— Paper Cities of Tomorrow

Journalling: The Road to Fabulous?

While I was cleaning out my bookshelves, I found some old paper journals of mine. I was also writing on livejournal pretty regularly from 2001 to 2008. The paper journals are from 2006 to 2008, but usually only a month of daily writing and then nothing. Anyway, I’ve been transcribing my journals so I can recycle them (I like digital – less clutter). It’s really interesting to see how idealistic I was back then, and how similar I still am. The last few years, since I graduated university, I haven’t really felt like myself. Working jobs that I hated and being physically ill for years made me feel really drained and anti-social. I wonder if journaling helped me to sort out my feelings and goals and that’s why I generally felt pretty good about myself and life. I think maybe I should start again. Maybe here, maybe on paper.

Here’s a list of goals I wrote at the end of 2006, about five months after moving to Victoria. I started the journal in January 2006 with the New Year’s Resolution of becoming more fabulous. Ended up getting distracted by a boy. And wrote these goals at the end of the year in the same journal. I’m going to evaluate how I did on these in the past five years. I pretty much still want to do most of them.

1) Simplify; consume less

I’ve been focusing on this one again. I’ve been decluttering a ton lately and I haven’t been buying much stuff, aside from things for my business, for the past few years.

2) Pamper myself (like I pamper others): cook fancy meals at home, go for walks in nature or to tourist sites -> don’t skip things just because I don’t have anyone to do them with

This one needs work. I have been cooking more, which I enjoy (but feel lazy about a lot of the time). I don’t wander much on my own, but I did go on a one month trip to Ireland by myself in 2009, which was awesome.  Also, I’ve made lots of friends now, so it’s not too hard to find someone to do things with. I just need to get out a bit more.

3) Cultivate style: own and wear only clothes I love, make more clothes, style my hair, dress up for work

This one really needs work. Most of the time, I’m working from home in my comfy clothes. I’ve been putting off buying nice clothes until I lose the weight I gained in the past two years. But I have bought a few really nice things in the past couple of months, so I’m going to try to continue that (and do some sewing again). As for the hair, I pretty much just brush it. I need to dry it more often.

4) Make a fabulous home environment

I’ve done a few things, like paint the walls and get a few pieces of great furniture, but most of it is hand-me-downs still.  Not sure when I’ll get to work on this. I think decluttering will go a long way though, and keeping this place clean.

5) Health: stress reduction, lose weight, be more active

Well, since quitting my job, I hardly ever feel stressed. This has made my tummy issues go away almost completely. Or at least I think that’s why they went away. I’m working on exercising more and just getting up from my computer at least once an hour while working. I need to focus on the weight loss seriously this year.

6) 101 Goals: focus on list and make a new one

I used to have a list of 101 goals in 1001 days.  Actually, I did it twice.  Here’s the one from the time of this list.  I got the idea from Ryan Gosling’s character on Breaker High (that was an awesome show).  Maybe I’ll make a new one now that I’ve figured out my broader life goals for the time being (have a successful photography business, lose weight and be in shape, get my money sorted).

7) Be active in my community: theatre, volunteer

This is one that I’ve done really well on. I’ve helped with costumes and bartended at a community theatre, and next year, I’m going to learn about stage lighting. I’ve also volunteered for the fringe festival, film festival (I’m being a team leader in 2012), and an animal rescue.

8 ) Become a building envelope (and architecture) expert

Changed my mind about this. I found the job both stressful and boring. I’m sure much of it had to do with the company, but I’m not looking to go back to it. I have found a job I really love though, so I’m hoping to make it work.

9) Find social balance and figure out what I want out of a relationship

I’m not entirely sure what this was about. I think it was because I had recently ended a relationship that kind of made me forget about my other goals. I haven’t had that problem since. I’m a little too fixated on my goals right now to worry about relationships.

10) Do things that scare me; become more outgoing

This has become a bit of a habit, actually. I tried out for two plays this year, even though I was terrified because it had been five years since I was in a play. I also bartend at the theatre and volunteer for other things, forcing me to be social with strangers. I’ve done quite a few things that scare me in the past five years, including driving from Ontario to BC by myself and travelling to Ireland alone. There are still a lot more things that scare me though, so I’m going to keep trying.

11) Get a handle on finances and save for a condo

I did really well at this. I paid off half of my student loans and bought a condo in 2007. Now, I have far less money and have stopped contributing to my retirement account. I need to get going on that again and keep my business spending under control.

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So, that’s the old list. I could have made almost the same list this year.  I think I’ll work on one, and post it here. It’s about time I started feeling more fabulous.