Well, I started the year off intending to post regularly (once per month), and started off okay, but then life took a turn for the fun for me as I enjoyed probably one of my best summer’s ever (which extended well into the fall), and I got out of practice. But rather than giving up on this blog, I plan to continue to improve on my postings next year.
Isn’t that what year end goals are all about – not only achieving them, but having the opportunity to strive to achieve them. Even if one fails to complete the goal, one learns more in the process of trying than if they never tried at all.
Take my winter experiment for trying to grow vegetables indoors. Last year’s attempt was a miserable failure. But instead of giving up, I’m trying again this year. I learned in my first attempt that the vegetable sprouts got too cold and dry after I removed the plastic wrap I used to get them started. Also, there was not nearly enough sunlight coming through the windows to help them grow. So this year, I’m using a new portable greenhouse I got for my spring seedlings to house the veggie sprouts, ordered a grow light, and some “in ground” watering tools. We’ll see if those veggies make it any farther this year. If not, I’m sure I’ll determine what else I can do to improve the process and try again next winter..until I am finally able to get something to grow – only then will I decide if it’s worth it to continue.
So with that, I say good-bye to the successes – expanding my garden, more maple syrup, more fruit jam from my garden and locally hand-picked, getting back to rock climbing, exploring new places around my state, and keeping up with basic house maintenance without any major issues this year. I also take notes from unfinished goals – the fence that didn’t get fixed, cabinets I want to install, rehab goals taking a little longer to recover than I’d prefer. And identifying unexpected opportunities that presented itself – like new people who like exploring like I do, and a neighbor’s new fence which provided an opportunity for growing grapes…
You never know what life will have in store, so it’s best to plan to achieve something (easy and hard), but remain flexible to change up your goals when new and interesting opportunities presents themselves, and if things don’t go your way the first time, don’t take the failure as a bad thing – but as a learning experience to improve upon on the next attempt.
May everyone have a safe night celebrating New Year’s Eve, and may 2016 bring everyone more adventures to experience and explore. I, myself, am planning to continue to improve in many areas – including my efforts on this blog – and am looking forward to what life has in store for me to learn and grow next year! See you next year!