Ahhhh, January. You acted like you were going to come in and change everything and now here we are… This is Sweet Life #5! It is a sweet life, even though I didn’t manage to knock out any killer resolutions or radically change anything visible, I feel satisfied with January and I’m ready to turn the page.
My word for the year is “flexible”. This is my first year to choose a word. I think I like it much better than a resolution. Did you choose a word? Has it been helpful for you?
“Flexible”
Just in committing to being flexible mentally and physically I can see the small changes. For one, I see myself adding more pause before reacting. Whenever I start to get very emotional I ask myself what’s really going on and try to see myself reacting vs. being the reactor. Allowing flexibility in the path of action is huge for me. I’m learning that sometimes I don’t even have to react, just wait and things become more clear.
Another thing I’ve done is be more flexible with myself. That’s been a theme with me over the last year, but during this month I think I’ve finally let it start permeating every activity. Which speaks to small changes being profound.
An example of that is my planning for this month. I only managed to knock out 4 articles for this website. I had planned 9! However, as I actually moved through the month, I saw that planning my workflow on paper vs. doing the work was two different things. I was much faster, well rested, never interrupted, and I didn’t have kids, a husband, and a giant dog baby in my imaginary “all the work I’ll get done on paper life”.
Instead of driving myself harder or berating myself for being a slacker, I see that I hadn’t accounted for any flexibility in my schedule. I wrote it out as if every hour would go according to plan. It’s even a little light bulb moment for me right now. (Heading over to next month’s planner pages as soon as I’m done here!)
The final thing is physical flexibility. Stretching and moving more has been a big plus in forging a more flexible path. Taking time to reconnect with my body every day and feel the places where I’m holding tension and where things have tightened up is very similar to cleaning house. It’s like “tidying up” the body! (Netflix series coming soon!)
January’s progress
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 4 posts I did write, please do!
One is about bakery business: Be Valuable, Not Cheaper.
Three are about deliciousness: How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies, What is Ganache, and Cream Cheese Frosting. These articles are all full of tips and tricks on making some of the favorites from Sweet Bytes home bakery.
Overall, it’s been a good month. I don’t have any setbacks to report, I’ll take that as a win. Let me hear how your January went!
Ready for February? Here we come!