Wow! If I thought 2020 was a whirlpool of events, thoughts, and emotions, then 2021 is looking like a roller coaster.

There have been blessings, small miracles, and a couple of challenges to keep life interesting.

At the beginning of the year I had set out to live a more mindful lifestyle, focusing on living with intention and purpose instead of reacting to life. If I could give myself a mid-quarter grade, I’d have to give myself a C. Let me reflect on how that’s been going, the good and the could do better.

I’ll start with the “could do better.”

• Defining what a more mindful lifestyle looks like for me. While I have an idea of what a more mindful lifestyle feels like, I don’t have clear understanding on what exactly I’m trying to accomplish.

• Setting actionable goals. Without a clear definition of what a mindful lifestyle looks like for me I haven’t really set any actionable goals to accomplish a more mindful lifestyle.

• Overthinking mindfulness. A part of the reason I don’t have a definition of mindful living is because I overthink it. I’m someone who likes to be exact with their thinking to be sure I’m being fair and reasonable. So when I created this intention, I wanted to take some time to think about what that meant to me and how to go about doing it. One day turned into another which turned into a week, a month, and now half of the year.

Now for the good.

• Reviewing my Personal Vision Statement. On a basic level, I knew that as long as I’m making decisions that align with my core values I would feel good about the choices I make so I am viewing my Personal Vision Statement on at least a monthly basis.

• Reflected on my interests and passions. My personal life has had some big changes these past two years so many of my own interests took a backseat to more pressing needs like keeping a roof over my head and food on my table. With life settling down a bit, I took a good look at what things brought joy to my life and made sure to focus some of my time to do more of those things.

• Being kind to myself. Even though half the year is gone and I still don’t know whether I’m accomplishing a mindful living, since I’m still not quite sure what that means, I understand that living a more mindful lifestyle has no deadline to satisfy nor does it have an expiration date. It’s a state of mind that is constantly evolving in meaning as I grow. Knowing that I haven’t quite gotten the gist of it yet seven months into the year instead of ten months into the year is mindful in and of itself so I’m giving myself some credit.

Moving forward.

Now that I have an idea of where I’m at, at least for this season, I can course correct and take any steps needed moving into the second half of the year.

And truth be told, I’m excited! I’m looking forward to exploring what exactly does mindfulness mean to me and sharing this experience to anyone who finds themself on a similar journey. Oh, and this way I can stay accountable too 😜.