A Year to Change

Once upon a time, after surviving rather a rough patch in my life, I devised the following simple chart to help me do more than just survive, and to make sure that I was looking after myself as best I could in all the areas of my life, re-dressing any imbalances.

I've put some examples in each box, below, to demonstrate how I used it, and there are of course several overlaps/duplications.

Home c/o house/garden c/o dog	Work Mon/Fri Pep.Hse Tues/Thurs St A. Wed St V alt wk/ends Ips	Play Gardening Singing Walking Reading, Writing
Mind Studying Reading, writing Brain training prog	Body Food/drink Exercise: walking, swimming, gym, Rest/sleep	Spirit Reading, writing, singing, walking, gardening Church, personal devotions
Family Visits Phone calls Cards	Friends X,Y, Z (They know who they are)	Other (empty for a long time!)

As a method of self-care, and of rebuilding self-esteem, I found it worked for me, so well, in fact, that eventually I didn't need to use either the file on my pc nor the printed copy of it: I just kept it in mind when things seemed to get out of balance a bit - which they inevitably did - and still do!

That was all a long time ago, and life no longer fits those nine boxes, not least as I've taken early retirement from both paid employment and unpaid church responsibilities, been awarded a Doctorate in Divinity, and, with The William and Shadow, have re-settled in Brittany. A revised, pyramidal version of my former 3x3 plan might now look like this:

Pack/Home

Friends/family      Everything else

Mind                    Body                   Spirit

I could, of course, just fill in the (invisible) boxes again as an aide-memoire, but instead, not least as I have a bit of thinking time on my hands during this hiatus of our staycation (staycation interruptus?!) recuperating from having slipped and fallen down the stairs yesterday (yes, big OW!) I'm going to do something different and create a project for my self: A Year to Change.

We all have goals and aspirations and resolutions, and sometimes we take steps to achieve them!... and sometimes, often-times, they get side-lined by day-to-day life. Well, this project, A Year to Change, is my concerted effort to achieve more of my goals and aspirations, and to fulfil more of my 'resolutions'. If I don't do this for my self, no-one else will - actually, no-one else can - and if I don't do it now, when will I ever do it?

So, I intend that my next blog-post will be my outline plan - which will itself, of course, be subject to change! - and I'll be documenting how I get on in future blogs, not because I think anyone else should be, or indeed is, interested, but because I know I need that discipline of writing to keep my self going - although your guess is as good as mine as to whether that's carrot or stick!