Tiny Step: Annual Reflection
Take some time off at the end of the year to thoughtfully reflect on what you’ve accomplished over the past months and consider what meaningful changes you might want to make going forward.
Instead of setting traditional resolutions that are often broken and forgotten, focus on setting clear intentions. This approach allows you to keep revisiting and adjusting your goals throughout the year, even if you happen to stumble along the way.
I will share with you personal reflections on my life in 2024 and ways that i’ve improved as well as ways that I would like to continue or even expand my life.
I am proud of the progress I've made in different areas of my life.
Work/Profesional Development:
Being a dedicated professional who consistently contributes positively to society each day (show up and do the work)
Learn about AI and keep up with developments in large language models.
Getting the most value from conferences
Constantly investing in learning new things at work
Health:
regular checkups
annual labs
keeping up with age-related checkups (like colonoscopy)
quarterly dental cleaning
saying yes to invisiline / braces
Fitness:
morning routine that includes Fitness+ weight training which I increased to 20 minutes from 10 minutes
two times a week cardio
walking everywhere I can and aiming for 10K daily
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Food/Nutrition:
being 6 months alcohol free and reframing the way I drink to minimize alcohol intake
brining lunch to work
incorporating canned fish/sardine and flaxseed oil into my diet
eating mostly vegan / choosing option that is nutritionally most beneficial
continue to choose not to eat foods with sugar
Mindfulness:
morning routine that includes 3 minute breathing exercise
recognizing when i’m feeling anxious and stating it
developing awareness of when my face is tense, relaxing it, and working correcting the impression my facial expression makes (RBF)
Relationships:
being open to new friendships (Alison)
reaching out to friends
girls trips / time with friends
working on being a better listener and taking more interest in others
continuing to stay connected to my family and calling my mom frequently
Personal Growth
I created this blog and published several Tiny Steps!
I took a portrait drawing class and I continue to evolve this new skill
I created lists for learning where I link things I come across that I want learn about and spend my Saturday and Sunday mornings working on / learning
Intentions for the new year:
I want to continue to carry forward all of these great habits that I have developed and build on them even further.
In each area of my life, I intend to actively look for meaningful ways to maximize these habits and to effectively chain or link them together for greater synergy and success.
Through intentional practice, I aim to cultivate a more fulfilling routine that supports my overall well-being.
Key intention for this year is that I work on how I come across/how I show up.
My body language holds a lot of tension, which is basically underlaying anxiety.
This shows up by creating a perception that i’m strict, intense, aggressive, firm, and abrasive personality.
I would like to change this by learning to recognize physical traits of: jaw clenched - relax it, elevated voice/excited voice - calm it, pit in my stomach - relax my shoulders, intense lips/eyes - slight smile with a relaxed face.
Even when I read, my jaw is clenched - relax and put a sigh smile on my face :)
Other Intentions:
on Sundays, cook or prep my meals to maximize health eating.
On Mon/Fri when the weather isn’t the best, row for cardio.
Take interest in other people and start to make friends at work (instead of creating a barrier to friendship and black/white separating work from private life).
If you’re interested in doing this Tiny Step of Annual Reflection, here’s how to easily start:
list all the great things from previous year that you’re proud of
set intentions for next year to keep all the great things plus add / link few more to it
