Hobbies & Interests, Spending Time in Nature, Practicing Meditation or Mindfulness, Spending Time with Family / Friends / Animals and Listening to Music.
How do you top up your well of resilience? Leave a comment below and let me know.
Read & Review at least 20 books. I have read 19 books this year and reviewed 17 of them. The two books that I have not reviewed yet, will be reviewed in January 2017. See my Book List 2016 for a list books that I’ve read this year, along with links to reviews I’ve written for each book.
To create more time for creative projects. I am more than happy with my creative output this year. I’ve reduced my working hours, so that I can still afford to live, but so that I have more time for creative projects. I have also been careful about how I use the limited time and energy I have to get the most out of it. This combination of working less and using my time and energy better has significantly increased my creative output.
To complete 2 creative projects. I’ve completed 12 creative projects this year. This is a massive achievement when compared with my creative output in previous years. For more details of my creative projects see: 11 Creative Projects That I Never Intended To Do… This Year and The Finished Project (candle making project).
To get up-to-date with my financial obligations and continue to reduce the balance on my debts. I am up-to-date on my mortgage and other household bills. I have continued to reduce the balance on my debts. I have paid monies back to family that I owed monies to.
Save up for and buy a new rug and corner sofa for the living room. I still need to do this. The sofa is getting in desperate need of replacement. Both of these will be goals for 2017.
To give up smoking. I’m still working on this on a semi regular basis.
Monthly Goals
January
Start a new creative project. I published my latest short story Soulmates, here is an excerpt:
Treat yourself to a reiki treatment. I haven’t had a single reiki treatment this year. At the start of the year it was due to lack of money. Towards the end of the year it has been due to my Reiki Practitioner changing where she works.
April
See a sunrise. This has been a goal for the last few years. I think I need to take a day of annual leave off work to experience this next year. So this will be a goal/new experience for 2017.
May
Celebrate your 30th in style, including a night out in Newcastle and a family meal. I didn’t manage the night out in Newcastle, but did do the family meal which was wonderful. I blogged about the family meal here: My Thirtieth Birthday.
June
Visit Chester Zoo Islands Exhibit. I actually did this in May, as part of my birthday celebrations. See A Day Trip to Chester Zoo. Start a new creative project. One weekend in June I wrote, edited and then published an article on The History of the National Health Service (NHS). It was a creative project that I have been thinking about for sometime and I was proud of myself because I had finally done it.
July
Spend time in nature. Go for walks in places of natural beauty. I visited Astley Hall Park with my friend Simon. I would have liked to spend more time in nature during July, but the variable weather influenced what I was able to do. Visit a botanical gardens. I visited Southport Botanic Gardens (Churchtown) with Simon in August.
August
Visit a castle, one that you haven’t been to before. Okay, technically I didn’t visit a new castle this year. But I did do a tour of acient sites along Hadrian’s Wall with Simon. See The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 1) and The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 2). A goal/new experience for 2017 will be the finishing off of The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure, meaning that Simon and I will have followed the wall from one end of the country to the other.
Celebrate Samhain. Celebrated Samhain in style with my friends Simon & Chrys. Great food, drink, fire, music and company.
November
Take it easy. I tried to do the bare-minimum in November. This was probably why there were only a few blog posts in November.
December
Bring people together to celebrate Yule. Yule fell on a Wednesday, which made it difficult to arrange a get together. Perhaps I will put this on future goals when it lands on a weekend.
This year I’ve completed 14 of 22 goals/new experiences for 2016. That’s over half and not at all bad when you consider the 12 creative projects I’ve completed this year, along with how busy the year has been otherwise.
Reading Time: < 1minuteI’ve set myself a challenge each month aimed at giving me new experiences. February’s challenge was to take a photo everyday. Here’s the photos I snapped:
1st – Coffee.
1st – Servers Down After Powercut.
2nd – Hair Cut.
2nd Time with “The Kids.”
4th – Owe, look what came through the post! Wicked (the musical) tickets!
5th – Snow.
6th – This pretty much somes up my day.
7th – Broadband problems meant I had to buy a landline phone. First time in years that I’ve had a landline!
8th – Went shopping for a Birthday card and saw this #funnycard
9th – Judith’s Birthday Meal.
9th – Clever table display, bought from the 99p Shop.
My iMac finally died.
12th – Ironing as I go.
13th – Traffic :-(.
14th – Unhelpful Siri.
15th – Look at the time! On nights.
17th – Sore feet. Been rushing around on nights.
18th – My plans for the day.
19th – Frost.
20th – Dylan & Russell attention seeking.
22nd – My nephew’s BIG Birthday.
23rd – Easy tea.
24th – A treat.
25th – The obsession with food continues. Omelet and rice.
26th – Smoked far too much today!
27th – Morning inspiration. Coffee before meeting? Why not!
27th – The Sun! Made me feel happier and more positive.
28th – A inspirational wall plaque!
All of these photos were taken with my iPhone 5. I did miss four days, however other days I took more than one photo because of the day’s events.
I really enjoyed this month’s challenge. It helped me to notice the positives in a otherwise dark and gloomy month. I like that the photos also serve as a sort of visual diary. Something I’ll definitely be doing again in the future.
Read & Review at least 20 books.
To create more time for creative projects.
