Is there something that you wish you had done differently this past year? Alternatively, is there something you're especially proud of from this past year?
productivity partners with Nancy. like it. got back into Eckhart yoga for a time, and building strength felt fab. But my wired knee started acting up so I've fallen off the exercise track. Considering removing the wires. As always, my home needs improvement
This past year I showed up for my family in ways that made me proud. My nephew, my aunt, my cousin, all of them needed me to step outside my comfort zones and be there. I feel proud I made it happen!
I wish I had been gentler on myself in terms of widowhood, COVID, feeling lonely and abandoned...and I wished I had reached out to more new acquaintances. I want to rebuild my life NOW and I will do so in my own time. I am particularly proud of this revelation and of where I a right now.
I'm really proud of myself diving deep into being a professional game developer. I love the challenge, diversity, creativity, and the opportunity for me to express myself. I'm really pleased for all my previous experiences leading me up to this point - things like my first startup teaching me about accounting and market fit and advertising, things like web dev teaching me about agile and getting things done. I'm incredibly lucky to be in this position and I don't take it for granted.
Whatever I did was what I was supposed to do. Some things made me happy. Somethings made me grow.
Yes, I completed a mindfulness teacher course.
I'm proud of how well camp came together, in spite of our supervisory neglect and overwhelm. B and I did the best we could by our staff and our campers, modeled transparency and kept to our ethics (& stayed honest about what had to give & why, I think) - and we kept each other afloat.
I am thankful I got on my bi,e and on the lake. Connecting with the gift around me
Spend less money
I can’t say there’s anything I wish I had done differently. The past year has been one of a lot of rebuilding and getting back to a (new) normal.
I wish I left Canopy. Sometimes it's a great experience but other times it feels like a bad move. I feel like I owed the Canopy staff for helping me take time off for my mother's open heart surgery or when I had a panic attack at Hotel Indigo. I've learned a lot of good things and shown appreciation but I still feel overlooked at times. Luckily others have seen what I am good at and have offered me a chance to try new things like sales or even Hilton cooperate.
I'm proud of getting a promotion. I was uncharacteristically assertive. I spoke up, I made my case. I played the game. I got the promotion. I got the rase. They like me, they like me with money. In addition to being more senior and having more agency...the raise was 40% That's real. Like potentially life altering.
I wish I had gone back into business mid-year instead of waiting to the beginning of this year. I am especially proud of the Werk I did while werking for CH Projects. The friendships I made, and the impressions I made within them.
Always things to do differently! Excerxise more and eat better!
I suppose my answer is two-fold. I am happy that I tried something new this past year - namely a whole new profession, working with Shaul in gastronomy, and equally happy to have left sooner rather than later when it didn't feel right or like something I could better for myself. Of course there are 100 things I wish I had done differently in the past year. I was unemployed for nearly 5 months. I was underemployed for a few months before that. I wish I had made time to speak Russian again. I wish I had made time for exercise more consistently. I wish I had spent more time outdoors. And regretfully, I did not spend enough time investing in myself to figure out what I want to be doing. Eventually though I did apply for one and only one position. I didn't get that first job with the Embassy but I took the first opportunity that presented itself and decided to give that a go. Currently, it is not going so well in some regards. There has been a lot of change in the team. Many people, including long-serving employees, have left because my boss is very difficult to work with. I am also finding him difficult to work with. I am finding it hard that I am being given no work. For once I don't really want to complain enormously about the situation though. It is what is it. Unfortunately it will probably not be the opportunity I was hoping for in terms of finding ways to grow and find direction however it might. This is a first small step and if Jean is really the problem, he is only there another year and perhaps I can outlast him and make something of it for myself without him. So here I am trying to amplify the good. I am employed. I get to speak French daily. I get to surround myself with Canadian content. And, I have managed to carve out places for myself before.
Proud of the raise. I'm sure if I thought long and hard I could find tons of things I wish I did differently this year . Maybe really taking the plunge and opening up my own pastry shop is something I still wish I can/could do. Any silent investors out there ;) ?
I wish during this past year I put myself first and my overall health and wellbeing mentally. During this year I felt like the overall burden of becoming a firefighter deteriorated my mental thoughts and made it seem like I wasn't as good as I thought I was and even during my relationship, these thoughts made me feel inadequate. Something I am especially proud of from this year is how much I have progressed in my career.
I don't know if anything would do differently would change the outcome or where I am today. It might change how I feel about it. I wish I had heard and followed my instinct / intuition the night before Dad died. If I had, I would have stayed with him that night. I would cherish that time. I wish I had asked Amy to come back to the Ka Puna Wai Ola to hang out with Dad. I wish I had called him more often. I wish I had remembered my questions for him and asked them. I wish I could have been a better parent, especially to Ho`ene. I'm proud of how us kids got along through it all. I wish I had been more consistent in my outreach and followup. If I had, I would already be diamond and I would now be reaching for a colored diamond. I would have helped more people regain the health they sought and their financial well being would be improved also. Mostly, they would just feel better about themselves.
I am proud of all that I am doing and juggling: trying to be a calm, loving parent to two young kids, showing up thoughtfully at work and in my community, holding myself to high expectations at work, being a kind and supportive partner, etc. There have been times when the demands of it all have felt overwhelming and I would like to continue to work on acknowledging that "doing my best" will look different at different times, depending on what is going on.
I wish I could have managed my debt better
Taken more time to enjoy life and reach out to my loved ones. Very proud I managed to re-unite all the boys at Scott’s wedding
I am so proud of how much I've shifted in the last year. A breakthrough that I had was the idea that perhaps I've always been innately drawn to flowing through life with calmness, ease and joy, but my circumstances led me to become rigid and high strung as a way to survive. My intense perfectionism is no longer serving me, and I can let it go. While I still sometimes find myself overcommitted, stretched too thin and stressed out, I am consistently sleeping more, working less, and having more present time with family. I have VERY strong boundaries at work now, which I'm really proud of.
I wish I'd paid more attention to my physical fitness. I am proud of the knowledge my students gained.
I wish I'd done more of all the things I'm proud of doing. I wish I'd given more of my time and little meager-donor dollars, wish I'd written more, exercised more, played with my kids more. I think I'm generally getting better and being present and prioritizing what matters, at least relative to a few years ago. But it's still a journey.
Something I wish I had done differently this past year is manage to reach out to people more about what's going on in my life. When I became housebound and then bedbound, I dropped contact with basically everyone I knew, save for closest chosen family. It's complicated, because my capacity for reaching out has been so low. So I don't know that I Could have done it differently. But I Wish I could have. Trying to extend compassion to myself. It's hard. I also wish I had managed to be more vocal with relatives and friends about Covid realities. Again, capacity resources for doing so were practically nonexistent. But I do struggle with feeling shame there. Sometimes it really sucks having an energy-limiting chronic illness. Something I am especially proud of this past year is... kinda the converse of the above. My capacity has been practically nonexistent, and I've been a lot better at setting my own boundaries. Like, I haven't had capacity for setting many boundaries with other people, but I've been a lot better at paying attention within myself to my limits, and not doing the things when I don't have capacity to. Trying to extend more compassion to myself. I've noticed in therapy that I believe myself a Lot more than I used to when I challenge intrusive thoughts. The pathways are a lot more natural, and like, instead of feeling like I'm telling myself nice lies when I push back, I see myself more fully and with less shame. There's still a lot of shame I'm working through, but it is Way less than even a couple years ago. For all the ways becoming bedbound has really fucked with my life, it has made me more confident about my boundaries and needs. Given me space to focus on what matters most. Do I wish I had more spoons to focus on what matters most? Absolutely! But I'm grateful for that focus. Also, while, again, I haven't had spoons for boundary-setting with Others, I have set boundaries on myself for who I interact with. In highschool and my earlier 20s, I really struggled with staying in unidirectional, soul- and spoon-sucking relationships. Lately, I've noticed myself Not using spoons I don't have to respond to those people, because why the fuck would I do that when I haven't even had spoons to respond to the people where the relationship has been mutual and lifegiving? So yeah, it's a very mixed-bag wrt relationships outside my closest chosen fam. The capacity hasn't been there to maintain relationships, and there's a lot of grief in that. But I have at least managed to focus on the relationships that are most mutual and life-giving, with my closest chosen family and partners, and I'm really proud of myself for that. The other Big Thing I'd be remiss if I didn't mention, and that I'm really proud of, is that I finally took the plunge towards exploring conversion to Judaism!!! I've been drawn towards Judaism for... Years, but had a lot of barriers to accessing as a disabled, progressively housebound person. Am so grateful for the chosen family member who made the leap hirself and invited me to join nim at shul. Having a personal connection really helped with the spoon-barriers of finding an online shul and not knowing Anyone else there. Xem finding an Anti-Zionist shul whose values fully aligned with my values of pkuach nefesh and tikkun olam also made it possible for me to explore conversion. But yeah! I emailed my Rabbi to arrange a meeting to talk about conversion, and we're gonna meet after the HiHos wrap up! I'm excited and terrified and joyful about it! The last few months of exploring Judaism have been so lifegiving to me, making me really feel like I'm living life again, rather than just existing. Judaism answers some of my biggest questions in life, frames my dearest values in lifegiving ways, and is rooted in community and exploring and holding those questions and values together. I'm just... so very grateful to be here. ;;;
Something I wish I had done differently much earlier in my life, but glad that I finally seem to be getting this year: I think I woke up to see - maybe not quite how, but THAT I want to do almost everything differently. I'm seeing the damage I've wreaked on my own family by living in a fantasy world for the past 27 years; the fantasy marriage that I was trying to force my husband to manifest for me. I'm digging deep into my own wounded psyche, giving myself permission to be a flawed human with needs for connection and love. I'm also learning to see him for the flawed, hurt, limited person he is, not who I think he should or could be.
I am proud that I have been working on boundaries with my husband and my parents. I am proud that I am committed to having my own good and full life, though my husband is in the midst of a start up, and we are spending very little time together. I feel like that too has been a space for exploration of really difficult feelings triggered by almost constant rejection on his part. He is not actively rejecting me, but he just can’t hang out. Like, at all. Having a meal together or going to sleep at the same time feels like a miracle. I feel proud that I stood up for my nephew this year when he wasn’t being treated kindly by my parents. It opened up a set of very hard conversations, which I hope we can grow from, and not just hurt ourselves over. But I am not going to be that person who sits by in the middle of Crazy Town and watches someone else being unkind to someone that I care about who is in my family. My parents did that at our house growing up. There was just an ignoring of the crazy, it just made us feel so weird and displaced, like the world we were living in wasn’t real or acknowledged. I do wish that I had said fewer unkind things to my parents when I was triggered. It was a little more intense than I could meet with a nonviolent communication approach. I wish that I had felt able to spend more time building the art collective. Sometimes when I felt so low or depressed, it was very hard to reach out and motivate others. I would like to start again with fresh energy, and somehow be on my own team with it the whole time. It is sometimes hard to be on your own team, when you feel like you’re not living up to your own expectations. I think that is the way I could envision it for the future. Not quitting the team when I feel disappointed in myself, continuing to accompany myself even when I know that I haven’t done some thing I said I would, or something that I really wanted to do. I think that accompaniment could really make a difference in terms of getting back on the horse, when I owe a bunch of people an email, and feel really bad about it.
I always struggle with this answer. I wonder if I'm the only one who feels life as a yound adult is just one big hodgepodge of things of which nothing stands out. It's just... Grey. Do I wish I had done anything differently? Not really. Am I proud of anything? Not really easier.
I am still navigating the peri-menopause and the knock on effect it has had on my life. I am still trying to find my way in life. I’m proud that I’m trying. I am proud that I volunteered in Germany and spoke as much German as I could even though it is rusty and I felt uncomfortable.
I wish that my wife and I had figured out how much we need alone time earlier. Late spring, we finally started doing regular date nights. It helps us to reconnect and to have more energy for our kids.
I spoke way out of turn with a former college classmate who works for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. I was unhappy at not being allowed to webcast the high school hockey team's state semifinal game due to a national webcaster claiming exclusive rights, behind a paywall. While I was professional on the initial phone call with the college classmate/CIAC official, I impulsively texted him after the event ended about what a "train wreck" the production was. I did not realize that he personally worked on that production. I tried to apologize, but he ostensibly was having none of it. I am not sure if we will ever speak again, and I regret that sincerely.
I'm proud of continuing to advocate for my son, him getting his asc diagnosis. Me accepting my own authentic self, and making and maintaining good friendships. I would have done so many things differently, because hindsight is always 20/20. But in reality I'm trying to remember that I've always made the best choices available, and that they might not be the "right" ones, but they've been the the right ones at the time, and that's good enough.
I’m proud of adjusting to turning 40. I’ve journaled nearly every day since June and am feeling ready to fully embrace my 40s and all the wisdom and joy and contentment this decade has to offer.
I wonder how many years I will write “I wish that I wrote more, or wrote some thing!”
I would have liked to dedicate more time to personal projects and develop skills that I have forgotten. I would also have liked to do more sports and improve my health
I wish I had done two things differently. One was to have my husbands eyes checked sooner and the second was to make a bigger effort to save more money.
Less conflict with siblings over Mom's care and condition. Less perseverance over what they may be feeling and thinking--especially what they may be thinking about me. More simply doing what makes sense for me (is sustainable) and what I feel I need to do to do right by Mom without trying to accommodate others would actually lead to room for more compassion on my part for those others. Proud of? Proud of the times I did that! Moving Mom out of her place and in with us in March and, again, emptying her apartment in July. (With lots of help from my spouse!)
I'm proud that I am making my home MY home by fixing things and by renovating things that definitely need it. Oh - and getting As in my classes :) Even Hebrew!
I honestly feel more proud of myself this year than maybe ever before. I really like who I am. I think I handled my pregnancy well. I finally earned my LCSW (passed the test 8 months pregnant!) and prepared for labor and birth as best as I could. I think I looked out for my marriage as much as I could although I’ve learned a lot. But I’m really proud of the mom I am. I know I have a lot of momming left to do, but I knew I wanted this and I like how I’m handling things. I’m proud of me.
Differently -- I wish I had reached out to Lily earlier. It's not too late though :-) I am proud that I got involved in so many extracurriculars and had such an active spring! I want more art making in my life -- that was my favorite of all the extracurriculars! I am proud of the way I handled the accident and all the housekeeping that it has entailed.
I don’t like to have regrets. I’m happy with my life in this moment, and every decision I’ve made has led me to this version of today. I’m proud of my promotion. I feel my potential and skills are seen and valued. I wonder if I’d be ask successful if we worked in person still; I’d like to think yes. Perhaps I can try to approach in-person work with the same confidence as I approach virtual work. Why shouldn’t I? I’m successful virtual - I don’t have to be any different in person. I don’t have to feel not confident in person. I should harness the confidence I feel virtually.
I wish I had known the right way to treat my vestibular disorder. The complexity of what’s going on and difficulty finding appropriate care has led me to make decisions without enough information. I’m scared that the wrong decisions increase the likelihood of my condition becoming permanent. I have found some caring, knowledgeable and dedicated medical professionals along the way; however, my care has been much impeded by poor medical care and negligence on the part of my insurance company. I wish I could fix some of this for others who might be in my situation in the future. Insurance companies should not be allowed to refuse to answer the questions of their members. They should be required to provide timely and accurate information and work to restore the health of their members as quickly as possible. There should be penalties for not achieving these goals and there should be readily accessible resources for individuals to ensure their insurance company is acting in the patient’s best interest. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to turn their backs on patients when their recommended treatments don’t go as anticipated. This is patient abandonment and we must do better. When a patient disappears from a doctor’s care, it should raise concern unless the patient is known to no longer need care. I hope we find a way to do better. I hope I can be apart of fixing something.
I always wish I was more organized and had everything together as I see it in my mind. This is nothing new so I won't even dwell on that. I have to say, in contrast to last year, I was very inspired when I got my answers this year. I really felt like I could conquer the world for a couple of days. All of a sudden I felt I had accomplished something and that I was getting somewhere, according to my standards I put on me. At any rate, I am quite pleased that I have maintained a gym regimen of three times a week since the end of February. I hired a trainer to work out for an hour three times a week. It's been great! He has a different approach from anything I am used to doing. I am really liking my progress. He will sadly be leaving the area around the first of the year, but he is moving in with his girlfriend and I think they are getting serious, so that is good for him. I really hope that I have made a habit of working out and that I continue this after he is gone. This is one of the things that I have never really done well with consistently. It feels really good just showing up for myself! Maybe I will also accomplish some other long held goal by next year!
I don't have many major regrets this year, but I wish I was better at using my time. I have a lot of ideas and have a hard time moving on any of them. There was a period 2-3 years ago where I was very proactive about completing to-do lists and having good routines and I'd like to get back into doing that.
I wish I had done a better job of staying in touch with my sister and the kids. I've never been great at staying in touch with family long distance--in part due to my phone call aversion, in part due to my "out of sight, out of mind" ADD monkey brain--but in the early pandemic it was so easy to stay connected, and I wish I had been able to keep it going. Lauren and I had some tough clashes earlier in the year that also contributed to the distance between us, but I'm hopeful that we can repair that rift in the coming year. The kids are just growing up so fast and I wish I talked to them more, which I know is on me as the auntie to initiate. Nonetheless, I am proud of what I have accomplished in terms of building and maintaining friendships in Portland as well as in LA.
I wish I had not left Cindy in such a shocking way. She was completely blindsighted. Reminds me of Penny before her. Berta before that.
I am incredibly proud that I earned and advocated for a promotion at work. I love my job even more as a result and feel a kind of confidence about the work and my abilities that I never allowed myself to settle into before. I experienced some work conflict and had difficulty navigating that, but it is behind us all now and we are creating again a healthy work environment for everyone.
I wish I'd been more proactive about generating work prospects. But I also feel like I'm getting a handle on making myself more visible via LinkedIn and maybe generating a semi-regular newsletter.
I wish I would have woken up to how lost I had become before an absolute tragedy became my wakeup call. I'm really proud of how I handled the divorce. I made healing and processing my mission, and I didn't give up on myself or the life I knew was ahead of me.
I feel quite positive about the past year. I connected with loved ones, we hosted Rachel's dog Pechey for several months and learned about being dog grandparents. I participated fully in the Dance Exchange OAC cohort, and co-led several excellent classes. I was proud to be invited to lead class for a month in February 2023.
I do wish that I hadn't/wasn't caught up in this narrative of time and being "behind." It's not that I'm focused on it all the time, but it was prevalent in my answers from last year and recently my therapist has been telling me I mention it a lot. So, it's not something I wish I'd "done" differently more than I wish I'd approached differently. I'm proud of lots of basic things: taking on a new role at work with grace and challenge, being open and navigating lots of weird dating situations. I don't know if I feel proud of how I handled everything with the house, but I'm proud of myself for getting through it and learning from it. People keep telling me they're proud of how I did on the LSAT, and I am kind of proud of myself because I studied really hard... but arguably too hard, and while I don't regret it, it's also not how I want to approach school. Which is all to say, I'm not as proud of myself for that as others seem to be for me. I'm also really proud of helping to organize anti zionist rosh hashanah services!!!! it was so beautiful, although not "this past year."
As always, I wish that I had made my own personal health more of a priority by getting more fit and losing weight. I'm proud of the benefit concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music that I organized. I am always proud of keeping my band alive.
Of course there are things I wish I had done differently this past year-- the main thing that comes to my mind is wishing I had started trying to conceive more intentionally a few months sooner. I had felt apprehensive about getting pregnant "so soon, so quickly," when we got married and I got my IUD taken out, but now that I've gone through this miscarriage, I'm feeling the opposite; I'm now realizing how long this can take, and feeling that I'm older than I want to be and that I'm ready to get pregnant already. But that's the thing, there are always things I wish I had done differently, and I know my mind has a tendency to frame everything this way, no matter what I do. Since I know that I can't go back in time and change the past, I'm working on accepting how I felt earlier this year and accepting that I don't know how this process will unfold and can't entirely control it. We shall see.
My husband was in bed with a fever and symptoms of a UTI—I was absorbed with a family gathering, including my sister and brother-in-law, who had just come for a week long visit. Our open house included all 7 grandkids, and their parents. We did the right thing by getting him an appointment at an urgent care clinic in the morning, but then he went back to bed. Our daughter picked up his Rx and he took the first one, but was refusing food, getting sicker and sicker all afternoon. I checked on him periodically, and encouraged him to take Tylenol, trusting that the antibiotic would help him heal. By 8:00 pm, when the last of the family left, he was in terrible trouble, the infection was in his blood stream (septic) and he was very weak and confused. I had to make the decision to call 911 and send him to the ER by ambulance. I wish I had intervened earlier, maybe saving him hours of lying unaccompanied and incoherent on a gurney (Saturday night in the ER is dreadful). I wish I had sat with him while he awaited treatment, but I was also exhausted from being up with him the previous night. I’m also relieved that I made the decision to send him to the hospital, because he probably would have died that night without care.
I regret how things were handled with my colleagues. My friendships at work mean a lot to me, and I left my personal drama at home seep into my work life and ruin some of those relationships. I wish I had handled it better at the time and prevented all of this. I was too weak.
Still I successfully changed my job. and I got two job offers. :) I felt like at that time I made the right move!
I'm especially proud of training for a marathon. This was my rebound from having a miscarriage and ending my fertility journey - and I couldn't have asked for a better way to manage and challenge my emotions, make time for myself and test and love my body again during a difficult summer. Each long run I did, made me feel strong, proud and pumped. The marathon itself was a little of an anticlimax, a decent enough time, but it was hard towards the end and I lost faith in my ability. But the training was superb - and that was really why I did it, because I really needed that this year.
Nothing to be spectacularly proud of. Nothing to be disappointed about, really. Which I suppose is its own disappointing answer. Or reason to feel proud. It has been a pretty bland year. When my last contact ended, I thought I would do something really productive with the free time before I got the next contract. Something would happen. I'd be somehow better. But no. I had no plan to hit the ground running, and I literally had no idea what to do for days and weeks. Now I'm just going to get another gig. As for last year's answer "I have some regret that I did not buy a house next to my cousin's when I had the money and it was for sale." The regret stemmed from my inability to be closer to her and her husband. However, within months of my writing that my cousin and her husband separated and then later divorced. Now, my cousin lives there alone. Her ex-husband, who happens to be one of my best friends, now lives near me and we see each other all the time. While my living next to my cousin would possibly have evened out her sadness, it is a fairly isolated neighborhood, and it would have been difficult for my friend to visit me there. It's weird how regret can be recontextualized into a benefit.
I wish that after I gave birth I said no to people coming by that I had to entertain. I wish that I noticed the signs of PPD earlier and was able to get help and insist on help earlier - so that I would not have had (or not have had as bad) postpartum rage. I still wish I got my driving licence and found a new job...but here is to this new year. I am proud of being able to say no to things when I was pregnant. I did take the opportunity to listen to my body and what I felt I was capable of. It was also really hard for me to do that, and in that both felt empowered and also really sad for the loss of myself.
What I wish I had done differently - trust myself more. I am good, I am competent. I don't need another person to do the heavy-lifting. Last year, I realised the truth of "No one is coming to save you". This year I know the second part to it - "No one is coming to help you be successful either." The inititive is mine to take. And mine to run with. What I am proud of - I held myself with lightness. Something I haven't done all my life. I am used to being hard on myself and beating myself up when things don't go as planned. Although I have miles to go, I feel the difference this year. A gentle rolling off of all the faults and mistakes I made, while committing the lessons learnt to heart.
I wish I had taken more time to evaluate the people I was giving my patience. I am proud of giving my love to the people who need it around me. I give my heart to those who need it, and in some cases, I have helped them immensely.
I do wish I had maybe pushed myself more while I was abroad to meet new people and be in more new situations. But it’s okay. Because I still had an amazing experience and just going there was pushing myself. And there will be more opportunities for me to push myself. So I guess ultimately I’m proud of myself and I know that it was a really good step for me.
I’m proud of how committed Ive been to myself over the last year. Whether that be exploring joyful movement, offering myself grace and compassion, or staying authentically me even when that displeases others, I feel like Ive really done right by myself and my values this year.
I would like to have been more conscious of my income while I had it. Losing it unexpectedly has been a great hardship on the househol.
I am proud of the emotional work I've done. I'm proud of completing two rounds of EMDR, and starting ERP. I'm proud of doing the work to realize I have OCD, and reaching out for appropriate help. I'm proud of unpacking the years of medical gaslighting I endured, and FINALLY owning that I am autistic, and that is okay. I like who I am more than I did a year ago. I know so much more.
I’m very proud that I continue to be an excellent dad and hold down the fort, and that I’ve had success at work.
It was really reluctant for us to do the renovation to the house but I am glad I trusted my wife and we went for it. I know it was expensive but the end result is amazing. The house embodies the type of people we are. Open creative adventurous loving and family oriented. I really feel like this renovation has brought us together and we really enjoy the house as a family.The renovation is difficult during the pandemic but we persevered as a family.
I wish I would have written more! And also I am proud of my dining room, and wish I had accomplished another home project.
I’m proud of practicing so much self compassion. It’s not just cutting myself slack or giving myself a break, but cheering myself on and recognizing and value all the hard work I do professionally, personally, physically, and emotionally. It’s a smoother path forward when you talk to yourself with kindness rather than shame and chastisement. I bounce back faster from mistakes —I might have had a meltdown buying a paint color that didn’t work out a year ago but this week I was disappointed and felt slightly wasteful but quickly moved on, not letting it make me feel like a failure in all areas.
I wish I had taken better care of my body and saved more money. I’m proud of Maury’s Halloween costume and the improvements I made to my home.
I'm proud of myself for leaving a job that many would have seen as "good enough" or the safe thing to do. I let go of a lot of things that made up my identity and had the courage to step towards creating something new.
I am proud of myself for balancing a rigorous academic workload with maintaining friendships and other things that give my life meaning.
I never understand this question….We’re all humans on this Earth that make mistakes. I think our time on this Earth is meant for us to try to become the best versions of ourselves. You quickly learn that if you have a negative attitude all the time, life is not very fun. I’m proud of the person I’m becoming and the vital lessons I’m still learning, which will all determine my impact on the world.
I would have relaxed my rigidity around foods sooner and let go of my daily attachment to how what I eat for any particular meal affects the pooch of my belly. It all works out in the end and I +/- maintain my weight. What I am proud of is my follow through on getting rid of clothes, art 'supplies,' and other hoarded items.
I wish I had accomplished more of the projects needed to seek my antiques, winnow down my memorabilia. I was in pain & depressed & am sorry I wasn’t able to rise above it to get these things done.
I'm proud of my resilience - I made it through. I'm sorry I gave in to despair. I'm sorry I didn't honor my struggle.
Last year my answer was about the script I finished and wishing I had made it longer and written it faster. This year - I wish I had continued to work on that and other scripts. I don't feel fulfilled creatively. Something I'm proud of? I think I'm doing some good work with this little museum.
I’m proud of how I’ve been able to maintain generally firm boundaries with work so that I can balance family and professional life. I’m proud that I’ve said no to certain things at work in order to hold out for more meaningful / aligned opportunities - a strategy that has paid off as my personal brand in my new company is what I want it to be.
I wish that I had been more thankful to others and expressing gratitude more freely.
I wish I could say that I were more determined but with all the problems and delays at this point, I wouldn't be fair to myself. But as always I would myself give a push towards more energy and a straight answer that you would be more proud of myself if I get more ahead of all the miserys.
Post-COVID, I've remained too reluctant to get out, to resume my life fully, and it's been too easy to allow my life to become smaller, more at home, more with my partner. That's not a bad thing, but isn't a good thing, either. I would have liked to be more active in the past year.
I wish we had planned and saved more before having our second kid. We didn't really need the new car. Following my truth and living out my values more, even when I'm exhausted and just trying to get through the day- I'm not always the best mom/wife/person I want to be in those moments and feel like I'm getting away from myself. On the other hand, I'm proud of being offered the area team lead role in my job.
I passed my ASL assessment! I get to have a pay raise for my hard work in learning American Sign Language over the past year.
I am proud of maintaining my wellness path. I have been consistent with my diet and exercise routine despite stressful situations and the desire to quit.
There are several things I wish I had done differently in our garden. I wish I had staked the tomatoes way earlier, because by the time I realized the hoops weren't providing enough support, it was too late for the stakes to make much difference. I also wish I had done more research into growing cucumbers, because ours tasted terrible. And I wish I had planted my herbs in containers- or something- to protect them from squirrels. But overall, not bad for my first summer garden ever!
I wish that I had more practice at express stress, anxiety, boundaries, etc. before getting to a breaking point. I hope to practice paying attention to my needs and communicating those needs sooner this year.
I wish I had worked harder on my music. I have not written a complete song in several years and I have not yet recorded my most recent compositions. I am still lacking confidence in my voice, and I have not done enough to extend my range and adjust my timbre to the point where I feel truly comfortable performing for others. I also wish I had forced myself to finish writing the children's novel I began several years ago. I need to break the logjam and get it done!
I cannot say I have any big regrets from this last year. Thankfully! Conversely, I am proud of how I handled a few challenging times, especially with Vanessa. When it first became apparent that she was struggling mentally/emotionally and needed to move home to be closer to family, I thought that in itself would be enough. She had been isolated in Big Bear for nearly six months in her tiny cabin with Leche due to Covid. She was depressed and lonely. I thought a good dose of family and a break from work would put her right. I couldn't have been more wrong. To be fair, she had not been honest about her mental state, and how long she had been suffering, or to what extent. She had been binge drinking, and doing a lot of coke, to manage her symptoms. She had quit taking all of her meds since she had originally moved there almost four years earlier. Woody, Danny and I moved her down the mountain to live with April. The plan was she'd take a break from work, spend time with family and regroup. Then get a job, move out one her own, and go back to school over the next year. It quickly became apparent that her depression was more severe than any of us realized. We ramped up her counseling sessions to a few times per week, but her depression was debilitating. Living at Aprils was not conducive to her healing, so we tried Chrissys place. That was not a good fit either. The scope of what was happening finally dawned on me, and I came up with a new plan. I would have Vanessa move in with me to proved her safe place to heal. I would not make demands of her time. I would support her financially, and emotionally until she could do it for herself. I researched ECT therapy, but landed on a Ketamine clinic to treat her depression and pain. I admitted her to the hospital for medical detox from her pain meds that had been harming her for years, with her consent of course. I gave her as much space to heal as possible. I felt that she required safety and compassion to get through this. I wanted to respect her autonomy as long as she was not a danger to herself. My family did not agree with my strategy to help Vanessa find herself again. I had to have faith in myself and in her to hold the course. There were several times of uncertainty. I had to admit her to the hospital once for fear of her killing herself. That turned out to be a shit show and a huge mistake, but somehow that brought us closer. She could see that I was going to fight tooth and nail for her, and that I wouldn't not give up on her. In the end, my intuition was right. Vanessa did all the hard work required in an environment that was she felt safe. I am proud of myself for following my heart, and I am proud of her for trusting me. We made it. I am also proud of the way I show up in my relationship with Woody. I am proud of my vulnerability, bravery, and capacity for love. I look for ways to show him that I see him, and that he is loved and valued. I put my trust in him, and that feels good. I am proud of the way I choose to handle conflict with him. I choose to see his perspective, and ask him about how he is feeling rather than assume (most of the time). I am not perfect, but I am dedicated.
I do wish I hadn’t gotten Covid and then given it to James. But I’m really proud of how much academic progress I’ve made over the last year. My German fluency has exploded.
I should have been more proactive. I should have had more initiative, and less fear to fail and of others' judgment. To be a little less hard on myself, I must admit that I really needed a break and I also needed to honor the big change I had started, as my dear friend Elia says.
I would like to bring more inspiration into my life instead of waiting for some things to happen to me or just kind of sitting around for inspiration to strike. I am proud of hosting some events this past year. I've deepened many relationships that enrich my life. I am building a social circle and integrating into a community in Chicago. This is exactly what I wanted to do when I moved back here.
I wish I had approached Jack about his situation earlier. I finally sent him a letter in late September and he responded that he has been suffering from depression and anxiety for a few years. I still don’t know how we can help him but we are certainly going to try! And I wish we had gotten involved much earlier.
I'm glad we decided to travel - WITH precautions. I'm glad, actually, that we finally DID get Covid (yes, we are vaccinated and boosted, yes we were reasonably (but not overly) careful). Oddly, I feel 'safer' now. I think - actually - I've done some 'growth' this year. I feel more positive about myself and my choices. Looking back at some decisions, I realize I actually frequently DO make good decisions, and I make them for good and valid reasons.
I am proud that I was able to begin letting go with my daughter going off to college and my becoming an empty nester. I was very concerned that I was going to really fall apart and that I was not going to know what to do with myself. I wish I had taken more opportunities to get out and grow more in that time. I do feel as though I fell into a bit of a rut and let the time go by without doing more.
Taken / tended to health for me and my daughter I am proud of my union work, of sharing/ gifting mindfulness for myself and with L L: nationals!
Something I wish I'd done differently - saved more money. Stuck to a budget. Reviewed finances on a more regular basis. Something I'm proud of - reading WAY more than in previous years. Something else I'm proud of - relatively consistent exercise. Something I wish I'd done differently - written more words.
I wish I'd spent more time trying to actively cultivate new relationships/friendships. Making friends as an adult is hard work and I can't expect others to do it for me. Especially as someone who is in a new place.
No. I’m proud of my progress on the honor roll.
I wish i had been a bit more rigorous in learning new things associated with my main work. Structured the learning process and found more ways to incorporate it into my work. I can always learn and grow, but setting goals and working a little more authentically(and hopefully organically as well) would be an aim.
I am proud of my academic and subsequent professional achievement. Regardless of whether people in my family recognize it, I have done a good job of setting my life down a path I want it to go down. I enjoy my job at DevTech/USAID and that is fulfilling. I wish I hadn't neglected my relationships with my family as much, but I also wish we were all able to communicate in the same manner. All of the drama happening between my parents and I and my sisters and I is emotionally draining and I am not proud of my part of letting the situations devolve into what it has become.
I was diagnosed with a stomach tumour at the end of 2021 and had it removed in January 2022. Fortunately it turned out to be benign. After the operation I worked hard on my post-op rehab, walking every day and building up my abdominal strength with Pilates. When winter arrived, I did less and less exercise and I really regret that I didn’t build on my initial efforts and let laziness and inertia take over. I feel that I wasted an opportunity to improve my fitness and am back to square one.
What I wish I had done differently: saved all the bonus money so that I could get my car repaired Something I’m proud of: I can still keep a roof over my head!
I dropped classes -- and even flute lessons -- because I felt the stress and/or the time commitment of continuing was not worth it. I was feeling pulled in too many different directions. It's a time in my life where I should be choosing things, not feeling obligated. I want to choose things that bring me joy or help me contribute to causes I believe in. I still have work to do to get my life oriented around what is important, but I'm making progress and am proud of that.
I’m proud of myself this year because of the things I have done to help myself become a better and healed person. I have pushed and pushed and pushed, and I’m getting there slowly.
I wish I'd invested less in Crypto. I also wish that I would have started taking guitar lessons and getting back to some of the music I love. I'm proud of some of my work achievements, which include getting on the A-list of vendors for some of the largest Pharma companies in the world.
I have surprised myself with how much I have matured emotionally. I have usually struggled with expressing myself . I have always been the shy quiet type in social settings or around people I don't trust. Things that would normally unsettle me or make me react don't hold the same power. In fact, almost no power. I am braver and more articulate. At age 54 I think I am finally becoming an adult! I wish I would have found my voice earlier in life.
I wish I had treated myself better. This summer I did get the opportunity to attend a yoga retreat which honestly was very eye opening. I hope I continue to put my own needs first to avoid this burnout.
I wish I had left environments that weren’t caring about me as much as I would have liked way sooner than I did. I’m extremely proud of how much I opened myself up to new relationships of all kind to have new experiences I could learn and grow from and give and receive love in my life and learned more about when I wanted to be around people and when I didn’t. And the things I liked about people. And continuing to hangout and meet new people when it was scary and people ghosted me and dealing with all the feelings surrounding that by facing them.
I wish I had wound down my company much earlier, but I don't regret doing it the way I did. I at least know that I tried to explore all the options, and even though they didn't work, I know that I gave it a good shot. The flip side of that is that I'm proud for taking the steps to wind down, set goals for my future, and make changes.
I dont wish I had done anything differently because I truly tried my absolute best throughout the year. I did the best that I was capable of through hard times and good. I'm very proud of myself for completing a very difficult (for me) backpacking trip in the Sierras and for taking the trip east to visit family I havent seen in decades.
I wish I'd learned not to get angry. It's only hurting me and holding me back. I wish I had gotten a new job and figured more things out. I think I needed this time to be lost, in hopes that it will help me appreciate connection when I find it. I feel often like nothing matters and I wish I didn't.
I wish that I had been more firm in my boundaries--personally and professionally. I think I experienced a lot of burnout this year because I was not holding boundaries firmly. This is also related to not communicating or being clear about my needs. My lack of clarity was unkind to others and myself and resulted in a lot of resentment and rage on my part. Ironically, I do think that I spoke up more and asserted my needs more this year than last year. I think I'm becoming more clear and candid about my needs. As I grow more clear about them for myself, I can't help but be more clear with others. But this is still an area where I can grow a lot. Also, I feel proud that I started exercising regularly again and that I really push myself in workouts. I love feeling strong and vibrant.
I wish I would have handled a few situations with a little less flying off the handle. I'm also proud of the way I've picked up my new job.
This year, I’m especially proud of my homecoming to my birthright of Self. I know who I am.
Honestly, the only thing I wish I'd done differently is not renewing my lease at my old apartment. It's caused me nothing but trouble, now that I've moved to a different state. I've given them 30 days notice, I've paid rent *past* the date of notice and *still*, they're threatening to sue, in direct contravention of Virginia Housing Law. This whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth, and has given me deep and abiding hatred for the Commonwealth of Virginia. They can get fucked.
This year I really wish that I didn't put most of my hard earned cash in a single stock. That stock kept dropping in value, and I just kept buying more. I lost so much money I practically worked for free this past year.
I'm proud that I delivered the Yom Kippur sermon at my synagogue last year. It was a big struggle to prepare amidst family responsibilities, the demands of work, and other commitments. Rather than feel honored, I doubted myself. Afterward, rather than feel content and proud, I felt conflicted and troubled that it wasn't enough. Now, in retrospect, I can see that it took great courage. I stood in front of my community and spoke my truth. As someone who grew up deathly afraid of public speaking and has questioned whether words have value, this was a significant achievement for me.
Oooh, what do I regret? My main regret is that it took me so long to get out of my funk, that it took me so long to get my act together and start exercising and dieting. I have, though, and I am especially proud of that. I saw my doctor last August. We had a long talk about knees, BMI, what it would take for a knee replacement (need a BMI of 3.something, and mine is 5.something). She taught me a new medical term: deconditioning. That is what I allowed to happen to myself during the last 2 1/2 years. She wants me to do 30 minutes of heartrate raising activity 5 times a week. I don't always make a full 5, but most of the time I do. I am doing Richard Simmons videos--all three. I don't want to start, but when I am done, I do feel good. More importantly, I can feel some real improvement in my endurance, my flexibility, and in my strength (arms and legs). I am trying to watch what my eat (only 'healthy' food at meals, yoghurt or nuts for infrequent snacks) Monday through Friday. Then some splurging on the weekends (but not binging). So far, so good. I am actually doing it.
I wish I had kept up better exercise habits/routine. I don’t feel that my cardiovascular fitness or strength (or flexibility, mobility even) is where I would like it to be, and that’s something I want to work on more in the coming year. I want to do my best to take great care of my body, without going into a spiral because of dieting.
I am so proud that I completed the Chicago Triathlon. I had wanted to do that for my 26th birthday, but put the goal to the side; it just didn't seem feasible or exciting. I mean, I didn't like swimming, so why do it? But signing up for half marathon training and learning about CES' program made me so excited and getting a Peleton and loving cycling more made me want to try it. I had so much fun and definitely found the type of training that I'd like to keep doing.
Again, nothing pops up regarding something I wish I had done differently. As for something I'm especially proud of, again the situation doesn't make me feel especially proud as it just seemed the right thing to do! My niece came out to me as gay last October and in that moment received a great big hug from me (the only person in my generation of our family who could wholeheartedly embrace that aspect of her.) In February she came to visit us in Alaska and we had a wonderful ten days or so. She went skiing and discovered she was a natural. We had lots of good conversations and I set up a couple of chats with gay friends and gay friendly friends with whom she could be open about herself and her situation (growing up in a so-called church that is very cult-like.) I believe the experience was really helpful to her as I received messages from her later that she had "turned a corner" and was feeling so much better. Later still, she has a girlfriend and participated in a Pride event on the street where she lived. Her cousin shared with me the beautiful and inspiring speech that she made on that occasion. I'm grateful to be able to support my niece in fully becoming the beautiful person she is.
I wish I had quit only a closer timeline
I wish I had been more vocal about my frustrations with how BTA has moved away from supporting California organizing. I feel like I let Rebecca down. But I was also sick, I didn't have capacity, and there were so many other reasons why I was leaving. I would have left anyway even if things changed.
I wish I had not been as angry/upset with what was going on politically---I spent too much time and energy being upset instead of paying attention to what was good and the goodness in my own life. I took political action daily but it was hard to let my anger go. I am proud that I did do my part even though it was hard instead of just ignoring what was happening and doing nothing.
The year was incredibly difficult, but I don't know if I'll know how I should have approached it differently until I've gotten through it, and gotten more space from it. I wish I had spent less, moved more, and been more motivated to search for my next job or next partner. On the other hand, I asked for help this year in ways I never have, and with more consistency. I saw that I couldn't do better, and instead of beating myself up about it, made the effort to get help to bridge the gap. I'm very proud of what I've done and how I've approached what I couldn't do alone.
It’s always easy to say I wish I would have worked out more. But then I come to the fact that you go in the direction of your energy and there is only so many hours in a day. I look at coach Gabbi and see how far she has gone as a triathlete but it’s not a fair comparison. I have an amazing husband, a fun engaging job and at some point something has to give. My priority has been other things. I def could have had more discipline… and I am proud of what I have accomplished. I’m also proud of Nathan too. He has won over his entire team. We chose a good path for us.
I am really proud of getting into Elsewhere. I'm glad I didn't decline my role!
Hard question to answer. Hindsight is awesome but what do you learn if you know what will happen. I have made mistakes but they have let me learn and avoid making similar errors afterwards.
I spent probably half my year dealing with cancer, surgeries, and recovery. I did ok with all of that. But mostly I'm just so so grateful for my wonderful, loving, amazing husband. He's fantastic.
I'm not going to criticize myself for how I survived this year. I need to make all the mistakes and wrong turns that I did in order to learn lessons and grow. I'm proud that I hung in there and kept fighting, I'm proud that I've also learned how not to fight and how to ride the waves better.
I wish that I had been gentler with myself and the people around me. Proud of beginning to gain the perspective of just how taxing events can be on our hearts and minds and afford others the space, and grace of forgiveness without knowing all of the details or answers.
I can't say I'd do anything differently because my choices led me to who I am today. I am proud of the music I've made.
This year has been exceptionally busy, joyful, and overwhelming. I have neglected to visit my Mother. I don't live far but just don't take the time.
I wish I had explored more relationships that made me feel good. I have a bad habit of measuring my pleasure on my partner's pleasure. Like how much they seem to enjoy having sex, that's how I value it... If they seem to love having sex with me I am very happy with that, but I don't stop and think if it feels good for me. It's like "well they feel good... job completed!!". I would love to step away from that mindset. I know it won't happen overnight but I want to try to tune in more to how I FEEL in my own body, heart, spirit.
I wish that I had "done grad school" differently. Which is to say, I wish that I had passed my classes and were still enrolled in grad school.
Lena I am so proud of you for listening to your gut no matter where it led you. Earlier in the year, it was painfully scary to follow my gut, but I did it anyways. Over time it has become less painful and more natural to move in the direction that emotionally, mentally and physically feels good. As a beautiful girl told me: once you see it, it’s hard to unsee it. I think that is similar to how I’d describe my gut instinct: once I can hear it, it’s hard to unhear it…and if I try to ignore it, it only gets louder. I am so freakin’ proud of you for having your eyes, ears, mind and heart open enough to welcome this feeling in…and for having the courage to lean into it.
I wish i had start my sugar detox earlier. Lost 3 kg since last almond Cake. I wish i wasnt quiet during my holidays, i should have explode there. So i could
This year I am learning how to live without certain long term friends in my life and dealing with the sorrow of the loss - I am trying to realize that this creates space to let new people and new experiences in. My relationship is strong but know it could be stronger - we are learning how to communicate better. I have stepped away from my board volunteer work again as it wasn't providing joy and was creating resentment as we weren't doing what I felt was for the good of the organization - our visions no longer aligned. Having the time back creates space for new things - I continue to struggle professionally but not because of what I am or am not doing but more the company is growing and there aren't enough supports to get it all done. I do feel supported and heard most of the time and have decided to stick it out as there is great opportunity in the territory and you know the saying the devil you know... that's how I feel right now...
I’m proud of my work and how I am stepping into a place of sharing my gifts. I am hoping and praying this also comes with really knowing what is best for each person and truly listening to them and their needs. My regret was performing a ceremony for someone and taking authority in it instead of giving them the authority listening and following their needs.
While grateful for my ability to abide with my child's trauma (and the mental illness and self-medicating substance use disorders it has caused) I wish I had been able to be more consistently calm, supportive, abiding and accepting, less judgmental (even if expressed silently – only in my own mind) of every aspect of her circumstance and the suffering it creates.
I read my answer from last year, and I am proud that I improved a lot with presenting calmness in front of the kids, as well as more playfulness with my kids. I think I've gotten out of my head more this year, which has enabled me to be more present and more able to connect. I am proud of that, and want to keep working on it. I've gotten better at anticipating family members needs. I wish I had been better at anticipating friend's needs. I lost a good friend for a lot of reasons I had no control over but I could have thought ahead better and anticipated her needs. I could have been more proactive instead of reactive. I could have asked our friend group to work together to help each other help her instead of staying alone in my head feeling lost about how to support her. I wish I had done that. I don't know if it would have changed the outcome but it probably would have been better. It feels better when you have a community working together to lift one another up, rather than trying to do it on your own.
I am expecially proud of a significant job achievement which I wasn't sure to be ready for, and I am proud of the mother I am every day learning to be.
I could have been honest about my situation with someone and saved them from some pain and heartbreak. I am immensely proud of getting sober and reuniting with my wife.
Missed an opportunity to relocate. Grateful for the strength and resilience of family.
I wish I had exercised more. I should have called a friend who I was avoiding because she was going through a giant crisis, and it was too much. We eventually spoke and it was fine. I am proud that I had friends over for Passover and had my own seder!!
Well, despite eating far more than just about anybody, I've maintained my weight. I certainly haven't done some one thing that makes me "proud" to have done it or been part of it. I do wish that I'd been better organized. This past year of CoVid kept us walking a lot. We did return to theater and some travel, always very conscious of remaining masked in "close" settings. We haven;t had a sick day in years. Except, oy, out-of-the-blue hip and knee pain has landed me in Physical Therapy…that and anti-inflammatories are helping.
I am proud of my accomplishment in learning how at age 58 to cross country ski and in sticking to my commitment to faithfully attend weekly dry land training and then ski club and showing up to ski even though it was after work and after dark and even when the temps were in single digits and even when it was hard and I hadn’t figured it out well enough for it to be fun. By the end of the winter, I was in much better shape and really came to thoroughly enjoy the sport.
I’m incredibly proud of three things: my promotion, finally taking the steps to move to a new community, and then once relocated, being intentional about staying in the positive and speaking optimistically. Seeing the glass as half full has never been my default. And experiencing so many positives this year and perhaps because I’m trying to make a “good impression” could be helping to budge the needle.
I wish I had done the thesis. It's going to be harder than ever to do it this year, with the promotion. I am proud of being in such an influential position within the school, and the change I can make from that.
I am really really proud of the bar mitzvah ceremony and celebration for my son. I am really proud of having gotten a job at a large company and tried my best. I am really proud of learning coding. I am really proud of putting myself out there - again, and again - for a new job. I wish I had been able to be a more present mom for all my kids in the fall, and been able to continue helping my younger son more agressively in the spring with his learning disability diagnosis. In addition, I always seem to wish my marriage could be better. I like to think I'm working hard at it. I can always do better (we both can)
It's been gradual, but I'm feeling much more at home in my body than maybe I ever have. There's a level of acceptance, but I don't think of it as resignation. There was definitely a learning curve when it was finally time to start going out in public again—only to find that almost nothing in my closet fit me anymore, and the shapes/styles I used to love no longer made me feel good. I'm learning the new shapes/styles that make me feel good, and slowly overhauling my wardrobe to match. Now, I don't focus as much on what clothing doesn't work or doesn't feel good. Increasingly, I'm focusing on a remarkable body that's gotten me through five decades, that's going through a zillion changes due to a pandemic and different eating habits and menopause and and and... I'm doing a much better job of surrounding myself with dialogue and imagery that doesn't reinforce the unrealistic beauty standards I grew up with. I don't look at clothing sizes as passing judgement anymore. I'm getting better at not just accepting but loving the person in the selfies whose face is rounder and who cares less about hiding acne with makeup. It's been gradual. I'm not done yet. And I'm so proud of myself for how far I've come.
I am proud of how I undertook the trustee role after my mother's death. I am proud of reaching out to my siblings and creating a stronger bond than we have ever had. We hopefully will be there for each other for years to come.
There is nothing that I can think of that I'd have done differently this past year. I am pleased that I made the time to be outside more often, to see the greenery, feel the sun and hear the birds. So relaxing and so needful to have this privilege.
Something I wish I did differently this year was time management. I had my first big-girl job this year and relies on a lot of time management, and I wish I was better at it from the get-go. Also, I wish I saw my brother more. He lives across the country but is just a facetime away.
I wish I had begun cleaning out my apartment earlier in the summer. By the time it was time for me to leave for Colombia I still had barely made a dent. I am so ashamed at how I live. I am very proud that I travelled to Colombia and Panama this year. I had dreamed of sailing through the San Blas islands from Cartagena to Panama for years and I made this dream come true. It was one of my more difficult trips but I am so proud of myself that I did it.
Something I wish I had done differently: I was really, really unwell this summer. I was hemorrhaging blood for over a month. By mid-August, I could barely stand up. I had unsuccessful surgery from a not so great doctor. I wish I had not gone to Rochester. Aunt Ellen seeing me that sick damaged my relationship with her. She now sees me as unstable and thinks that that is how I am all the time. This is simply not true. While I do get sick a lot and Lupus is very difficult for me, I was truly not okay when I went to Rochester. The fact that I felt I had to go even though I could hardly move is not okay. I need to be able to listen to my body. I do NOT think it was a coincidence at all that I went looking for teshuvah/Yom Kippur related reading material in my email this morning and I came to the SELF tool from the Lupus Foundation that told me I hadn't checked in about my Lupus in two months and had me retake the quiz and get back into it again. I see that as G-d directing me to where my teshuvah efforts need to go. If I could do something differently in this past year, it would have been to listen to my body and not go to Rochester when I was bleeding to the point of anemia. Something I'm proud of: I'm proud of getting Josie diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, getting her a coach (which I now need to get the correct paperwork filled out to complete getting her an appointment), and finding her a psychiatrist and choosing medicine for her (now waiting for that appointment to be booked so she can start the meds).
I am slowly getting better and not instantly reacting to things, but still work on trying to just calm down and take things as they come.
Hmm... When I look back at this past year... I think I'm pretty proud that I made it. Even though maybe not be something as big as I think I should be, I continue my steady pace in shifting my career, believing and trying to continue my chosen path. And finally, I proved to myself that I could make a living by designing something, through a creative process. It's still not something that passively makes money for me, still trading my time for money. Not to mention, as a junior, my income is not much to be financially independent. At least enough for myself, but nope if I have a family to feed. Well, at least I made a progress where finally I can make a living without needing to stay at one specific place and dedicate a specific time. It's a good start. I roughly can deliver results without needing to be present. So yeah, I want to give myself kudos for working this far. I hope, I can slowly grow my career so I can have multiple streams of income and some passive streams. Thus, I can work because I want to, not because I need to :> And later, I also hope I can grow at personal level and also relationship level. Building meaningful relations with others and also with myself.
I wish I had done a better job managing my finances and paying back the money my parents had set aside for me to use, hopefully on a wedding, that I'd put toward a new car that I desperately needed. I'm planning my wedding now, something I never thought would happen, and that money would make things much easier, but that's the opportunity cost.
got myself to LV. lived in a tent for 3 months in the winter Oct-Dec and loved it. actually happy for the first time... calm, present, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.. albeit not physically and so couldn't continue. wish i'd asked for at least one more month of april in the tent - best consistent sleep ever. got myself to summer camp... packed on my own and in my car with friend! increased capacity via NGL/PAP... deepened friendships there.
I wish I'd spent more time getting rid of stored "stuff."
I wish I had something new and interesting to show for this year. It felt like kind of just catching up on fun stuff, recovering from surgery, etc. I am proud of taking part in the postcard writing campaign, and I'm proud of arranging the family trip to Cape Cod. We had a ton of fun and it was good for all of us, I think. I'm proud of my ability to go help my parents back in November when they needed me.
I wish I would’ve done more in terms of financial literacy and equipping myself with the knowledge necessary to truly establish generational wealth. I know I still have some time so I’ll do my best to spend some time with that . Alternatively I am proud to be fully ok with the person that I am. Meaning what I have to offer the world through my lived experiences and being my authentic self. Regardless of the setting I have done such a better job in staying true to myself.
I wish I had initiated contacting others who were also dealing with difficulties in their life, especially isolation. It would have helped them, but also my feelings of isolation.
I am proud that this year I transitioned to a smart phone.
I’m proud that I worked so hard on my health. I’ve been really committed—especially as far as exercise and cooking go— and it feels good.
I don't know how to answer this question. I put myself out there a lot this year, more than I usually do. In terms of setting boundaries. Making friends. Doing things by myself. Advocating for myself at work. Some things panned out, others didn't. I don't know that I regret any of these things though. I am especially proud to see myself working on spiritual goals again. I've taken on an amidah a day and I'm also growing in my consistency of learning during the week. I think I'm a more confident person and I'm looking forward to continued growth now that I've found a therapist again.
Getting more done towards getting my business back on track. Working to stop scammers getting rich off a loophole in the ADA/ Unruh Act legislation meant to help others.
I have taken some chances this past year and they have usually been rewarded. I wish I could be more consistently kind and listen to others more. On the other hand, I have served as a listener to some people and it has benefitted them. I have supported Kate through two colonoscopies, both of which gave her news that her Crohn's is still active. I have supported Kate by venturing up to Ojai every two months to inject her with her immunosuppressant. Just a few days ago, I turned left instead of right to start running and strained my left leg so that I need crutches to walk. I wish I'd turned right. Maybe that wouldn't have happened. I am proud of supporting Kate. I am proud of returning to school and trying things just out of my range. I am proud of continuing to reinvent myself despite my age.
It was a mixed bag this year. This summer, Eric and I began an explore Ohio project. Each weekend we planned an adventure. We hiked several trails in the Cuyahoga National Forest, went to a lecture and saw a bog, went to museum, and Malabar Farm and Restaurant. This really made the weekends fun and not work focused or cleaning/listening to podcasts focused. We were out and engaging the world. I have really been struggling at work to carve out time for work that really matters. I think I was too slow to recognize that some of the things I have been doing were somewhat pointless. And some of the things are more like a treadmill. I am definitely going somewhere and no where. I have been trying to actually block out time for tasks. Just since I got back from vacation. Actually scheduling time to do things, so that I can intercede in the flow of the churn and actually accomplish some things.
I wish I had advocated for myself within LHF. It was a bad match but I wish I could have made it better. And I am relieved it's over. I am proud of letting myself dwell in the refugee of depression.
I wish I had focused on my career more and learned more marketable skills. I wish I shared my beliefs more. I’m proud of joining the local human services commission.
I wish I had secured a new job before discussing my desire to leave Skyhorse. I went about it the wrong way and got cocky. Lesson learned. I am proud that I have pushed through my assignments and have a GPA of 4.0 in grad school. The experience has taught me that I'm a lot tougher than I thought I was.
I wish I had an answer to this question, either as a regret or a point of pride, but this year has felt so flat that nothing sticks out.
I’m really proud I was finally able to start exercising. I lost 10kg!
I wish I’d had the drive and luck to make my own way instead of pathetically grabbing the first job offer that came along out of desperation. I have nothing to be proud of.
I'm proud of being able to pull off a lot of achievements personally and professionally. I wish I'd paid myself more though.
I wish I had handled rejection more gracefully. I wish I had been more accepting of her decision and been more kind to her after the decision had been made. Instead of maintaining a valuable friendship, I pushed her away and showed her a side of me that I feel shame about.
I wish I would have asked for help more from my sister. It would have helped me be in a better position for the move when Jennifer came out and we could have left the house cleaner, which could have saved my relationship with my sister. I miss her
We made it through this last year. It was so hard and painful. I pray next year is better
Wow, I forgot I was going to have to answer this next, see yesterday's answer! Genuinely though, this year has been one of so many abstract choices, so many paths I could have taken, so many paths I can never take again and who knows where they could have ended up. And yet, despite all that, I cannot help but feel delighted at how it all turned out. Did I speak enough Chinese? Almost certainly not. Did I manage to get to all the places in Taiwan or meet all the people I wanted to meet? Nope. Could I have pushed myself harder to squeeze every moment out of this weird little year and strange blocky summer? For sure. And yet, again, I still feel pretty decent. I've genuinely tried, I've learnt and grown, the work is never over but I'm proud I had a go.
I learned to let go of people and and strengthen my spine.
I don't know if there's much I'd have done differently. Maybe I would have practiced more for my Torah reading so that I would have sounded more confident at the bimah. I'm really proud of what I've achieved at my job – the support I've given my supervisees and clients.
I'm proud that after years of saying I wanted to achieve it - I finally have lost the weight I needed to and more importantly have completely changed my eating habits so that I eating much more healthily and am looking after myself by keeping fit as well. Only took me to be 64 to get there - doesn't do to rush these things I suppose?
I wish I would have found ways to make more money. I still feel guilty that I'm not bringing enough money into the household.
I don't wish that I had done anything differently. I feel that it has all come in the way it would and should. I do wish that I had avoided the anxiety I have developed, or that I was more relaxed and open and full of love in my interactions with Rohit (in those times when I was panicked and clinging or protective and cold). But these are part of my self journey. One thing I am so happy I did was quit my Hindi course this summer. That one decision opened my life back up to me. I found myself again because I untrapped my soul. It was a torturous decision but in the end I somehow just felt what was right and could do it. What a magical life came for me after that: the Jana day with Rejona, going back to Parvati Valley to see it more clearly, going up to Keylong and meeting Rohit on the bus (this journey was so important...I just feel that) and then back up to Ladakh, meeting Agnieszka, having that time there which I remember so fondly now. And over to Calcutta and seeing Abhishek... if I had been in the course, none of these things would have happened. I am so thankful.
I wish I’d gone to see Mom when I read her distress in a text. I was working with the nurse at Trinity Village assuming yet another UTI and encouraging Mom to “hang in there.” She was 95, the only impetus I needed to rush over. But she was our Energizer Bunny bent on living until 99.5 and, in our minds, almost certain to make it. She didn’t, coding twice on the way to the hospital, before the ER learned she had a DNR which Trinity failed to send with her, maybe as sure as we were she’d keep on ticking. I console myself with all the years we had, all the shared holidays and memories, the way she seemed to relax in my company at times…”like a vacation” she once said. Something I’m proud of? It was not a year to think in terms of pride. Except perhaps the pride my beloved and daughter felt in all the work they did to prepare Mom’s house for sale. I celebrate their sense of accomplishment.
I am proud that I hiked every single day - every day since the pandemic started, actually! I started it from boredom, if I'm honest - for such a long time, we really couldn't go anywhere, and going for groceries is a kind of boring activity (plus my glasses kept fogging up from the masks). So I took myself outside. I hiked, walked, and swam through the pandemic - swimming into December in the Atlantic Ocean in Eastern Canada is a special kind of crazy! But it was good for my mental health, my spiritual health, and my physical health, as it turns out.
Having a better grip on my evolving (for the better) love life. Not only with others but with myself. I ended a relationship, multiple times, but kept coming back. A sort of addiction that played on my inner fears and issues. I wish I had stayed away from her, or at least not rekindled things the way that they were. This made me more confused and conflicted with myself than I could have imagined. It was not until one year after she “disappeared” that I started to finally have the breakup feelings. Even if during that whole year we managed to stay in touch for most of it. It still breaks my heart to think that we were ok, and then she left me. To then let me back in her life to watch me break my own heart again. But now, there are things that went well. I had a really strange experience at a conference. I got COVID and had to spend most of the time in my room. Actually, I spend all of the following 4 days in the room, with only one person coming over to care for me. And that person was (and is!) a big part of my life now. The organisation forgot about me. I even had to spend Shabbat alone, with no candles, no kiddush, no challah… I got food because of this special person, but it was not her job. Also, Erev Shabbat was already the fourth day of me being alone in a room and the organisation not showing up or doing anything. By Saturday night I was blinded with rage. I hated everyone and everything. I decided to leave early Sunday morning, without saying goodbye to anyone and just leave that part of my life behind. It affected me personally, my sense of self, but also, it affected my relationship with her (again, that amazing human). But when the moment to leave came, when I was at the door of the hotel at 6:15 am, alone, I could not do it. I went back to the lobby and sat down, now knowing why I could not leave (I had an idea) or what to do next. Only knew that breakfast was at 730, it was now 6:20. I had time before people started to come downstairs. And then, the director of the organisation, Dr Rabbi J. walked into the lobby. She looked at me terrified. She had been knocking at my door on Saturday, but I was asleep. She knew that they screwed up. But there was nothing to do. I was already mad, I was already hurt. But now, it was only the two of us. Alone. She came closer and while talking to me, sat down across the small table. She apologised while she was crying. I could only look at her, straight in her eyes, feeling all the hate in the world. And then she asked me what I was thinking. I was shocked. I just wanted to hurt her. To say things to make her cry more. But the words that came out of my mouth are the words that I will always remember: “Rabbi J, right now there is nothing I could say that does not come from a place of hate, so I prefer to not say anything at all” She understood. She noted and said that it was noble of me to say that. But then my mood changed. I felt like it was my choice to be like that. And then I understood why I could not leave the hotel 30 minutes before: Because I care. I cared about everyone there, but especially for Ketsele (that amazing human that shines in my life these days). If I had left the hotel, everyone would have turned to her to ask about me. Where is Lucas? What happened to Lucas? Why is Lucas not here? And then everyone would have known what happened, and their collective experience would have been ruined. A sour ending for what was, for most of them, or all of them, definitely not me, a sweet experience. I would have ruined Dr Rabbi J’s standing. Or the other people running the organisation. And we are all humans and we all make mistakes. Sadly this time I was on the receiving end of such mistakes. She apologised once more, and I suddenly understood that we are always talking about apologies, about asking for forgiveness. But rarely or ever, do we talk about accepting that apology. About being vulnerable and putting ego and pride aside. Hurt and pain, hate and anger, and really truly accept that apology. It was my choice. It is a choice. And I decided to go for it. To accept the apology, even if I didn’t know how. I smiled at her and told her all that. It was a moment of peace. I forgave her. I decided to not live with the pain and the hate and the anger. It was also my choice to move on. And then, as if the gates were opened, people started to come downstairs. Everyone was happy to see me, to see that I was ok. They had then the closing session, and I was invited. I went there on the condition that I should stay behind everyone. I was still “a risk” for others. I took the test and isolated myself because I didn’t want to risk anyone there. There was a 7-week-old baby, people over 70 years of age and others with immune challenges. I was not going to now pretend I didn’t get covid just because it was the last day. I found a place in the back of the room, where I could see almost everyone in the circle. They all shared how great was their experience, how amazing was to meet each other, to be together, to forge a community. Until someone said “We need to talk about Lucas” “Wait, what”? - That was my initial reaction. He continued “We all came here to talk about community and inclusivity and being together, and Lucas just spend the whole time alone in a room and we didn’t do anything together as a community for him” (I was still a bit mad, it didn’t all go away, not instantly, so my response inside my head was “heck yeah, I spend Shabbat alone and no one care”!) Other people joined in. Those that actually came to visit and said hello and send me messages were talking about that too, that as a community there was nothing from them. There was nothing from the organisation. Then it was Rabbi J’s turn, and I thought she was going to be the last person to talk. She apologised to me again. All she had said before, or the important parts, were said again. She also said that I was the example of what they all were talking about. Of caring for others, or being accountable. That I took the hit, I took the test when I was really not required to do so. I could have just played it out and nothing would have happened. And yet, I took the test knowing what a positive result entailed. And then everyone turns to me, to say something. I was preparing for that when I realised that I would be asked to say something. So I took notes, and I wrote keywords on my phone, to help me navigate what I wanted to say. After I finished talking, I was a better person. I knew that I was a better person than the Lucas that arrived 6 days before at that building. Now When I think back on those days I have a smile on my face. I remember the dark moments as if they were a movie or something someone else told me about. I smile knowing that I was indeed someone better, that decided not to talk from a place of hate. Sadly, a few weeks later I would let that Lucas from before take over and hurt my ex-girlfriend. She pushed me to that place of hate once more. I let myself get there. I went to her place and allowed her, and myself, to be in that position. But that time I did say things from a place of hate. I hurt her. I said things that while they were true, shouldn’t have been saying. Now I like to think I would not make that mistake again. I learned my lesson, and I made an error and could see that it was a mistake. With Kippur around the corner, it is time not only to ask for forgiveness from others but also from myself. And most importantly, to know when I was not the one that should ask for it, but also to know how to accept an apology. There was also something about a Jerk at work, but long story short: I managed the whole situation very well, and all is good now. I did learn my lesson after all! I am glad I had Ketsele with me, to help me navigate all this!
As always, I wish I had been more attentive to my health regarding diet and exercise. I continually defer to behavior which provides immediate , short term gratification instead of delaying that gratification and pleasure for my long term goals and greater satisfaction from the accomplishment of improved health and vigor.
I wish I’d asked for help in my racing secretary job earlier, then it might not have got to the stage where the presure was too much and I had to quit for my own sanity.
Stand up to get paid decently.
I am proud of the connections I have built that meant I had support to move house. I have been in a habit of asking for help, and that led me to actually get the help I needed. It was a difficult journey to learn to ask for help in the last few years, and good support when I really needed it was the result!
I really wish I hadn't gone dating so soon. I wasn't ready and ended up repeating the same mistakes/drama/trauma. I got out of an emotionally abusive marriage and started dating four months later. Big mistake, because the dude gaslit me when I said 'Hey, that's not cool' and he ended up assaulting me. I feel like I have this mark on my forehead. But I'm proud of not getting too intertwined with this guy. Only thing is now we're in fucking court for a restraining order. Stupid shit, same shit. Good thing is that I got some job, and I was paid a shit ton, but it only lasted for less than three months. Thing is, I have another chance at doing the same job for a different company and if I actually get the job offer, same money, but it will be a full-time job. I'm proud of myself for finally not giving a shit about my ex-husband. He ended up dating someone who is less than half of my age. Wow. Guess he didn't really want a woman? I'm proud of having a new apartment. I'm proud of having the possibility of having possibilities. I'm proud that I can consider moving to the Rocky Mountains again. I'm proud that I'm not married to an abuser. I'm proud that I broke up with an abuser.
I am proud of how I have been confronting current challenges while also increasingly accepting past dark periods of my life with more grace and less shame. It’s freeing me to be more authentic, but with lots of work to do
I am especially proud of sticking with learning Hebrew. I would have liked to spend more time on my quilting and creating art quilts and fulfilling what I promised to do in exchanges.
I am proud that I retired. I am kind of amazed that I’m in a relationship. It’s not the best. But I didn’t think I’d ever be in love with anybody again.
Successfully cleaned up the lab and removed the old contaminated facility. Can now begin partial retirement with an open slate. Pretty comfortable with progress this year. Not sure what we would have changed. We probably could have done more around the house. We could do more outside of the house, but we have been very skittish because of COVID.
I'm especially proud of how I planned and organized all the pieces of my father's burial and memorial service. I was driven by my love and devotion to him. And I saw that the people who loved him the most were the least able to pull together the necessary details. I would never, ever let my father's end-of-life wishes go awry, and so I did everything to the best of my ability, and I was proud to do the right thing.
Of course. My weight/health/fitness/wellness. Always the unhandled priority.
I wish I had not let my anxiety interfere with travel, writing, and expression of appreciation. I'm proud that my photography has forced me to take time to observe and appreciate the world.
I have continued to coach swimming. Volunteering for BSA is busy. We are increasing membership in our district. Master Gardening is fun. The others in the group are low key which makes it less to no stress. We have a Kids In Motion program here. 4-6 of us go to elementary schools and fix kids bikes. Because I am a swim coach I also help the military recruiters by getting prospects ready for the Navy SEAL or Dive swim test. So far I would not change anything
I wish I would have handled antagonism from the campus support director better. I wish I would have used my perpective to understand that I could not change her viewpoint and pushing would ultimately harm me.
The biggest mistake I made this past year was agreeing to have Mom stay with us after Gabby was born. It increased our stress levels and led to a major conflict between both Mom and me and Mom and Craig. The reason I accepted Mom's offer was because I fell for all those scare tactics on mommy blogs that say that you won't get ten minutes to yourself after the baby is born. If we have another baby, I'm staying the hell away from articles that tell you what a nightmare it is to have a newborn and a toddler.
Le fait d'être toujours à la maison m'a permis de réaliser à quel point les journées passent vite, même si on n'a pas été au travail de la journée. C'est sûr que j'ai 2 jumeaux à m'occuper, mais j'aurais pensé réussir à faire plus de "ménage" dans la maison: épurer tout le stock qu'on a qui nous envahit, décorer davantage mon environnement, faire mes exercices post-grossesses. La réalité est que je ne suis pas parvenue à faire tout cela. J'aurais voulu réussir à faire plus. Aussi, cette réalité de maman débordée ne m'a pas permis de me "grounder" par moments alors qu'à d'autres, oui. PAr exemple l'hiver dernier j'ai très bien vécu cette période tranquille à la maison. J'ai adoré mes matins de semaine avec Léonard jusqu'à l'arrivée de son autobus, nos séances de patinage sur notre étang...je ne voulais pas être ailleurs! À l'inverse cet été j'ai été plus déprimée de "mon sort", je rêvais de voyage et de spontanéité alors que je ne pouvais pas m'en aller...mon chum se désolait de mon état car on vivait une période unique et merveilleuse avec nos enfants tous les jours, à la maison sans travailler! Je suis fière toutefois de mon état mental, de comment je suis parvenue à être heureuse et apprécier la vie malgré tous les aspects négatifs: mon diagnostic de leucémie et la grande prématurité des bébés. Je suis restée forte la plupart du temps et j'ai accepté ma tristesse lorsqu'elle venait. J'ai écris dans mon journal pendant une certaine période et la vie a repris son cours malgré les aléas de la vie!
I wish I had been able to resolve some conflicts with unethical people without getting or feeling hostile. I have a poison pen and used it to eviscerate people, in ways that made me seem, perhaps, worse than the people I attempted to expose.
Again, as with last year, I wish I had been more forthcoming with my friends and family in terms of phone calls, emails, visits, etc. I struggle with reaching out; I am an introvert and enjoy alone time. I must continue to attempt to conquer my fear of rejection. I am proud that I started in a new pickleball group and went by myself.
Very proud of my vegan journey. I can tell there are many physical and mental health benefits that are already paying off. And the sense of control over my future health is much better than it was before starting this journey. I know it doesn't eliminate all risks, but I feel so much better knowing I'm doing my part to reduce many risks that once felt overwhelming. I still want to take control of my work life and be productive during the hours I have committed to that part of the day. I am ashamed of how work bleeds into nights and weekends for no reason other than my own inattentiveness.
I don't think there's anything I would have done differently, because all my choices have led me to where I am right now, and I'm in a particularly good place in life. I have just taken my IELTS exam, and I'm about to apply for schools in Australia. I have a good support system. I've learned how to cook. I survived the worst of heartbreaks. I quit the most toxic workplace. I met up and reconnected with so many people. Met new friends for keeps. Went to Boracay with sibs and cousins. I'm proud I was able to get myself out of that downward spiral. Seriously. Life is great.
Last year, I flew home to visit my mom and help her get a car. No one nearby would help her run errands, so I promised to find and pay for a cheap used car for her to use. I made good on my promise and she was very happy. The problem is, she can't pay for the upkeep of the car, and doesn't take good care of it. The phone calls asking to pay for another repair or give gas money are endless. I wish I'd found a better way to solve her transportation problems.
I wish I had been less self-focused and more grateful for the daily moments of joy and peace and kindness and production and growth. Sigh. I will never learn.
I wish I'd put in just a little more work and learned 2+1 with Maddy... But, that's much easier said then done as I was pretty burntout and busy with other stuff. Conversely, I'm very proud of a LOT of stuff I did this past year. I put a lot of work into Stubernic, Next to Normal, and the three films I made, and I'm usually proud of the things I invest a lot of my time into.
I think my main regret is regarding money, due to having to wait for my new passport to be delivered, and that resulting in buying the flights/train tickets/booking the hotel/Airbnb, etc, in the same month that we were travelling to see my family, and the end cost being in the region of €3000, after having to replace both the washing machine and fridge freezer due to them breaking down, it meant that September has been the worst off I and M have been in our 6 year relationship, and for me personally since 2010. Which triggered a lot of anxiety and also a moment of anorexic behaviour. Obviously these are the struggles, but also it made me proud to always keep my kitchen stocked (due to my mother replacing anything that was used straightaway, and also financial insecurity as a young adult) it made me comforted to know we had enough food to eat, we could feel secure in that area. Also the money issue is because we are supposed to be saving for the wedding, and getting married. It made me feel frivolous for doing my ceramics classes, but I reminded myself that we are allowed to feel joy even in times of hardship. May the next year bring better habits of saving/getting closer to being able to get married/move. I am proud of my continued commitment to learning new things, educating myself, taking care of myself, standing strong in dealing with the BRAC gene genetic testing, and also me and M making it to 6 years together this October!
Overall, I think I just need to learn how to take a deep breath and relax. I feel like this past year, more than any other in recent memory, I have been quick to judge, overreact, and hold onto negative feelings. I'm not sure why. Things are pretty normal stress-wise, but I feel overwhelmed most days. I travelled a lot more this summer than I had done before and that definitely contributed to it. I was constantly gone and seemed to always be playing catch up when I got home. I missed everything this summer-the kids' last day of school, all 3 of them going to camp (although I was there to pick them up), first day of TT, etc. A lot of missed firsts. And it didn't help that all of these trips were mostly back to back. So I was travelling about 2 times a month. I have continuously looked for a job, but with no luck. I'm not even sure I want a new job, I just don't want to travel anymore. It has been really hard on all of us. Things will slow down now, but once spring comes, the travelling will start again. I need to figure out how to stay calm and organize myself so that these negative feelings don't continue to come out and affect all those around me.
This is a hard question to answer. There is nothing big I wish I could change. But "pride" is not quite the right word for the satisfaction I am feeling right now. It is too outward-facing, reeks to much of an accomplishment that one can post on Facebook or display in the form of a plaque or a medal. I am not proud in that way. I am trying to find the word for the shifts I have made and I don't have one -- not pride, not quiet satisfaction, not pleased -- it's more like a slow warm awareness, a slightly physical, slightly spiritual pleasure -- the observing "I" taking some kind of paternal pleasure in the doing "me", in how far I have come. I have changed as a mom. It may be too late but I can feel how I have changed. I am not constantly parenting out of fear and tension. I am not so absorbed in regulating my own emotions at the expense of noticing and responding to my daughter's emotions. Tasks related to her that I used to approach with resentment because they took so much time out of my day and were related to what I viewed as her deficiencies -- her anxiety, her unwillingness to move her own body -- I now enjoy because I get to spend time with her. And I feel appreciation for that and awareness that my will and willingness and work made that happen, while also feeling that it is not exactly something that I own, that my own willingness and will and work were also all gifts from God/the universe, so that my pride in myself is indistinguishable from my gratitude for what I have been given.
I could say that I'm proud of myself for voicing my unhappiness. Whether it was with my job or certain aspects of my relationship, I have done a better job with voicing things that I wish would change. Could I have voiced them earlier? Absolutely. But the fact that I brought things up in order to change them showed personal growth for myself, and I hope it is something that will continue into this new year.
I wish I had been more me and gone out more by myself. I'm so afraid of how people might see me, but I came in this world alone. It won't hurt me to have a meal or movie by myself.
I bought Auntie Eddie's 07 FXDB from my dad. Super stoked.
I'm proud of having kept my head down and kept moving ahead when I was diagnosed with cancer. Each day of treatment I felt like I was "going to work" and getting it done. Of course I had wonderful family and friends helping me! I wish that I'd gotten a mammogram earlier. But because of Covid 19 I was unable to get in. There are a lot of other women who are in the same boat or worse. I pray for them each day.
I wish I had exercised more. And saved more money.
I wish I would spend less time on screens. I'm always bothering the kids about it - I should take my own advice.
I am proud of making our house look a little more lived in through buying furniture, area rugs and curtains fire each room. Only Aiden’s bedroom needs to still be done.
I am proud that I became more faithful to a daily writing ritual once the scare of my husband’s illness passed. I also created an environment to support my writing that includes reading more, increasing my yoga classes from twice to three times a week, and doing other things that are nurturing. In order to achieve this, I took a sabbatical and turned down client work so I could really focus on my book, The Power of Connectedness, with a foreword by Desmond Tutu and permission from his family to use it posthumously.
Proud that I finally did a pilot training and working on manual for future trainings. Wish I could have figured it out sooner, to be complete and ready to publish, which is taking a long time.
I wish I stepped up and spoke up. To be heard seen. I hid.
I wish I had complained less about my job once I realized that nothing would change. It might have been better if I had quit in December as staying on just made me more angry. I should have resigned and made my reasons public right away. I’m proud of the way I handled the purchase of our house, though. This is our home and it’s probably better that we stayed.
I wish I hadn't fallen and hurt my lower back. As a result I have had physical therapy, which strengthened my back, but did not take the pain away. I am starting to be able to walk quite easily, especially when zi push a shopping cart. But sitting, standing , especially the getting up and down parts, are quite f=difficult. I look forward to moving and doing things rain-free again.
The last year feels like a blur. Similar to last year, I think overall I did the best I could in the circumstances I was in. You know those moments that seem super stressful in the moment and then the next week or next month you can't remember what you were so stressed about? I think I had several of those moments, especially with work, and they just suck so much energy and power out of me. So my wish is that I would have kept my perspective, and had a stress-reducing mantra like "How much will this matter tomorrow? Next week? Next month? In 6 months or a year?" I'm really proud of the level-headedness that I had around the transition between jobs. I took the time that I needed to figure out what I wanted and went after the opportunities that came up with a great sense of trust and release to the process. It felt like a big leap at the time, and I think I took that leap courageously.
I'm proud that I ran my first real 5k, the Makin' Tracks 5k in River Forest. I ran one virtual 5k 2 years ago. My time this year was a little slower. I had been training for this race and thought I would be able to run the whole way without walking. But I started out too fast and had to stop and walk at points. I ended up with a slightly faster time than my training runs, even with walking. But overall, I didn't make as much progress towards my health goals this year. I've really only been able to find time for running, whereas I'd like to also be working on my strength and agility. I just have a hard time making time during the day. Even if I do have a break from work, there's always something else I could be doing around the house. I also had intended to find a primary care doctor this year, which I haven't done yet.
I'm really proud of the fact that I am now making deliberate time for my hobbies. I am making deliberate time to cook. I am making deliberate time to write down what I make in the kitchen. I am making deliberate time to program every morning (7-8am). I am making deliberate time to read every morning (8-9am). I am making deliberate time to be a part of my community -- to "see and be seen" -- and I really think that it's paying off. But how? What is the payout? Am I simply happier? Why? I think I know more about what's happening in my community, and I am preparing myself to help them in whatever way they'd like. I am trying to take the next step and bring people together, bring my friends together to meet each other. Professionally, I'm trying to network more into the energy space, and I'm currently working on a program that could at least get my name out there. If there were one thing that I wish I had done differently, it'd be that I wish I had focused more. All the time. On everything. On whatever I was doing. That's why I'm proud of my recent accomplishments of making deliberate time for things: because I have too often forsaken that. I figured things would come to me easily, only to find that, much like dancing, I am very bad at them and need to thus work very hard to be better. Personally, I'm trying to not spread myself so thin. It's taking time, but I'm doing it. I'm getting there. But: Sarah is revealing the worst in me. She is helping me see all of my worst traits. It's not her fault; I am the one with the traits. I'm high maintenance, I catastrophize based on the slightest inattentiveness, I build a negative narrative and then seek to fill it. I'm not proud of this. But there's nothing in particular that I *regret*, per se. It's just I'm riddled with insecurities that I am unable to let go of. Do I regret them? What's to regret? What action should I have not taken? Perhaps "resent" is the better word. I resent my insecurities and how they are ruining my relationship. I am convinced I am right. I can't let go of them. I don't want to. I feel powerful when I am the victim.
My answer is actually the same as last year, both nutritionally, financially, and in terms of day-to-day organisation, I wish I had spent the year being more disciplined. The main difference this year is that I feel more compassion towards myself about why I haven't been able to achieve the level of self-discipline that I aspire to. It's been a rough year in a bunch of my circles and I recognise that that takes a toll on me mentally and emotionally. While I will be looking for more ways to build healthy habits moving forward, I want to be kind to myself through the process.
Si que me hubiera gustado haber manejado mi estrés y mi ansiedad de otra manera, con mayor control y con menos rabia. Sobretodo para haber podido disfrutar mejor el momento de calma y recogimiento al partirme la pierna. Del mismo modo estoy muy orgullosa de como lo hice con la sanación de la relación de maltrato y en la persona en la que me estoy convirtiendo. He sido muy valiente.
As mentioned in day 1, I'm very proud that I was able to make tenure. That had been a singular major goal over the last 7 years (more, including the PhD program and visiting positions). I do still wish I had more consistency in developing my routines though. There remain disconnects between things I know I need to do and my actually doing them. I need to figure out how to better leverage that so that the things I'm passionate about, I remain passionate about because they are a regular part of my life.
I've sent over 75 letters so far this year, but I wish it had been more. I wish I'd checked in even more frequently with relatives in particular, and friends who are having hard times. At the same time, I'm not sure where I could have carved that time and, especially, energy out. I've been so tired so much of the time. I'm simultaneously proud of what I have managed to achieve in terms of checking in with people, and desperately wishing to have done more. I'm wrestling with all of these competing feelings of responsibility.
I’m proud of myself for digging into hard things in therapy despite the fact that it’s be easier to stick my head in the sand. I’m proud of myself for learning to cross stitch and embroidery, for the extra commitment to my gardens, and for losing 20-ish pounds.
Yes, I would love to have been less fearful of catching COVID-19 after my 4 shots.
I am proud of (finally) standing up for myself and choosing the relationships and people I want. For being intentional about building the type of life I want.
I wish I had detached from my work persona earlier in my career. Since doing so, I have become a much better person.
I wish I had quit my residency sooner or at least protected myself more from it and exhausted myself less for it. I should've taken more liberty with sick days and not giving 170% when I was already completely drained by the experience. At the same time I'm very proud that I managed to produce such great work there with the students. It exceeded my own expectations of what I'd be able to put into motion and accomplish there - personally, technically and creatively. I achieved and learned a lot.
Perhaps I would have liked to have known what to do to connect with my sons. I feel confused about my relationship with them and how to help them without getting in their way or enabling their feelings of dependency. sigh. I love them and give them a place to live and all their utilities and phones; I try to encourage them, but at times it just sounds as thought I am pushy or laggy. However, I am proud of my own trust in the energetic field, of the collective experience, and my willingness to create a group of women who are (at least) interested in learning -- the fact is, I have an agenda which I have shared with them; and they are not quite ready for a full-on push into another level of the evolutionary spiral. So I practice patience without neglecting my agenda. I'm learning to balance.
My year was overtaken by the demands of the job, and when thinking back over all the choices I made during that time, I don't know that I would have done anything differently per se. I honestly think I performed at a pretty high level, consistently and uniformly, and I didn't lose my cool too many times, and I'm quite proud of that. I guess I might have wanted to push back harder when the pressure got too high for me, but I was focused on getting the job done and knew that pushing back would create friction and drag, which would ultimately make the job even harder and the pressure even higher. In sum: No, I don't think I would have done anything differently. I wish I'd gotten more sleep and felt better physically while I was so taxed mentally, but that's water under the bridge.
See question #1: I feel like choosing to have integrity/show up knowing I am only responsible for my responses and actions is something I am proud of. The entire exercise of building healthier boundaries was a huge intention and theme in my last year. I exercised this in work and in my personal relationships. I feel like I'm just getting started with this healthy growth - and am excited about where it will lead.
I wish I had spent more time in the pandemic with my family. I stayed away because of an immunocompromised family member awaiting a kidney. I am proud that I got a raise and a promotion in December. I would turn around and get a better title at a small organization for the same amount of money in June where the new place made a job for me after I interviewed for a different job.
I wish I reached out more for help. I'm not that great about it, and after everything that happened this year I desperately needed it; however, there was always something in the back of my mind that feared rejection or dismissal, so I ended up doing a lot of heart wrenching and backbreaking work by myself when I really didn't have to.
I wish I had worked on the house steadily all year instead of waiting until the end of summer to tackle these jobs. I feel a bit of guilt over having been so shitty about taking on SDAs at Frontier Health. At BLR I feel pretty good, but I am a work in progress. Every day is a new challenge. I have tended to be angry and resentful, needlessly and unfairly.
Though I am always a work in progress, I feel like I have been getting better about being present in the moment with my family and friends, and have been working towards maintaining more balance between my work and home life. I am proud of the effort I have put towards maintaining friendships and making time to connect with M and J, my mom, dad and brother.
I wish that I would quit talking and/or taking over conversations. Pe0ple for the most part already know and know more about what I continue to endlessly talk about ad nauseam. Shut up, listen, and share sparingly.
I wish I had a clearer sense of direction on how to meet the challenges of my post-retirement and a stronger sense of purpose. I think I am becoming a better spouse and want to be a better grandparent.
I wish I'd stood up for myself a little bit more at work. I've started to do that a bit now and it's actually very liberating. I also wish I'd been a bit more accepting of the fact that the work situation wasn't really my fault - it was just an unfortunate confluence of slightly shitty circumstances that on their own would have been fine but altogether proved to be more than I could really cope with. I wish I'd spent a bit more time stepping back and enjoying things, rather than always worrying about what was going to come next. But by that same token, I am proud that I got through it and have emerged relatively unscathed, and I even achieved some pretty cool things. And I'm proud that I've made some new friends, at my great and advanced age.
I'm quite proud of becoming a leader in my emergency response team; I'm trusted to train other emergency responders.
I'm happy that I finally started getting rid of stuff. I'm unhappy that the projects I've taken on are mostly in holding patterns. I have (finally) dealt with the messes that are my Photos Libraries. I think. I also think my decision to keep sending my book out, keep my expectations as low as I possibly can, and instead of trying to write in the absence of a class or workshop group, concentrate on not leaving this world and my office to my kids in unorganized boxes. Photos included.
I wish I had spent more time unpacking and dealing with the aftereffects of moving. While much fewer in number, there are still MANY boxes left. Though they may not contain anything of great importance, they represent unfinished business.
I feel a little cringy with planning such a big wedding. I am excited for it but I sort of feel like it could've gone differently. On the other hand of that same note, I am proud of myself for putting together such a large event. I also with I had taken a different route in my career. I wish I had become a realtor and traveled down that path. However, I also feel like I am learning valuable lessons from my current role and developing professionally here. Everything happens in its own time and in it's own way.
I wish I had gone outside more, and tried to enjoy my moments of calm and quiet. Much of the time I felt little desire to do anything and wanted to stare at the ceiling or do something mindless. I will try to enjoy my porch more this fall, and I think that will improve my mood too.
In terms of being especially proud, I would have to say it's the way I cared for my father at the end of his life. While I would get impatient sometimes, I know he felt utterly loved and cared for. I guess I wish that I hadn't made my sister feel unwanted during my dad's vigil. But I felt like she hadn't really been there for most of the caregiving, and was unable to love him unconditionally, and I did. I exhibited pride and judgement. And I really didn't want her there.
I don't know what I would have done differently this past year. I try to make every decision with careful consideration, I try to help everyone with what they need. I am proud I asked for help in my mental health, pressed for it, and did not give up.
I'm incredibly proud of accidentally losing 30 pounds. I got Invisalign braces in December of 2021, and stopped snacking.
Started looking for a new house in March. Should have started earlier.
I’ve been able to just be without constant anxiety for some forward progression. I’ve just been able to enjoy life every day and things/people as they come. It’s been lovely to stop that urgent feeling from taking over my joys.
I'm proud of how I've communicated with my coworkers about leaving my job. After my experience at HAFC with knowing I was leaving for nine months before telling anyone, it was important to me to be very open about moving and leaving here. It feels good to be preparing to leave without any bad feelings and knowing that I've been honest the whole time.
It is the same. I started volunteering in my community - beach cleanups, running race volunteer, etc. I wish I had started sooner.
I often think of regret. In fact, when I was in New York visiting with my girls for the first time, postponed from the pandemic, I felt as though I were sitting at the crossroads or center of my regret. The funny part about this idea, I realized, besides it causing me no end of anxiety, is that my regret includes an imagined future. From the inflection point, I imagine a completely positive future that includes everything I've accomplished so far on my present path in addition to a version of that choice that winds up being 100% successful. So, for example, in my regret, not only do I choose to stay in NYC and "give acting a go" for a few more years, but it turns out that I become incredibly successful in that endeavor. I realized on that trip and in subsequent mental wanderings (or wonderings, I like that) that makes me so sad. The futility of musing on it all and the simple truth that we cannot know what will befall us on our chosen paths is scary and exciting. I wish I could embrace the journey more fully. I know that if I am fortunate enough to age gradually and reflect backward on my life at some point, this inability will fill me with melancholy.
As my dad once said, with me it's always the same old shit. I'm proud of my performance in Newsies.
I feel like regret is a natural part of human life. Oftentimes in American culture, we are told to avoid regret, to live life without regrets, but (at least for me) that is impossible. There are always things I wish I could do differently, things I wish I hadn't said, etc. This past year, I wish I had been able to manage my emotions in a way that is better than what ended up happening. Near the start of second semester this past school year, I found myself falling into a depression. I was sad and moody, but most of all, I was irritable with absolutely everyone in my life: from my family to my closest friends. Often I would find myself getting angry or defensive about the smallest of things, like music being too loud, or a friend being late for dinner, and I know for a fact that my words cut deep (I know what I'm saying) and that I ended up hurting some people (and maybe losing a few friends). I wish I was better at apologizing, at being vulnerable, at being wrong, and that I was able to repair these relationships as I started to fracture them instead of waiting until they broke. Conversely, there are also things I am really proud of this year! I got my first 100 on a paper EVER (I still can't believe it) and one of my professors told me that one of my assignments was so well done that I could send it to a think tank now and get a job (I practically cried when I read that). Plus, some of the relationships I have created this past year have been better than anything I ever could have imagined and now, life without these people would be decidedly empty (I am proud that I attracted people that wonderful)! I am also proud that I took a risk: a risk I NEVER take (I'm not an impulsive person) but at least I tried it!!
I wish I would have things more together in order to leave my relationship when infidelity was known. I also wish I would have confronted the two bitches I am aware of face-to-face
The biggest thing I wish I did differently is in navigating my relationship with my partner. We had a dramatic ending and then a fruitful re-beginning - but the ending was particularly painful for my partner. I think if I had been more honest with myself and with her I could have found a way to shift the dynamics to where we are now without the pain and suffering I caused.
Wish I had set a higher goal to raise money for cancer research. $1,000 was not enough. Ended up raising $1,400 with coworkers. Wish I had worked harder to understand the audience for the transportation sustainability summit audience sooner; that would have made decisions for owning the agenda and content easier.
I'm proud of the actions I'm taking to feel more hope, genius, and vitality. Reducing my patient hours, getting a steady renter, taking on home ownership responsibilities and understanding more fully what it means to take care of a house solo, understanding my finances better and creating a plan to continue this self-education, and most importantly focusing on what get out of my responsibilities, not just what it takes out of me, to experience the fruits of my labor and not let the work weigh me down. I'm grateful for the brilliance that I get to experience now, and I mourn the unrealized dreams and losses along the way.
I wish that I had put in more effort to publish journal papers. This is the thing that is most missing from my CV, and yet I have not put in a good faith effort to even get these papers started. I am proud of my ability to soak up the skills needed to do the job I have been doing for the past year. Almost everything that I do everyday are things I knew nothing about even this time last year after I had just started the job. Now I just have to translate those skills into publications (or a new job).
I wish I was more supportive and present for my husband. He's been having a hard time dealing with the war and all of its repercussions, and I've been more dismissive about it than I should have. I hope I still can find a way to get better at it without getting burnt out.
I am really proud that I realised we needed to move in February. By March we knew which home we wanted and we move in a few days -inconvenient for the High Holidays, but a beautiful new beginning for the start of the new year. We are first time home owners which really is a blessing. While we sacrificed and worked hard, there are people who sacrifice more and work harder and never get to this point. A blessing that we do not take for granted.
Differently... probably not. I am proud of the steps I have taken forward in my work life, relationship, and home. I am in a good place in every aspect... it obviously always looks much better on paper than in reality, but I know I am very grateful for the life I have created.
I am proud that I kept Mum out of hospitals and nursings homes for so long. I thought after her last fall she did need to go to hospital to be checked out but if she gone to hospital every time she fell over many years her life would have been much mire miserable. Every time she fell over the years I just went out and picked her up (after assessing how I thought she was).
I wish I had been kinder to people who didn’t meet my expectations
Well. I mean. Drastically changing my life. Taking a chance. Allowing myself to take risks and go out on a limb. I think being hospitalized in December and the health issues that persist from that really affected me in a big way. Probably should have been my answer to question 1 if I'm honest. I kinda realized in a larger way that you really only get one life, and only so much time in that life that you can really do stuff in. Now that I pretty much know I'm not going to have kids, I'm taking more time for myself and worrying less and accepting that my life is and always has been unconventional. I hope this isn't a massive mistake, but even if it is, it's one I made in good faith, and hopefully I'll be even more ready for the next one.
I don't regret mourning my husband. I don't regret moving on with my life.
Again, I am proud of the writing progress I have made, as well as the completion of my latest publication regarding American religious responses to pandemic, this one an introductory essay for the "Collecting These Times" project documenting American Jewish life during the Covid-19 pandemic, created by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.
I am proud of my decision to spend the remainder of my time until retirement working for my union. I have struggled in my job for years, unable to make a significant contribution. I feel that working now to secure a strong contract protecting and extending state workers’ rights, ensuring adequate compensation, and preventing the erosion of our treatment as professionals is a great opportunity to create the kind of legacy I’ve been denied.
My weight is up a little and my knee hurts so that makes exercise hard to do. Darn. I have not found the magic bullet to shedding what should be at least 15 lb. and maybe more. I am proud of being a darned good husband and grandpa - another granddaughter just showed up a few weeks ago. Also, we are probably going to be able to have a financially stable retirement at least in the reasonable long term.
Yes. Completed Cert 4 in Ministry and Theology at Bible College as we were unable to travel due to Covid. I then compoCert 3/4 to become a qualified PT. I was given an award for being an Energizer on the course which is someone who brings positive energy to the group. I also organised the GC8 to the GC as the first of many trips
I wish I had gotten more daily exercise and mindfulness practice. I'm proud of my growth as a speech therapy clinician, and how I'm improving with bouldering/rock climbing (started in May and climbing V2s now)
I wish I would have been better at maintaining my home & keeping it organized and clean. I’ve let clutter overtake so many aspects of my life. I’m especially proud though that I keep speaking up at work for what I want and am not scared to try for other opportunities when I’m not fulfilled.
I'm think I am re-learning how to take care of myself. My self-care was pretty well obliterated by the combo of having kids and working full time, and I had my first kid 8 years ago. My second is now 5, and she had seriously medical complications since infancy. Just when things started to stabilize a little, the pandemic hit. But sometimes, it's the tough moments that teach you. In the depths of pandemic winter #1, I started getting up early to write for ten minutes, just to have time for myself and to hear my own voice before I had to take care of everyone else's needs. A year on from that and I'm establishing a morning routine that is still flexible, but usually involves some type of meditation or going outside or yoga and morning coffee and a little writing. The time is so precious to me. Sometimes I still wake up and roll over and loose 45 minutes to my phone, but I'm choosing against that more and more often and I feel really proud that I'm finding a little more balance.
I am proud that I was able to bike-pack the Greenbriar River Trail in WV completely from one end to the other and back. With side excursions in towns I covered 160 miles in 5 days in good style, my camp food and lunches out were great, it was beautiful, and I caught some fish including a nice rainbow trout that I enjoyed with dinner one night.
I wish I'd done everything differently this year. Instead of decluttering my life I'm getting closer to burying myself in it. I've become more isolated - I just refuse to go out and do things I enjoy. I don't exercise or get rid of things, and have even gotten more - much that I don't really need! All the people that I've meant to visit - and haven't. Even haven't called! Thank goodness for my friends not giving up on me, and so many kindnesses!
I wish I had handled the Emma situation differently, even though I did the best I could at the time and I was overwhelmed . I wish I was softer, more kind, could be in conversation proudly and stand in my strength even if it was uncomfortable. It’s not my job to attack one’s character or life choices. I’m proud of moving out into my own place, being an amazing dog mummy to Bailey, leaving places or relationships or jobs that aren’t beneficial for my health and growth, starting my cleaning business to support myself and making my goal of going to the US actually happen.
Especially proud I am exploring a new recovery fellowship this year. Again building on some good foundation, again feels like a solid next step. :)
Our Century Ride, you and me together.
I wish I had filled in the forms that were and are sitting on my in-tray
I wish I’d get off my phone and live more. Less surfing , social media or games. I wish I’d studied more to better myself like learn a language or an instrument. I’m proud of how well I do at work. My job is very challenging yet I meet that challenge and know my stuff well and perform well even with all of the changes and difficulties
I wish I had not been so covid crazy. It's hard to judge myself looking back because at the time I was scared, but I feel it literally took years off my life and impacted my sanity. Something I'm proud of - the way I birthed Adar. The whole week leading up that I was in the hospital and the way I trusted my body.
I'm proud that I made it through this year. It seems like the bare minimum but just continuing forward movement was so hard after Papa died, and again after Grandpa died. I wish I had fought harder to see Papa. By the time I told my parents how upset I was that I kept getting shut down, it was too late. Although, on the other hand, I was able to communicate that when Grandpa died and they told me with plenty of warning and I was able to get to Maryland and spend time with him before he passed.
What I am proud of and what I wish I did differently are intermingled this year. I accelerated the retirement from arts administration at Northwind with encouragement (ie some kindly pressure) from Joe's palliative care nurse. He is getting sicker and time together is precious. So I did it, and I managed the initial transition etc well. But I left just before the new web platform launched, which made things hard for all, and now the new program Director imploded and resigned, and the Assistant too. I am back training new folks and fixing the chaos on the site. If I had delayed departure for 2-3 weeks the mayhem would not have been so drastic. But I don't regret it. And I don't feel too burdened stepping back to help out a bit.
I wish I had done better in my first year of law school, but I am SO DAMN PROUD I made it to the second year. Holy shit I did not think that was possible. And now that I'm solidly in year 2, I'm again terrified that I'm not going to cut it to the next semester. Or through 3L. Or through the bar. But all I can do is go day by day and hope I improve bit by bit. Just keep going bitch!
I wish I had gone camping with my son more. I am always looking for ways to spend more quality time with him and before I know it months have passed and we haven't had any adventures or spent enough time away from the usual routine.
I wish we had somehow managed to avoid my husband getting COVID in April, though we don't know exactly where he got it from. But I'm pleased he kept it to himself, we got through it (wholeheartedly do NOT recommend being a solo caregiver in the depths of first trimeter nausea BTW), and he is fully recovered. What a freaking collective isolating trauma experience that so many folks have had in the last year or two - one family member suddenly isolating for 10+ days while the others live in uncertainty, hoping they aren't next. It didn't have to be this way. That said, I'm pleased with the "middle road" we have been walking, balancing sensible COVID precautions and living our lives. It is exhausting and often counter-cultural and rarely easy or fun. But our closest family and friends are largely on board, which I am immensely thankful for. We got to go on some good family trips again, finally, I got to play in a couple orchestra concerts, attending church in person is back on the table, our kid got to participate in more activities again, etc., and despite broad pandemic mismanagement in our nation and world, we have managed to make the best of it. I acknowledge that lots of this is luck. But I will take it.
I’m proud of myself for being strong over the last few weeks while being on partial bed rest in the hospital. I’m back home now, but my baby girl is still in the NICU and will be for a while. It will be hard over the next few weeks but I know we will get through it.
I wish I'd had more faith in myself. I let the opinions and actions of others affect me too much, and worried about things I really didn't need to spend so much time dwelling on.
I am proud of how I have taken many trips since the world has opened up again since COVID has become more manageable. I traveled to Florida, the Bahamas, San Diego, and Tanzania. I hope to continue to expand this part of my life.
I’ll reverse the order in my answer. I’m really proud that I managed to buy my first home this year. I wish that I bought it at least 6 months earlier when the mortgage rates were lower.
Yes I wish I had not stayed in Australia on my own and had gone back to the UK to be with my parents for the pandemic! Also proud of myself for surviving!!
The Greene County Record took the Sweepstakes award for best small weekly newspaper in the state, and I won several more first-place awards after taking over as editor in January (my boss quit in November). After six months running the paper solo, I decided to prioritize my own mental health by quitting, and I'm now working at the new coffee shop across the street. Even though in some respects this seems like a step backwards, I am enjoying prioritizing myself and my family and not killing myself for work (especially not for a job that pays so little and would not give me any help for so long). Still need to figure out how I'm going to manage maternity leave with no benefits and what I'm going to do after that, but I can hardly believe I'm already in my third trimester o_0
I am proud of how I am demonstrating my Jewish heritage with those I meet, in my class, and in other interactions.
I wish I had never decided to skate on rusty ice skates which led to me falling and breaking my elbow. I should have just rented skates from the rink. That was an unexpected and inconvenient ordeal with terrible timing, as I was also going through all the medical tests and preparing for surgery at the same time. I am really proud of myself for making it through surgery and recovery. It was not easy. There were good days and bad days. But the body is an amazing thing in its ability to heal.
I am proud of my own acting work. While Scapino! was great fun, I had a solo song and did well as "Chuck" in Grumpy Old Men. Really, though, just before Rosh Hashannah, we completed our run of "A Little Piece of Heaven," a charming play in which I had the lead, opposite Kate, who played the IRS agent in "Grumpy." We worked hard, had great chemistry, and the end result was powerful performances! I still regret my lack of progress with communication and intimacy with Karen, however.
Again, I look back at my year and see nothing that I wish I had done differently. This year, I am proud to say that I am keeping to my commitment to stay away from either judging or in a codependent way helping Dan to make decisions.
I’m proud of how much I’ve explored my identity as an introvert this year and how much I’ve started to share about my experiences as a shy introvert. I put my Jewish conversion on pause to handle on kinds of life events and I’m back to it now. I’m proud of how I’m now exploring my identity as a shy Jewish person and how much richer my life feels as a result.
So much changed from last year to this one! I ended my relationship with David, I sold my place and I changed jobs. I definitely don't recommend making all three changes within the same month, since you'll be dealing with the repercussions of those choices for awhile later, but each of those things needed to happen and I'm glad they did. I wish I had spent more time practicing fueling with different solid options in my race training, given how challenging it was to race a few Sundays ago at my first 70.3, but I'm extremely proud that I finished it and did really well in 2/3 of the sport! In any case, it gives me something to improve upon for next time, although I don't think I'll make a habit out of long distance racing. I'm proud that I had a triumphant return to triathlon racing after being injured for the last 3 years with my torn Achilles. I had to relearn running and it's STILL a challenge, but to have truly enjoyed both my Olympic distance and half IM races this season and had super strong open water swim events all summer, feeling really positive about competing in sport is something that I reflect on with pride because I had to overcome physical and mental barriers. I've loved working in my new job this past year, to the point where I don't want to return to my home position and I'm scrambling to find something that will allow me to stay in this great space, professionally.
Managed a relationship better
I'm really proud of the time and focus I have put into my writing this year.
This was a year of simply putting one foot in front of another. I am neither proud of what I've done nor do I wish I done things differently. These past years have been very difficult and so simply going forward is sufficient. Which isn't to say that next year won't be more expansive--I expect it to be. But that is the year to come.
I could wish that I worked more consistently at my job. "Consistently" meaning actually working at least 30 hours/week, preferably the fully-concentrated 40 I'm used to. The 25ish hours I've been averaging has been accompanied by shame. And fear. and shame, and fear, and on and on. I enjoy working, and I enjoy what I do, and it's part of who I am. The health of my mental state was so poor this year - acupuncture for childhood trauma, breakup with Michael, fear/terror of the new job, pandemic exhaustion. It all had fairly equal and very large parts. Added together, they were more than I could handle. And. I know that if I could have done better, I would have. It's that simple. I'm proud I survived this year. And that I'm resilient. And that I'm still here.
I started the year wanting to hire someone for my business I started the process but then got scared and backed off. It took me nine months to restarts and then very quickly I found someone to hire and I am currently growing my business. On the one hand I think it was important to wait till I was really ready but on the other I wish that I would have continued growing earlier in the year.
Jeff and I agreed when COVID appeared to be here for good that I would revamp part of my business model. I have been doing Career Coaching for 3+ years now and charge $700 for 3 one-hour sessions plus access to me until they find a job. With COVID, I heard from a lot of people who were doubting their jobs and what makes them happy or fulfilled. Finding meaning became much more valuable. So, I had my first clients make donations to FeedTheFridge instead of paying me. After one year we thought we'd stop but my recruiting business picked up so we continued with the donations. I expanded who we supported to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Bail Bonds, Youth Mental Health Project, 1% for the Planet, DASH DC, and Ukraine was added when war broke. Now, I figure out what matters to the person I'm working with and we agree together on the charity of choice. It makes me feel good to know we are giving back and someone is learning how to manage their career better. To date, we have raised and donated 35K+.
That is a difficult question. I am sure there are things I could have done differently, but then I wouldn’t be in the place where I am right now. Proud of anything particular? I don’t know, I am not one to brag about things I did. I am grateful for my chosen family and the way we all get along and are able to share things with each other. I am grateful for my friends and community members, and very grateful to my teachers, especially Rabbi Ruz Gulko who is blowing my mind an a weekly basis.
My immediate thought is "there are many things I wish I had done differently", however, when I try to narrow down to specifics, it's hard to think of an example. Reading my answer from last year is helpful, as I feel that I need to continue to work on making space between my initial thought about an event and my response/action. I also always feel that I could be kinder in my tone/words with my family members (and sometimes work people too). I think that is an overarching goal that seems to have daily potential (i.e. there are many small events that I could react better to) rather than 1 large event that I can point to where I wish I showed up differently.
I am especially proud of three things this year: 1. The vigor and thought with which I’ve taken on this new job 2. The courage with which I’ve pursued a slew return to “normal” life 3. My ability to manage my well-being and make on-going adjustments to find what works for me Jobs for me have generally been about following - following a leader, a set protocol, doing what I’m told, etc. This one I knew would be different - it would be about creating out of nothing. It would mean not just being thoughtful in every step, planning well, but being motivated to take every stop possible quickly. And I’ve been doing it. My resolve to take charge and use every bit of leadership I have in me, has changed my life also. I’ve been able to take steps I never would have had the motivation to take and try things that once seemed not possible Two of those things are the steps I’m taking to return to normal life and the actions I take daily to focus on self-care. Self-care, not in the media sense, but in the eat well, exercise regularly, get sleep, drink water and overall pay attention to your body sense. And it’s working. I don’t know if I am thinner or better looking, but I feel better. My aches and pains are reducing. I am more able to do what I enjoy and more confident overall. I am in better control of my emotions and my self. It’s work, but it’s worth every bit of it.
Whenever I think about what I wish I had done differently is rarely the decisions I made, or the actions I took, but rather the lack of ability to enjoy the moment. Constantly solving puzzles, fighting fires, and taking deep breaths to avoid worrying about the future, I find it hard to simply experience what I have in the present.
I wish I would have been more proactive with my mental health. I know that the pandemic has exacerbated my anxiety and ADHD (or at least made it more noticeable) but I am still too scared to see someone about it.
I rocked radiation. I am so tired of feeling my life is about cancer. But when the diagnosis popped up, I took it on the chin and powered through the treatment. Chatted happily with the other women who were scheduled around the same time as me.
I am proud of how much I’ve been able to balance this year, but on the flip side I wish I’d been a bit more focused on defining my priorities and making extra time for them.
Are you an aging introvert? Me, too! It requires something of a self-shove, but at our age, a new friend is a new adventure, and you can do it sitting down. This year my childhood friend Diane passed away - not a great surprise but sad and sobering. We met the first day of Grade 4 and, though we’ve mostly lived far apart, we always kept in touch. Now I’m the only one who remembers the lyrics we composed to honor the cutest boy in middle school home room. And how we were on our knees laughing in my mother’s kitchen making vichyssoise while squeezing the excess water from our of grated potatoes. But this past year, not only did I keep up with my London penpal, who like me loves home sewing, reading and gardening. I made a new friend who explores museum exhibits and Asian lunch spots with me. Each friend’s world is different from mine, with lots to discover.
I think the thing I wish I had done differently this past year was do would be put a little more money into savings. Yes, I am especially proud of the home improvement/remodeling projects I have completed this year. Especially the new flooring in large open area upstairs. Finally a carpet free home.
The perennial thing I wish I did differently is be a bit calmer in the face of frustration. When under time pressure, or facing aggravation from my kids, or perceived slights from my husband I can be short or raise my voice when I don't really want to. I can do better.
There are always things I wish I'd done differently but I'm incredibly proud of moving to France and quitting my job. I guess not the quitting, but the idea of taking a big chance to do something different when you are 15 years into a gig was not without its questions!
I wish I had better control over how I expressed my emotions this year. I haven’t been proud of the way I’ve been so reactive and sometimes controlling.
I have stuck it out with ballet for an entire year. This is huge for me - one, it's way out of my comfort zone and two, I'm actually going to perform at the end of October. Me! I never imagined it.
I wish we had saved more money. We have been trying to build up our savings.
I wish I had worked less, or more gainfully, and spent more time with our dog. It's hard to know if that would have improved her health any. Bodies just fail sometimes. But I trusted the vet we went to, and they never felt honest with me about what was happening. Our new dog is at a different vet, I feel better about her care there.
Several things have given me pride this year - I've submitted a photo every week to 52 Frames; I met the 50,000 word goal for National Novel Writing Month and I got a new sewing machine and made a new, simple wardrobe WITH POCKETS in all skirts!
I wouldn't say proud, but I'm pretty amazed that I have been able to keep my house in good repair through the pandemic, make the yard look nicer, continue gym classes on Zoom, keep spirits up by doing small special things, stay out of covid's way. I do feel proud, now that I think about it, that the bird population in my neighborhood has increased and I think I had something to do with that, by providing fresh water, seed, shelter, bird baths, and planting new plants for them to them to perch in and eat berries.
Listen to my partner more/noticed something wasn’t right. Wish I was able to find a fix before it becoming the end of our relationship
I wish I had spent more time with my dog Frankie before she passed and I wish I started living a healthy life style earlier in the year. I’m proud of myself for putting up boundaries in my relationships and making the efforts to truly love myself.
I wish I would have set a better schedule for myself during the pandemic and been a little more productive to set me up for success now. Even though we are back in the office two days a week, the days I am at home are getting harder and harder because I don't really care about the work. I wish I would have set my days up for productivity so I wouldn't feel so tired and annoyed laying on the couch (like now). A routine that involves exercise, being creative, marking things off a list would make me feel better but it is so hard to get into the swing of things now. I'm proud of what I've sold on Etsy! I have really enjoyed making things, packaging them, and sending them out! I hope to do more of that in the future too!
Proud of and yet would do different: Be more proactive on the remodeling project, asking questions, requiring timelines and deadlines. Home remodeling isn't at all like on HGTV. Nor is each project the same for everyone.
Nothing comes to mind that I wish I had done differently. My daily prayer is that my words, thoughts, and actions reflect being a Jesus follower. I am not proud but grateful for the peace of God which passes understanding - through great personal pain, in a divided broken world. I pray I have contributed to relief of that pain.
Well I am proud that my daughter was able to do all that she did in order to complete her AA and be accepted to all the universities she was accepted to.
I took the steps to prepare for the coming transition. This was hard and forward-looking, but necessary. Without that, it wouldn’t happen. Not big on regrets, so no wishes to have done differently
As I have vowed, almost annually, I wish that I had taken / made more time for self-care: for more regular exercise, more meditation, more reflective writing, and even some time for play. I'm disappointed that I have done so little reading and learning this past year. In contrast, I feel that I have been much more aware of feeling gratitude, on a daily basis, for the many things that fill my life with meaning: Marcy, the kids, for Lev and the gift of being a grandfather, for all of our safety and good health, and for the many daily blessings of sufficient food, freedom to come and go, my work and the opportunity to be of help to others
I am proud of the parenting's effect on my relationship with my son who has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. My learning to understand how reactive he is and that he has no control in the moment has allowed us to be close enough that he reaches out when he is in trouble.
Just got through it. I'm worn out. I did my best. Maybe I helped someone, somehow. Not proud. Just resigned.
I am proud that I completed my conversion and became officially Jewish
I wish I had committed myself more to working out and running. I try my best but want to attempt to stick to a routine better.
I’m proud of myself for setting boundaries, however imperfectly. And even at the cost of a couple of friendships that weren’t serving me. I’m proud of myself for throwing a fun birthday party at Artini’s and getting Dad to come join us and paint his first painting. And setting boundaries around who to invite.
I wish this year had gone differently, but I don’t think there is much I could have DONE differently within it. I prioritised myself and my health, I stepped back from the world while I felt so unwell I couldn’t function, I put energy into the things which matter to me, and did not waste energy on the things that don’t. I am having a year of healing my mind and resolving long ignored trauma, I am also rediscovering who I am and what’s important to me, and being physically unwell at the same time as being on that journey has really sharpened my priorities. I am proud that I am learning to put myself first.
This past year, I wish I had taken more time to develop my hobbies and interests outside of reading. I often feel like I want to lead a more adventurous life (or just a more active one). It was nice when I was beginning to play tennis. But, then my knees started to hurt too much and I had to stop. I often tell myself it's too much of a hassle to have to be consistent with routines. I think routines could be nice though. I want to have a life where I do things regularly for myself.
I wish I’d been more comfortable being in the world, including going in to work. I realize how vital it is for me to interact with people and I think I could have moved on more quickly and completely if only I’d been engaging with people. In that same vein I wish I’d pushed people to come into work. I need to be WITH my colleagues in order to do my own best work, and to enjoy it.
I didn't start therapy for myself but I did put Ben back in therapy. His new therapist name is Yasmin😂that just tickled me(for obvious regions)!! I have also continued to open up more to my SO, friends and such which I believe has helped me tremendously.
I am pleased with how well I worked with each of my THREE surgeries since December 31, 2022 (both cataracts and gallbladder removal) as well as PT for my arms and back all last fall and winter. Successes all around! Great practitioners and help from medical teams and my family and friends. Very grateful.
I'm proud that I kept moving through cancer treatment. Daily walks, strength training when I could do it, and even riding our indoor bike gave me more confidence in my body and helped my my mental state.
¡An emphatic yes! Momentarily overcome by civic spirit, I joined a committee advising our HOA board of directors. Not something I’m even remotely suited to-either in skills or personality. I’ll see it through for a year and then resign. Six months to go.
I am proud of the work I have been doing to promote women authors in New Orleans. I got elected this year to be president of the Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans, and this has been a real blessing, because I get to have some of the most interesting conversations in the South. The 10Q community up North surely hears a lot about the non-progressive South, the racist and sexist South. That’s real. Right next to that South is the progressive South, and it’s vibrant, full of life, and it has in it some of the best writers in American history. The unsung ones are usually women. I am creating a forum for those women, the new South writers, who are definitely NOT doing what Margret Mitchell did in GONE WITH THE WIND. I am creating a forum for scholars to discuss important issues that move us forward, that reclaim herstory. I am holding these events on the radio, in historic mansions and elsewhere. Because this is New Orleans, this is also at every turn an occasion for a party. We drink wine together and hold the kind of conversations that one hopes for at a New York cocktail party filled with intellectuals and writers. Hospitality is Southern, and adding the gathering of progressive thinkers to it is positively tonic. This feels like a great mission to me. I an enriched by all the brave experiments of these writers, of all the cogent analysis of these scholars, and I am positively tipsy from all the brilliant words swirling around me.
I'm especially proud of finding a podcasting full time job. But I also wish I'd negotiated my terms better, and realized sooner it's time to look elsewhere.
I could be regretful but instead I’m going to look at what I have been working on. And for me, that’s boundaries. I’m finally learning to use my voice and to say no. It’s hard and scary but I’m proud of the times I stood up for me.
Is there something I wish I’d done differently? Frankly, I have zero capacity for regrets. So no. Is there something I’m especially proud of? Yep. And it’s as simple as this: I managed to survive. I managed to move myself to Mexico so I didn’t have to keep living in my car in Colorado. I’m so incredibly sick that I can barely move most days. I’m proud that I’m still here. Breathing out, breathing in.
Stuck to my physical fitness plan. Yet, the reason for gaining another 6 lbs seems fair. April 11 I talked to Lois and she sounded horrible. I flew down the next day. On April 12, we put her on hospice to get her more O2, which prompted an incredible rebound. Being able to breathe makes a world of difference. On April 14 we went out to lunch with Mitch and Linda. That was the last time she left the house. The next three months were filled with trips to ABQ by me, Jeff, Steve, and Kevin. Kevin did yeoman's work! He was the star. Together, we did good keeping her at home. We shared some laughs. We shared some tears. We did the best we could. Not sure what I'd change...maybe ask her more questions about my mom, Nings, and Dorsey.
Always proud to have kept my weight off another year; in fact, I even lost a few more pounds (thanks to dental surgery!). The only thing I continue to improve on is patience with Phil as he ages. Have to work harder at that. Sometimes I have a horrible tone of voice.
I'm proud at the amount I'm managing to read. I started reading more at the beginning of 2021 and the habit has stuck. Listening to audiobooks and having an Audible subscription really helps. When I was revising for my English Finals in 2004, I started keeping a list of books I wanted to read after Finals. I had read a handful of these, but this year I've started to work my way through it. If I don't finish it this year, I should be able to finish it next year. I'm more than halfway through it. There are 38 items on the list and I've got 15 left, but some of these are multiple books by the same author, so it's really 17 out of 45 left. It will feel great to get through it, finally (it's only taken 20 years!). Although there's one book on it that I'm not sure is socially acceptable to read. Fran has certainly expressed her concerns about it: "Main Kampf" by Adolf Hitler. I've managed to find a free download of it online. There's an awkward dilemma for publishers about what to do with the money from sales of the book and I suppose it's not widely available to buy. There's a part of me that still wants to read it. I don't think it will convert me to Nazism or to sympathize more with Hitler. I'm just curious to see what it's actually like. I've read that it's a tough read and not very well written. Maybe that will the symbolic, unread book on my list. When I finish that list, the next task will be to read through the backlog of books I'm looking at now on the shelf in my study. These are usually birthday and Christmas presents; plus the unread books on my Kindle. I feel a bit bad that people have thought I'd like a book and then I haven't even read it. I always want people to read the books I give them straight away. There are unhad conversations. Will that pile ever diminish? The next thing after that would be the virtual shelf of books I want to read on Goodreads. It's wonderful that there will always be more books that I want to read. But I am a completist, so it's also nice to work my way through some of these lists. It's very satisfying and motivating, seeing these books stack up. In 2021, I read 62 books. This year, I set a target of 52 (one book a week), and I've already read 50 with 3 more in progress. I've got a secret target of wanting to read more than I did last year. We'll see how I get on with that. I do seem to slow down in the autumn due to the NFL season with more late nights and more podcasts to listen to instead of audiobooks. What do I wish I had done differently? There's always a part of me that feels guilty for not doing more work. I'm still earning enough as a freelance to pay my way, but my projects do take longer than they need to. I'm not always (I'm usually not) motivated to work full days. I'm lucky if I can do 4 hours. But then I'm also very lucky that I don't have to work full-time. When I fill in online forms, I've been putting that I'm self-employed and work part-time because I really can't call what I'm doing full-time work. What else am I proud of? Reading back through last year's answers, we've done a lot of stuff to the house that I said we'd wanted to achieve: put up pictures; built shelves in the rainwater harvesting cupboard; the garage and garden shed shelves have survived a winter without going mouldy, so all that painting I did last summer was not in vain! I've sorted out the cables on my study desk and on Fran's, so that they're all neatly organized and tucked away. Fran's study is also a lot more organized and less cluttered than it was. We've also got a lot more house plants and we're taking better care of them. We have put the house to rights. We call it Project Nice. I'm also proud that I've lost a bit of weight again. The healthcare assistant mentioned I might want to try the 5:2 fast diet (intermittent fasting) when I went for my annual check-up in June. I lost a good bit of weight doing the 12-week NHS weight loss plan back in 2020, but I slowly put it back on again by relaxing my eating habits. I've lost 5.8kg in three months by fasting two days a week. I started doing Mondays and Thursdays; now I'm doing Tuesdays and Thursdays. On those fast days, I only eat 600 calories. It tends to be more manageable if I skip breakfast and then have lunch after midday. It's not as hard as I thought it might be. I want to see how far I can go before my weight hits a natural plateau. Somewhere around 80-85kg would be good. I'm currently 91.8kg. If I hit that target weight, I can go down to one fast day a week to maintain it long-term.
My answer regarding what I could have done differently will probably always be the same - could have been more efficient with work or house-related stuff or worked out more, but I feel that I've gotten to a better and more balanced place with all of that. I am proud of the fact that 1) I had the courage to accept my role in the lack of communication and connection in my marriage, and 2) I initiated some new musical partnerships, which is something that I put off for several years. That has led to me nurturing my creative side more regularly and helped me be a more whole person.
I've never before had the need to be my sole emotional/psychological support through a traumatic situation, and I am proud that I am making it through. But I wish I had not had to. The situation is something I wish I had initially responded to differently. Instead of capitulating to the bullies, instead of thinking I was a failure for not staying strong, instead of resigning and relinquishing my commitments, I wish I had faced my persecutors with love and grace. I am proud to have regained my love and grace - the strength will return.
I started a programme to help my business and took a huge risk financially. So far it hasn't paid off, although I'm proud of what I have achieved in it and that I'm still moving forward.
It's been a challenging year but I'm getting better at finding more positives. I got married - that has to be a proud moment!
So proud of my work. So proud.
I wish I had been a more decent person to those closest to me at times. Im proud of leaving a doctorate that brought me down, made me miserable and gave me no hope for the future. It cured much of my misery.
When I look at last year's answer, I see nothing NOTHING has changed except I'm a year older. I need space to create change, the daily grind is crushing my spirit and enthusiasm. The work we're doing is ok but I need to work towards a better future.
I wish had done some activities with Mindy differently. I wish I had followed up faster with next steps for my ADU and hired an architect to proceed. I wish that I'd handled my time and comminications with Robin differently. I regret losing my temper with Jill. The successes and efforts of my children in the past year have made me feel proud. The successsful repair of the new hot tub and it's installation is an accomplishment of mine I am proud of.
There are a few key decisions from this past year that I regret: taking a job at Doma after a frantic job search instead of being more deliberate / intentional about what I wanted to do after PointPredictive, holding onto all my Doma options (and not paying taxes immediately) until they weren't worth anything, etc. More broadly, I think I'm questioning all my decisions after the RapportBoost.AI mess and I don't have confidence in my ability to make any life decisions. My hope is that slowing down, taking time off, and working on myself will allow me to do better there. On the plus side, I'm proud of my ability to stick in a role that I knew wasn't going to land me where I wanted and also in the fact that I've built up a nice side hustle as a speaker, that I'm hoping I can turn into something even more consistent and lucrative.
I am especially proud of myself. I am a trans woman who tries to live her life to the fullest and to accept failures as part of the growing process. I am fighting every day to be the best version of myself there can be. I am trying really hard to accept that there are things beyond my controll and to focus on the things which I can change.
Proud - taking steps to get unstuck. Wish - sooner, less catastrophizing, less fear.
I am proud of the new gallery representation that I was brave enough to ask about on a hot summer day. It has been a real change of attitude for me.
I've moved forward, slowly but surely. I regret not being able to do more outdoor work. But I'm proud that I've kept moving, and that my relationship with Randy is going so well.
The question helped me see that I do NOT have regrets about how I spent this past year! I am HERE in Right Now, and everyday of the past year added to the journey to get here. I'm grateful for my life and choices, even the things I want to improve on. It's a wonderful life, this.
1) My biggest setback last year was a big fall while skiing in March of 2022. I've been trying to rehab my shoulder and hip ever since and it has taken a lot of time for little progress. I wish I had signed up for lessons at the beginning of the season. Perhaps I would not have fallen if I had. Is there a lesson to learn there? That it is wise to invest in myself perhaps. If I were to take that lesson forward, perhaps I would move more quickly to buy myself a new car before I get in a life-changing accident. Perhaps I would work faster to get the medical work done that I am pretty sure I need. 2) I wish I could create a safer environment for William around Ilan. I wish I could better model firm boundaries for Ilan and make sure that he does not abuse his brother anymore. 3) I am particularly proud that I chose to focus on building my strength and healing my body, and I followed through. I kept up with Aikido twice a week and Paul Ciske's class twice a week. Both have helped me gain strength and reduce injury.
I’m proud of myself for quitting my Bar Method job, and for joining The Rounds. I wish I had spent more time investing in my work relationships on a social level, but I also recognize that I was burnt out and tired.
Yes. Yes.
I’m especially proud of the work I’ve done to grow mind body skills in the school district where I work.
I wish I hadn’t kept putting off the easy things or the things I KNEW would make me feel better. Such as: 10K steps a day, eat or don’t eat one thing better, move every day. Outside of helping keep this weight off, it would have also put me in a better place mentally. Not really proud of anything in 2022.
I wish I had been more patient. With everyone. Myself included.
i wish i hadn’t “exaggerated” when in fact i hadn’t gone to a behaviorist and i said i did. this poor choice led me to seek therapy once again after many years.
I wish I had taken more time away from the quotidian. Taken more vacations, trusted that the work would be there when I got back. Reached out to my friends more and not let exhaustion and social anxiety limit me so much.
Yes, I wish I would’ve done a lot of things differently. I wish I would’ve held my mother a lot tighter. I wish I would’ve been present and so many more moments and she will no longer be with me. I wish I would quit looking forward so I can pay attention to what’s going on in the current and watch the pass disappeared.
i wish i had worked less but pandemic times called for digging deep. now, i want to wrap up some things and settle into a new normal with better work/life balance and attention to my spiritual self
Not really proud of myself this year. I wish that I handled my emotions better this year. I wish that I had tried harder to be closer to my kids, especially to Kathryn, who will be married to John soon.
I am proud of continuing exercising and writing down what I eat - working on my health through programs, mainly free, and FINAG, Fitness Is Not a Game, paid for. I wish I had done more.
I wish I had been able to grieve properly in front of my mum. I spent the first three months squashing some part of it down because I was living with her, and I have felt more and more distant from being allowed to grieve because time slipped away. I wish I had attended the kaddish minyan more regularly, especially early on. I am very proud of having leyned Torah for my first aliyah.
I’m proud of my taking a lead on the remodeling of the Sea Cove house. I wish that I had more courage to be ME. Open and direct and sincere about what I really want, and who I really am.
My answer to the first part of this question is ALWAYS, no. Even if I had done that "thing," differently - it was a part of my journey to choose the way I did do it. There are no right or wrong decisions - they all lead us to the road we needed in order to grow, for better or worse. It always reminds me of the movie "Sliding Doors," with Gweneth Paltrow. Are there things that I chose to do that perhaps weren't the most optimal choices I could have made in the past year - absolutely. Were there things that I chose to do that were spot on the right choice - absolutely. So...to this I will say - what I wish I would have done differently, I'm glad I didn't so I could get the FULL lesson I needed to learn - should I have done it differently. :) So...when I'm wherever I'll be in the future and I look back - I won't say...hmmmm, I wonder what could have been or would have been if I'd only done XYZ. Well...I did XYZ so now I know. Hahaha! The ONE thing I am ESPECIALLY proud of that I did do was stick to my guns on not going back to some random place of employment just out of desperation. I stayed the course - working towards my dream. And, as I always say, "my steps are guided, and it's all for my learning and journey here on earth." Oh, and I'm especially proud of ME!
I'm proud of the way I was able to shift my attitude towards winter this past year. I dreaded winter somewhat in my first two years of college due to the long, cold, gray nature of the season and the associated seasonal affective disorder. However, this year I was more able to find joy and ways to have fun in the winter, and I was less bothered by the season. Additionally, I'm proud of the fact that I rented my first apartment this summer. I moved to a city I'd never been to before and spent three months living and working there, about half of which was on my own. It was very empowering to know that I could handle living and working by myself like this.
I wish I had been able to resolve issues with my son in a more satisfactory way. I had to separate myself from him because his wife was pressuring him to reject me. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever done and I hope it’s not permanent. I love him and Damian so much. I miss them tremendously.
I wish I had done more during my first semester of grad school. I feel like I didn't work as hard as I could have. I'm very proud of myself for continuing to find my own sense of self-worth, continuing to do the hard work through EMDR therapy and continuing to advocate for myself in my relationships.
No. Any nothing to be proud or ashamed of. Each of us do what we know and can do under the circumstances and our personal maturity so I don't see the point in regret. Neither do I see any point in pride. It is what it is
When my husband died I told myself I'd give myself a year to focus on grieving and healing, and not b worry too much about my health. After the first year I would get back to work. I had lost 60lbs. I only gained 20 back. And I got back into my workouts when I said I would. I'm proud of myself for giving myself a timeliness and sticking to it. There's nothing I wish I'd done differently.
I wish that I had read more books. I wish I had unpacked all the books that are still in boxes. On the other hand I’m especially proud that I got my CGC. I’m proud that I did as much as I did moving and setting up in a new house and meeting new people. I’m proud that I stayed in Costa Rica after my hamstring got torn when I was tumbled by a wave.
I wish I had managed stress better when dealing with computer problems. I Have the help I need to fix the problems. I just need to reframe them with an attitude of wonder & curiosity over the workings of my computer!
I wish I had focused more on my main priorities -- getting things done, resting, and trying new treatments-- and not wasted time on things that now feel like fluff. Reclamation stuff, therapy stuff, self-reflection stuff -- all seems in retrospect like a waste of time and effort. I have a lot of problems actually prioritizing things, some executive function issues I guess. Proud of -- continuing to grind through. Trying to listen to my body and its needs. Keeping a good attitude. Taking space in the summer for beach and pool time, and going on the beach trip with Jenya. Friends and fam time.
I am glad to have been more forthright, less deferring to what I think people would like to hear. Sad that too often I make my own integrity and commitments to family, self clients and socially to current noise and insistence from clients and third parties.
Not really. I don’t tend to regret things. I focus on learning from things that don’t go well and repairing when that has impacted someone else. In Fellows launch yesterday I chatted with a few students from my spring section of OB374 and was delighted when they talked about how valuable the course had been and how they’d used what they learned at work or in their personal life. I’m proud that I’m part of programs that have such a positive impact on the students and I hope a positive impact on the people in their lives, both personal and professional. I think I am also proud of helping Jessica leave a relationship that was so painful for her and land on her feet. I could have handled it better with Chris, but I truly feel I did the best I could at the time. Proud that I did something hard that I knew would cost me something and did it anyway.
I wish I had made more of an effort to market myself for other job opportunities this year. However, I am proud of all the new things, both professionally and personally, that I learned over the past year to help me grow.
I’m proud of my growth & being more in the moment with my family each day. I’m proud of my perseverance, always, and how it carries me through.
I am proud about stepping up my political involvement. It is easy to just live in fear, but liberating to fight back against anti-democratic forces. I am proud to be standing up for reproductive justice, climate justice and voter protection.
I wish that i had been more prepared for the birthdays of people around me. I think it is just too much work and since I am available to them all daily I am not so sure that birthdays are more special. I like to make people feel good, but I hate shopping. I would rather take care of people all year long.
I wish I had made a stronger effort to lose weight but I I do a lot of volunteering to give back.
I am especially proud that I have been able to take care of my family during Covid - yes wearing masks and eating outdoors -but also, for me, getting not one, not two but four Covid vaccines - a big deal for someone afraid of needles. And we have been able to stay Covid free, so far. During this time, we were also able to resume some of our normal activities - including a trip to Mexico City where we enjoyed museums, parks and dining out. But we did it safely, still wearing masks, still taking pre-cautions. I know we are not out of the woods just yet - last weekend I had to attend my company's gala, and my partner is traveling back to Mexico City - but I know we can do this. Just one masked shopping trip after another!
I wish I could have made a better effort to teach my mom about Judaism, and to not say so many bad things about her on the internet.
I wish I had gotten a house. Some of it was out of my control, but some of it was me starting to look too late and maybe being too picky. Now, I'm 50 years old, I don't have a house at all, and I don't know if I ever will. Of course, I can live in an apartment forever. Lots of people do. I just really wanted a home of my own. Something to call my own. A place where I could have the pets I want and use the paint colors that I like. I'm proud of continuing to take classes, even though I've had to take breaks for my mental health. I'm pleased that my 21 year old is reaching out to talk more often.
This is still my wish - I wish I had enjoyed living. Taken advantage of the at home time and the extra time with my beautiful daughter and family.
I wish I had moved my car before the big storm last spring. I'm proud to be back teaching flamenco and to have finally had the gumption to get out of what was no longer good, even if it wasn't really all my doing. I'm proud to keep on swimming, swimming, swimming and riding my bike more and more to work. And documenting the dawn and sunset skies of Key Biscayne for my twelve Insta friends. I wish I had spent more time with hands on the guitar and less with eyes on the phone.
I feel I have been truer to myself. I am moving forward albeit slowly toward the next phase of my life.
I am very regretful that I did not get a better paying job or that I am not able to qualify during an interview or other decision making process to get a job that meets my goal of 120k per year net plus full benefits less than 20 min away from home doing what I love. I am proud of getting the job I did get but it’s not the distance (1.5 hrs drive home) or pay (53k/yr) before taxes and benefits, that I would prefer. But I have no choice.
Nothing jumps out at me for this one. The closest I can come is to say that I’m proud of how hard I’ve worked in therapy. What does that look like? Hard to describe. I’ve given words to feelings too intense to process. I’ve sat in the space created by my therapist and felt some intensely difficult feelings. About belonging. About being good enough. About belonging. About counting. About all the pains I’ve experienced and did my best to ‘take in my stride’. There is more work to do but I’m so proud of all of the risks and all of the heavy lifting I did this year.
I am proud that we nursed two foster kitties back to health, even if we ultimately had to rehome one because they could not live together. I miss you, Baby.
I always wish I could do more with friends. I feel I run out of time and energy. It’s been difficult to keep up with Joanie since she and Steve moved to McAlester. I am glad I’m learning to play Mahjong and do some volunteering. I’m glad I joined a book club. I’m glad Murray and I visited Howard and Blanca and that I’ve spent time with my mother. I’m glad we have started to keep the grand daughters on the weekends. I am starting to get back into social circles after the isolation of the pandemic.
Last year I wanted to focus on not rising to the occasion when it comes to confrontation. I’ve continued to nurture myself in this direction and let criticism pass through me or past me and not internalize it, i.e. believing that it makes me a ‘bad’ person. I’ve become much less defensive. I’m proud of this continuing work I am doing, even if I slip up from time to time. I don’t have to be perfect, I just have to keep trying. As Rebbe Nachman teaches, Gd will not expect me to be more than I am at any given moment.
I wonder about how certain things could have been different, but I don’t know what I don’t know. I wish I could have seen Nanny one more time before she died. I wish my beloved friend and I could have had more honest and open communication before parting ways. These wishes help me to engage in the present moment with greater awareness of what I may be clinging onto now. Is there something that I am grasping or clinging onto now that I can let go of? It is good to be alive, sober and healthy. I feel esteemed from this past year in my ability to confront fear, anxiety and death. Writing a letter about my college experience and sharing it, venturing out to make new friends and meet people at the local Dharma center, taking a chance on nurturing other friendships, going to a concert by myself. All of these things, I am proud of.
I'm proud that I took the risk to take the new job and move to the new town. I have worked and lived in the same place for so long and it was really scary to let myself consider living and working someplace else, even though I was so done with my old way of life. I wish I would have taken better care of my body this year. Going through such major change in life took its toll on my physical health, and I didn't always give my body what it most needed. I didn't really make space for healthy eating and exercise habits and my whole body feels inflamed as a result of so much stress in my life. I am starting to prioritize my physical health now that I feel so bad, but I wish I hadn't waited till it got to this point.
I don’t think there’s anything I could’ve done much differently this past year. I think as far as being proud of something I’m so glad to be alive! And I’m happy Miah‘s getting married in January. I guess it was really fun when she and I went to see Harry styles last November. She and Seth and I flew to LA and hung out with Leisa. We went to Disneyland and a Harry concert. It was a lot of fun
Slowed down a bit this summer! Unlike last summer, I took a lot of time off. A ten day trip to Utah with my family, followed immediately by my 35th college reunion and then a week as a volunteer with my wife at a campground. Then lots of visits to Lake George and some camping trips. All great stuff, but the time away from home led to stressors with my wife that I wish I had avoided.
I wish that we had organised for solar panels and an air source heat pump to be fitted to our house before the energy crisis hit. We had investigated it but were too slow in taking the plunge. Really regretting this now.
I do believe I could have focused more on my health and state of fitness. Since the rowing machine quit and I was not able to repair, I have not established a routine to replace that routine I am proud of being a source of support for my niece and surrogate daughter.
I rediscovered my enthusiasm for paddling
Proud and pleased I did landmark forum - we Ish I had done better at putting Principles into practice
I wish I had not treated certain clients like friends. I wish I had had more compassion for my partner. I am really proud of how I’m progressing in my career and everything I’m learning. I’m proud I took some chances even if they didn’t work. And I’m proud to feel like I’m on my way and enjoying the journey.
I wish I had been more focused, consistent and disciplined about looking for work. I made efforts in spurts, but didn’t apply myself in the ways that I have in the past to goals I wanted to achieve. I think, in part, this was due to some ambivalence about working and self-doubt about my value and abilities. Excuses/reasons aside, this behavior perpetuated a cycle of starts and stops that effectively de-motivated me from even trying.
I wish I had leaned into my time with my terminally-ill partner more -- made the most of their last months on Earth. I think fear held me back from sharing as much of myself as I could and should have. I will never make that mistake again.
I'm going with proud first, as I have have lost 30 of the 37 COVID pounds I gained. I have started exercising but am not sure this is my forever gym. I wish I'd not avoided yoga since 3/19 but I do have a plan A, B and C to get back; Class, alternative class and on line CEU course.
To have been more present in my life and remembered that the news is written by reporters with their own point of view and that is limited. All stories, which may or may not have anything to do with my story.
I am proud of agreeing to step up to a higher leadership position in the women's organization in which I have been a volunteer for over 20 years. I am not sure if this is going to be the right thing for me but time will tell.
I wish that I had concentrated more on strength training. I am proud that we stuck to our guns and refused the jab.
done differently: drank less wine and watched what I ate more closely. I am proud of learning to build things like the fence, deck and my yard projexct
Something I wish I did differently was taking more time for myself. Especially with the stress of high school, my skin has not been the best, mainly because when I am stressed, I tend to eat everything in sight. Something I am proud of is not lashing out at my teachers when they did not give me the 504 accommodations I needed. This was defiantly difficult mainly because of my ODD which can cause me to be impulsive. I also did not shut down as much which was good since I was able to be more attentive in the classroom.
Nothing different this year. As ever, self-enlightenment and -knowledge has only been growing in recent years. The one thing I’d change goes back to the beginning: never being born. It would have been better for many besides myself.
No regrets. I've been a significant contributor to my newest granddaughter's development and happiness. I am grateful and proud about this.
I wish I'd handled a situation with one of my best friends differently. I'm not by any means solely responsible for what has transpired, but it seems likely that that precious friendship has completely collapsed and I'm devasted by that.
I'm proud of having taken charge of a variety of issues with my family in order to facilitate and make them happen. 1) One of my kids decided to transition, so I helped the process by setting up doctor appointments and taking them to electrolysis 2) I took care of getting my parents' dog euthanized when it became obvious that the dog was dying 3) I took my wife and one of my kids to several physical therapy sessions for injuries that they accidentally sustained 4) I met with two of our kids who wanted advice on where to hold their wedding receptions 5) I began cleaning out my parents' house after they had collected 43 years of what was mostly junk 6) I continued to play at least 20-25 gigs a month
I am proud of myself for prioritizing my health and well-being in the face of chronic illness by withdrawing from a class that was too much for me to handle, stepping down from student organizations and generally not taking on too much. As well as taking important and difficult steps to heal. I’m proud of myself for prioritizing my relationships with other people. I’m proud to have been in a healthy loving relationship for three years.
I wish I had been more patient with my son who has ADHD. I have not always done a good job helping him do what he needs to do and I worry about the impact on his self esteem. I would like to do a better job and meet him where he is instead of holding him to unrealistic expectations.
I'm proud of how much I've 'joined' things and made friends. Moving to a small town with no friends has been tough, but a year ago, I had no friends. Now, I think I've got at least 2-3 friends, plus lots more that I'm friendly with.
I wish I had written that motivational talk that I could be giving now so I'd be further along that path of changing lives through my experience and message. I'm especially proud that I listened to a tug on my heart to reach out to a potential new employer - reaching way outside of my comfort zone. It's worked out really well so far, but hopefully I'd still be proud of that action even if it hadn't worked out as well.
I wish I hadn't second-guessed the value of my offerings enough to give them more consistently.
I'm proud that I'm a different mother than my mother was, when my youngest was required to take a semester off college, and then withdrew, I was able to be supportive and not punitive. They're getting their footing again, and it's nice to see the confidence level increase and hear about how well they are doing in the new school.
I wish I had moved more slowly and intentionally this past year. I am proud that I took days off for the high holidays this year.
Wish I had been more present
I'm really proud of myself for knowing I needed to get help. I'm bummed that it took me this long to know I needed help. Nonetheless, without any support from my family whatsoever, I found a program and then found a better program. The PHP has been life changing and I know that cutting my sister and mother out of my life has also been tremendously beneficial. I'm proud of myself for sticking with the program and wanting to get better.
If only I had not spent more than six months avoiding signing up for Part B. Facing government websites is almost as horrible as making phone calls, and I can obviously put it off for months on end even without the (valid) excuse that my internet connection is unreliable. I still have to get it done, and as soon as I possibly can.
I wish I had not lost my temper with my parents, especially my father, so much. Particularly because I was far less than understanding about not only his diminished capacities, but about the sophistication of the new email scams. I wish I had not completely lost my mind at Mark and Savannah. However, I now know that I do have limits and it's OK to state them, and it's also OK to blow up in the face of blatant disrespect. What I am proud of, though, is equally important. I wrote several new classes, figured out my niche in the teaching world, learned how to channel, got the idea for a book, handled some VERY challenging ethics morasses, and also took the initiative to try new things to help myself -- volunteering with the horses, and going through brain-rehab.
During lock down I had developed a lot of anxiety - I was having a lot of acid reflux. The doctor told me if I couldn't stop the acid I would end up with an ulcer. It wasn't easy but I managed over several months to end the daily panic attacks and had done enough to stop the acid reflux after the first six weeks. I have learned to stop worrying about everything and for the most part what happens, happens. I can't control the universe so it makes no sense to try.
There are always regrets, but I'm happy that I listened to my body and let it heal from Long Covid.
Yes. I wish I had moved our development project forward faster....managed the project tighter.
I have completed a year of Mussar study. It is helping me to have greater self-awareness and more empathy.
I was I could have been a better husband. I try but I keep failing. I will keep doing all I can to be the husband she deserves.
I guess the thing I'm most proud of is going places, like several gardens, because I'm nervous driving long distances.
I wish I had asked a Rabbi for assistance in joining the family. I would like to convert.
I wish I would have focused more on finding a new job and/or career. At the same time, as miserable as I have been, as ready as I have been to just walk away, I continue to earn a paycheck. Clearly, I can put up with a lot, and I'm not a quitter.
I am especially proud of how I handled my last year of teaching and the transition to retirement. I made it really positive and joyful and something to cherish forever. I am also proud of how I am handling Mom’s narcissism and Jody’s addiction. I am being kind but not enabling their behaviors and mostly not getting hurt by their words and actions. I’m also proud of how I handled Dad’s 90th party with dignity and kindness despite the history there. I am healing and processing a lot of the hurts and really bad memories. I am truly proud of all the hard work and it seems that by allowing the pain of it to be felt I am somewhat better afterward in new ways. I think it’s something therapists know about when they tell you to go ahead and feel the feelings even when it would be nicer to numb or pretend they are not there somehow. I’m also proud of my transition into retirement and my ability to accept that I can’t run yet. YET being the important word. I’m proud of how I officiated at Sean and Haily’s wedding and truly made it their day and about their union and their beautiful selves. I’m also proud of how I have been ending potential relationships that truly seem to be not a good thing for me. This is new and WONDERFUL because I’m not wasting time on dead ends like I have for14 years since my divorce. Also proud that I set a boundary with B that he is NOT to contact me at all ever. PERIOD. YAY! Amazing that a person can still grow and learn at age 66.88
I wish I was able to be more assertive with ppl at work.
I am so proud of becoming a mom. It was a hard & sometimes lonely journey. With only my husband here I wasn't sure if I could do it. When my daughter was born, without even thinking sometimes, I just did what needed to be done. Looking back at these past 7.5 months since she's been born & over a year since I found out I was pregnant, I am very proud of myself of how far we've come. I should give myself more credit for all that's happened in the last year.
i wish i had gotten out of my relationship quicker. i’m proud to be at bu, my character development, and what i’ve accomplished. i’m happy with my friends.
I cannot believe that I graduated from NYU. Seriously, grad school while working full time and having two kids was HARD. But I did it!
My life this years was filled with quotidian pleasures. I’m sure when I continue to reflect I will find things I coulda/shoulda done, or done differently, but nothing springs to mind. I suppose I wish I had reached out to some people that I feel I should be in touch with. But if I can’t summon the energy to do that, do I really want to be in touch? As to being proud of something, well, these are not big things but I’m happy with myself that I have been studying German every day now for more than 200 days. And, I learned to knit - sort of. I can only do one stitch and it’s not very good, but it’s a start. So there are two things! Not biggies, like getting my life totally organized and figured out and neatened up and sorted, but I’m happy with these little accomplishments, and will try to expand on them in the coming year.
I'm very proud that I am starting to do a weekly divrei Torah. It was my havruta's idea, but I am slowly getting comfortable doing it. It may take a little bit till I find my own style, it is so different from writing Mathematics.
I think I managed, at last, to rein in some of my boss-lady habits at home, to let go of believing that my preferences and standards for household things are obviously right, but also to be more conscious of how I communicate about this -- to be less self-righteous and judgmental. That's hard, because it also means that I do more cleaning, and re-cleaning, than I'd like, and I am still struggling to stop feeling resentful about some of this.
I am proud of running the practice well from home. I wish I were doing a better job ofpurging our belongings, but we have made some progress
Last year’s assessment was harsh. This year I’m more thankful just to be alive and have the opportunity for renewal. Having a new granddaughter has given me hope that new can always grow to replace the old, and I have the chance to leave this life on a high note. I’m proud of being a new grandfather and helping to bring happy memories to the new family’s experience.
During the pandemic my weight had ballooned to 256 pounds. I had taken off 30 pounds with at least 20 more to go, but my progress stalled and, one year later, I'm still at the 226 marker. I'm proud that I've kept off what I took off, but am frustrated that I didn't finish the job. But I am not giving up. The best is yet to come.
I really proud that I negotiated my compensation for my new job.
I wish I had trusted my gut a bit more and said yes less often. I am proud of the times I let things unfold more naturally instead of trying to push too hard.
I think I was an excellent mother this year. Ellen had some struggles but all in all they and I came together to overcome obstacles. I was there for them. Gave them space. And encouraged the young adult they are becoming. (Including using gender neutral pronouns)
More than one thing that I wish I had done differently. I trusted an untrustworthy man with money. Eyes wide open. I had cosmetic surgery (breast reduction) that I wish I had not done. I’m unhappy with the results and went through a lot of pain.
I am proud of myself AND I wish I had done better. I am learning to be kind to myself. To allow myself happiness, and lately to believe that I deserve it too, and can achieve it. I wish I'd done that earlier. But in an effort to be kind to myself, I won't say I regret. Rather, I hope in the coming year I can get better at that kindness. Especially, I hope I can get better at putting in the hard work of kindness. Taking myself to the dentist, working out, eating spinach, pursuing the healthcare that I need - those are acts of kindness too and future me deserves that current me puts in that work.
I'm proud of how I hung in through a remarkably difficult year last year. I'm proud I didn't quit, that I hung on and was patient and got to this place where things have a chance to be better, and I can get for myself something I have dreamed of for my whole life. I'm proud of how I held my ego in check. I'm proud of how I got through the messy moments. I'm proud that I spoke up and didn't let things stand that felt wrong. I'm proud that I am waking up to the fact that I do and say things that are hurtful to my husband and I need to learn how to stop this, how to change my orientation to those things so that I don't do them anymore. I wish I had been able to be less rigid and fearful than I was last year, but I also know there was no way that was truly possible. I was recovering from a deep and violent wound. I wish I had had more space for the work required to make touring joyful. I also wish I had ten billion dollars! I will keep trying to do better. I am so proud of my healing and so encouraged to see the difference a year has made. Good for you, darlin'. Keep going. It's working.
Yes and no. This year has been the furthest from easy and with that came a lot of messiness. My heartbreak was horrific. Torrential. Though I'm proud of where I'm at now, it's take SO so much work to get here. The hours of therapy, podcasts, reading, writing, talking to friends/family, etc. Completely exhausting. I've had many moments of sloppiness in the process of getting where I'm at now. I hold a tremendous amount of guilt for dragging Tom through a breakup for a second time. And I know I wasn't a supportive girlfriend or person in the way that I should have been while we were still in a relationship. I sometimes wonder if getting back together was a good idea at all. Since I hold guilt that it's now tainted how beautiful our relationship was for so long. But at the same time I wonder if it's really confirmed why we're not a match. At least if things stay as is.
I wish I had prioritized caring for myself each day, even if in small doses. I feel like I've built a routine that doesn't allow for much intentionality and reflection, and when I move my body or sleep well or cook things that make me happy or dance or work in my garden, I'm a totally different person. Somehow it feels really difficult to make these things a consistent priority or commitment, and this is something I'd like to do with more care in the coming year. I am really proud of taking four weeks of leave to care for my mental health this past year. It wasn't enough but it saved me from totally collapsing, and I remembered what it felt like to be in my body. I am also really proud of getting the help we needed to become the right parents for our oldest child. There was a moment in the spring where I couldn't imagine how we could possibly be OK. It's complicated, and always will be, and I no longer feel alone in it. And I know more about how to support him so he thrives, and it's beautiful to see his happiness on a daily basis again.
I am especially proud of myself for taking the leap into contract work, even though scary, truly rewarding by allowing me to mold my career into something that is meaningful, challenging, and creative. I am excited to see where this new journey takes me in my future.
Honestly, I’m proud of several things that point to my ability to pivot and dive into the new. I shifted to project management, started learning Korean (after “escaping”into kdramas when I missed Rakesh too much), I met my writing goals from last year, and have a book coming out soon. I’ve even started biking 30 minutes a day. So while many days feel like I’m stuck and being anti-social, in truth I’ve kept moving forward. Also, I’m proud that this has led to a feeling of contentment and completeness, such that I no longer long for companionship because I am more than enough.
This year has destroyed me with lessons. I wish bid trusted my guy earlier. I’m proud of my work evolution and how I try to be a good friend.
There are things i wish that had gone different, like having more staff so i was not so overworked and exhausted running TDI Perhaps i wonder if I had not replied to that message... as of a week from now one issue would have been resolved would things really have gotten better? i would have had more flexibility and kept the time shift i am prod we didn't have superspreaders at the wedding and TDI i failed to exercise and lose weight and be healthier *sigh*
I am so proud of how I was able to share in my son Brendan’s wedding and do the rehearsal dinner in a way that made him proud and happy. I was able to express my happiness and love for them both. I am really proud of the way I am starting to communicate my needs but…. I really wish I could have gotten into therapy with Jeff to help us move forward. I feel I am doing things that are hurting him but I am realizing I am doing it subconsciously because I don’t want to be hurt again or taken advantage of
I’m really proud of my first round of med school exams and how well I did on them. I studied really hard and it was honestly quite affirming for me that I ended up doing that well. At Penn my first Chem test had destroyed me and so I was really worried that would happen here. But it didn’t. I got really high passes and now know I can do it if i put my mind to it.
I was proud of the last festival, I wish that I had built an infrastructure that could outlive me I wish I had worked out more and gotten into better shape
I am so proud of all the personal and professional progress I’ve made this past year. I wish I had been able to set better boundaries for myself earlier in the year so that work and personal life were better balanced, but “progress not perfection”!
I wish I were more focused on my dreams. I am very proud of the enormous ongoing progress if healing from childhood traumas.
I wish I had done more to prioritize my mental health
I wish I invested more money! what I did do..... asked for a promotion, got it!
Professionally, I feel like I did an incredible job with my departure. I left the organization in an incredible place with amazing new leadership. I’m also just proud of myself for leaving. For saying I was going to and then doing it before 2022. I can’t think of anything I’d want to change because I’m happy with where I am right now. I didn’t look at my phone for 10 min this morning and then went for a run. got so much time back.
Die to Covid I work from home. I still do. One day while working from home I put my Two dogs outside to do their business. I went down to basement to throw in a load of laundry. When I came back upstairs my neighbor was yelling. One of my dogs had been attacked viciously by a deer. It all happened withi minutes of just going downstairs. I wish I had take my dogs out that day in a leash. My dog did survive. It was a tough go. I am proud of many things. Becisse if Covid my job was eliminated . I’m proud of myself because I found another job right away as a marketing director. It was a smooth transition.
I'm sure I've got lots of regrets from the past year, but nothing that comes to mind immediately. As my hormonal cycle changes, I've been having worsening emotional symptoms during PMS, namely in the self-loathing department. It's worse than it's ever been, so since I spend about 5 solid days hating myself every month, I don't spend a lot of my other days thinking about my regrets! I am proud of a couple of things: - Although I didn't manage to get my weight down entirely, I did a little bit. But more importantly, I started changing my eating habits, incorporating more vegetables and whole grains. It hasn't done much to change my dress size, but I do feel like my digestive system works better. - A former mentee nominated me to be on the steering committee of a national professional organization. I've never done this sort of thing before, and I'm proud that I decided to go for it. We have our first meeting this week. I hope I'm up to the task and that I can help make good change. - I do think that I've gotten a lot better at accepting "progress instead of perfection". It's been a very hard pill for me to swallow, but I do think it helps in my stress levels and flexibility. I wouldn't go so far as to say I accept mediocrity, but I am more apt to stop myself from chiding myself and others and realizing that all actions we take are choices. And sometimes, it really doesn't matter if all of the forks line up nicely in the drawer. They made it in there clean, didn't they?
I regret so much in my life, and wish I had done so many things differently. Something I am proud of is that I have really applied myself to my career and have won 2 promotions in the past year.
There is nothing that I wish I had done differently this past year. I am however proud of myself for showing up every day, for not letting myself spiral away, for being constructive and working on myself.
Done differently? I guess put myself out there for dating and making friends but I'm really not sure how/where/when. I feel so incredibly lonely but am not sure how to remedy that. I try, but also probably not hard enough. Just not sure. And honestly, I'm so tired of trying and making new friends and then them falling out of my life, that now strangers don't even really ever feel like potential friends. I appreciate their beauty and humanity, but I don't feel an excitement around a potential friendship.
Continue harder with food and watching moderation and cravings. Things have been better and worse, here and there but still going strong with exercising, now just have to contain self with food.
I am proud of the way I negotiated my severance. I am proud of the impact I had at my job over the last 4 years and the acknowledgment from people I worked with. I wish I had been better about talking with my partner the last few months of this year about all that was going on.
I did a few things well this year. We got the kitchen done and sold our rental property. I signed up for a fiction writing class and guitar lessons. I can be proud of that and build on it.
I procrastinate too much, and having house in order is a big issue. On the other hand, I am so relieved I have written a letter explaining things, I wanted do do it last year, and finally did it.
As is the case almost every year for the past dozen years, I have failed to achieve my new year resolutions about taking off the extra 20 pounds of weight I have been carrying that has me living at a higher risk for chronic conditions and keeping me from feeling as fit and active as I would like to be. And as a nutritionist dietitian by profession, I experience some internal shame for not being able to live the behaviors I preach to my patients. I think this is the year I will stop making the resolution to lose weight and simply accept that the change will come when I am ready for it! AMEN.
Yes, to remain calmer and not reactive. This is a continued goal for me, especially with Jeff. It is hard to do with him. I am calm with everyone else. I will continue to work on this.
I foster two puppy boys. I moved to a better condo. I’m still working for six grade science.
No, there's nothing I can think of that I wish I had done differently. Of course I could have done something, many things better, I suppose. One can always improve, but I'm happy of what I did and the way I did it. I did my best, whatever my best was in that specific moment. I did what I could when I couldn't attain my best. I feel it was a year of "presence". Even when I couldn't be present, I was aware of it, so "present".
I am pleased with the steady increase in commitment to finishing up a wild and robust Dreams of Africa. There have been many technical obstacles slowing me down, but at the same time this extra time exploring what tools are actually available to me have found a gorgeous live choir to add to the Mirage choir, same on the marimbas, and an amazing string quartet to finish the song with. Then there is Melodyne for truly cleaning up a recording (the acoustic guitar really needed it in one spot) and there is comping vocals to generate the best take. The delays are frustrating, but they have also afforded expansion of the scope of the project into areas I would never have allowed myself to fantasize about before this research began.
I overcame a tremendous hardship with grace, patience for myself, good problem solving, and a commitment to protecting my health first and foremost. If that's not something to be proud of, I don't know what is.
This was the year I was supposed to run a half marathon for the first time. I'd been training for almost a year and was ready, but it was cancelled, indefinitely. It was a huge setback for me and I backed off from running altogether. I wish I had kept at it, and just keep going and find another race somewhere. At this point, I'll have to start training all over again. Alternatively, I'm especially proud of the fact that I stuck with Crossfit classes all this year and never quit. My heart is very healthy and I'm stronger. I think I did really well being my husband's caregiver when he was fighting cancer and going through treatments. I did the best I could, and so grateful that I was working from home at the time. What a blessing that was! I love my husband so much, and the love just carries you through the hard times.
I always want to be more patient. This year I've been more forgiving of my own mistakes and tried to find gratitude and self love in even the most difficult times. I do wish I'd spent more time in meditation; hoping to pick that back up to make it a regular practice again. The benefits are substantial.
I'm really proud of marrying my now husband and planning a beautiful celebration with our nearest and dearest! Memories that I will hold dear for eternity.
I wished I had pushed harder to fully retire. It's okay, my goal is Feb 28. 2023. But I am so ready to pull the trigger. so tired
Thinking about this past year -- September 2021 to now, that is -- I'm stricken with how incredible it has been. I couldn't have asked for a better year, honestly. Senior year was good to me, and this first month of school has been equally good if not better. I'm proud of the way that I put myself out there -- yes, in Baltimore; but more so in St. Louis. This past month hasn't been easy and I haven't had much time to reflect or decompress but I'm proud of the way I put myself out there and met so many different people. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself and I'm proud of the way I did it. There's not much I wish I had done differently, but I can't help but think about if I had done certain things sooner. I wish I had come out to my family before coming to school. I wish I had told my friends. What opportunities would that have opened for me sooner? If I'm living like this now, how much better would my senior year have been if I got to live openly? I don't think it's regret I feel, more just curiosity and a little sadness; the kind you get at the end of a coming-of-age movie, wishing it could have been me that got that high-school romance. This is all super cheese-ey but it's how I feel! “It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” - Alice in Wonderland
Last year I wish that I had spent more time thinking critically about what I am doing with my life and less time focused on visiting other people who do not contribute much energy from their end, to our relationships. I am proud that I stepped up to my own situation and began to face challenges that I have been working with for many years.
More exercise, more sleep, a better and more consistent stretching routine. Spend more time training Junie (the dog). Starting to de-access the storage unit. This won't be finished until spring but it will be a big checkoff on the list of things to do. Resuming running races in Massachusetts to run in as many communities as possible. That's a multi-year project
There's a few choices I wish I'd made differently. I'm proud of publishing Sun Dogs.
There is nothing that I'm especially proud of from this past year, except perhaps not killing myself. I come from a family that would make a mental health professional tear out her hair!! (I suspect some of it is genetic.) For these past two, or several, years I have been in a deep, black hole, a depression I'd thought I'd left behind when I started taking a wonderful antidepressant. It was a miracle drug for me-- then, the generic came out, and things immediately began to change. It has been proven by pharmachologists not to work, for anyone, yet it is still prescribed and my insurance won't cover the brand name! Being isolated (I live alone) because of Covid, losing a dear friend and not having a funeral to attend, being cut off from every social activity including religious services, has made things ten times worse. I wish that I had fought harder for myself. I wish that I had been nicer to myself, and to my neighbors. I wish I could have been less angry, less enraged, more creative. There have been signs, just in the last few days, the this year could be different. I already have a little more hope. What I need is the will!
No regrets come to mind with the exception of the stock market 😩instead my pride surrounds my efforts in assisting my daughter Rebecca in her quest to restore some stability to her life. One year later with her good fortune job wise , and the pending trust fund there is good reason to be optimistic.
I wish I wasn’t so overwhelmed junior year in college, but I’m very proud of the job I did as a unit head.
Yeah honestly I wish we didn’t even have a big wedding. Our little private ceremony was so meaningful and we spent SO much money for it. It was beautiful and fun but not exactly how I hoped it would be due to some missing family and just the fact that everyone is older. I would’ve rather just have that money to travel.
I don't believe in regrets - I have learned that they don't serve me. My goal is always do the best I can, and that is enough. What am I especially proud of? That I kept this goal and did the best I could!
I didn't complete writing as I had hoped and intended. I'm letting that expectation go. I tried transitioning and ended that experiment in April 2022, and then processed my feelings and the deepening of coming into myself in different ways. Discovering the power that is simply me. I am endeavoring to create a new job for myself. Presently I've spoken with over 20 people about the job and hope to bring it to fruition sometime in the next several months.
I wish I had done more to clear out the clutter in my life - in my home, in my brain, in my soul. I am proud of myself for taking on working for Paula, and equally proud of myself for calling it quits. I wish I had been more present, more connected, I don't know, more ALIVE. I wish I'd wasted less time and money on stupid stuff. I wish I'd moved us forward more. I guess that's what this reset is for!
I have noticed that sometimes I don't immediately say hi to someone I see in the world -- that is something I would like to do differently moving forward in order to cultivate stronger relationships with people I know.
I wish I had finished my paperwork back in May so I wasn't fuckingbwith it now, but whatever. I'm proud to be done with the test and moving on finally from the licensure shit and into dbt certification.
I'm actually very proud of how I've leaned into NVC. I'm not perfect, because everything in life is a growing process, but I think between substituting, NVC, and applying for Apple, I really leaned into the idea of growth and stretching myself and continuing to learn. I can't control other people's responses to my healthy communication and my healthy boundaries, but I can continually strive to improve them for myself.
I wish I had been aware of of a way to be a better parent and grandparent. The loss of open communication with my family tears me into pieces that I do not know how to put back together.
Yes, I wish I had not become indolent towards the end of my second year semester. I am proud of the fact that I interned at the U.S. District Attorney's Office.
The answer to both having done something differently and what I am proud of are the same. Work has been especially challenging this past year. While working harder and longer than I ever have, I feel I have complained about my coworkers too much. On the other hand, I feel that I have learned how to work better with coworkers, new and old. I feel my work is paying off and yet there is still so much to do.
I think I kind of like my answer from last year, haha! Because...to be honest...I *am proud to be surviving these tumultuous times in which we're living. It feels like it'd be a lot easier to just bury my head in the sand and not go anywhere or do anything, but I don't really consider that living, so I suck it up and push forward. I'm proud of lots of things: that I continue to work out (though not as much) and try to work to keep us healthy. I'm proud that I have a healthy, strong family and that we get along. I'm proud of the work I do at school and video projects I produced. What do I wish I'd done differently this year? Probably that I didn't actively try to do more "fun" things with my son as he's been living at home and now as he approaches a time where he will likely be moving away out of state in the next six weeks, I will likely end up regretting that a lot more.
I was dating 4 women. I stopped because of one. Needless to say, besides that math not equaling, I should have kept dating. As soon as it started getting serious she rolled out. One thing that I’m proud of is that I got my shit together, and started dating my 4 ladies again.
I wish I had done more things, but my body is healing slowly. I am trying to find a balance between making me do something - anything, and just doing almost nothing. I feel very proud when I find that balance. Last night for the first time in years I made a complete Rosh Hashanah Seder with only a little help from my family - rave reviews. Last night I found that balance.
I wish I never paid for the dating service It's just lunch. BIGGEST waste of money!!! I am proud that I continue to look for ways to improve myself.
I think I am proud of what a good patient I have been. I was navigating new waters this past year in regards to my health, which was a good lesson in powerlessness. I earned brownie points in my middah of savlanut, realizing no matter what I think or feel about something, it's not my game nor rules and playing by their rules yields the least anger and frustration.
I did pretty well. I should have drank less, but what else is new. When my wife was bored with work I did an atypically good job of being supportive, clear eyed, and helpful.
Yes, I destroyed my ex's windshield after being told that she had cheated on me. I have gotten into a whole lot of trouble as a result. I let myself down in the process as well. I now have a life long regret that I will have to carry with me.
I wish I weren't as pessimistic in approaching guitar and dropping the beta blocker/never started taking it. I am proud I have persisted as church treasurer.
I can see a lot of times where I did not advocate for myself at work or in my romantic relationship, and it hurts more and more to know that those contributed to me feeling very angry and unheard. I'm proud of learning to set better boundaries so I can advocate for myself and live authentically. I hope my communication (especially about conflict) only gets better so my relationships can flourish in healthy ways.
I am the worst procrastinator and all chores have been so pushed back I feel like I'll never catch up. I wish I had stayed focused on the house instead of wallowing in my own self pity.
I wish I had gone to the beach or water more over the summer.
I wish I would've taken more time for self care and making new connections.
I wish I had a better work/life balance. I'm excited to move up and change my priorities at work, but I'm still nervous about it. I also would've liked to be more proactive instead of reactive to a lot of drama and not take things so personally. I'm happy we could pull off the wedding and all the trips we went on. I want us to go to more places soon. Also, the fact that Corey got into hiking this year is bonkers!
I wish I hadn't cheated on my partner. I don't care much about them- they were awful and abusive. I had some investments entangled with them and chose to stay in the relationship until those were separated. I greatly care about the person I cheated with though, and now I don't feel I'll ever have their real trust. It wasn't worth the money. I should have just left.
I wish I hadn’t spent so much time ruminating on despair. A lot of people think right now is a particularly terrible moment in history, since things are worse now than they have been in recent memory. But it is narcissistic to think we are in one of the worst times ever, it probably isn’t true, and even if it were, it’s not a productive way to think. On a personal level, I keep thinking that I’m destined to have a lonely and joyless future. Going down these thought paths can feel good in the way that picking a scab can, but I could have done a better job recognizing when I’m spiraling into despair and stop myself from going down that path.
Differently: I'm happy with where I'm at right now. While I made mistakes along they way, I've been able to learn from them. Proud of: This year I've helped turn an underperforming employee around at work into someone that is meeting and exceeding standards with their deliverables regularly.
I am proud that I am able to look at my behavior, my responses to difficult situations without getting angry or frustrated. Instead explore and reflect on what I said or did in difficult situations that were wrong. I am learning how to change my response and learn from my mistakes, with forgiveness and self compassion.
I'm proud of a deepening relationship with my friends - they mean everything.I think it took the pandemic to realize that. I'm still working on becoming closer to my kids. It's not that we're estranged. I think I tend to stand back so as not to be too intrusive and have taken it too far.
I made some good decisions and settled all my mistakes. I made many friends and helped as many people as I could.
So much I wish I had done differently and mostly about not paying too much attention to hurts on social media and not thinking before I speak, especially if I say something hurtful. I’ve had a number of situations where I’ve been too blunt and I know I need to rein that back
There are many moments where I have felt pride for something I have done, and I have, in equal measure, realized that there are many times I could have done better. I will continue to do the best I can and remember to do so from a loving place.
There’s always something. I wish I had tried harder to get Jay the care that he needed when he was in rehab. I think he needed more physical therapy. I wish I had tried harder to get someone who spoke better English and Spanish to help with his meds when we were in Barcelona. I’m sure that had an effect on him that he wasn’t getting them properly even though I was there all day and sometimes all night to make sure. It seemed they were OK but I was never positive. I think if he had gotten his meds OK he would’ve been better faster and he wouldn’t have had the trouble that he had with the violence and aggression. There’s nothing I’m proud of, I feel I caused his problems by not helping enough
I should have said something tonight when that woman said *in my face* to her 9 year old daughter "You see even hiloni'im come to hear the shofar because it is the Law" She was a guest in my kibbutz/home, she did not know me nor my standing in my community. How dare she? AND they were both immodestly dressed
I wish I had worked harder at creating and also continuing friendships. I keep saying I want to do this, then I make one effort and then forget about it. Friendship is about being there, about consistency, about putting in the effort. What I'm proud of is the relationships I am forming with my grandchildren - and in turn, evolving my relationship with my sons and DILs.
I'm proud of going to the gym, getting fitter and losing some weight. I'm also proud of referring myself to the Newson clinic and getting my HRT sorted out.
It's hard to answer this one. I don't regret making the choices that I did, but those choices have left me feeling the worst I've felt in a long time. I don't know that I would have done anything differently though. I wish I had more clarity within myself as to where I may want to be heading next, but I wouldn't say I have any regrets. What I did, I did because I really wanted to at the time, and you can never know the outcome of everything as the time of the decision-making. So whilst it didn't pan out as I would have hoped, I don't hold any regrets.
I wish I would not have become sexually involved with Sholom. I am proud that I have continued to show up for myself and my healing.
I do wish I had finished up my string quartet. Plenty of good reasons for not being done, but none better than the reason I should have finished it. I also wish I had found a way to have my retreat that I didn't get last year either... sigh. I am proud to have written SSAA arrangements for a concert in March in San Francisco. And for the String Quartet arrangements I did in September in Bloomington.
I’m proud of buying a house and selling my old house for $75,000 over my asking price.
I am really proud of myself for moving on from my relationship with my ex and making my own life in a new town.
Consistently expressed my feelings in the moment, calmly, instead of putting them away and letting them turn into later resentment / anger.
I finally finished my second novel, a YA horror novel called Estin Crawls. Currently, I’m querying agents. It’s an accomplishment, but I’m a restless individual, so, while I’m editing it, and campaigning for representation, I’ve started two more novels.
I am proud of how opening n up to poly has been
Considering my philosophy of living life without regrets, I'd say not really. I am proud of how we've adjusted to this monumental change and settled into our new life.
Both. One, then the other. I have always wanted to work in labor and delivery and took a job in OB at Hastings in Tahlequah. Some were happy for me and others told me I would be back. Within a couple of months, I knew it wasn't going to work. The 12-hour shifts were too inflexible and I was missing too much. Though I felt incredibly foolish, I asked for my old job back and was welcomed with open arms. I am proud that I had the courage to make a change - twice - and make the decision that was best for me and my family.
I think that I knew on some level right from the beginning of me and Rae that they weren't right for me on some level. I wish I had realised that sooner and not just gone along with what I thought they wanted from me. They will go on my amends list for that.
I think an easy answer for me to give would be to say that I wish I had never met Ben, etc., but I don't feel that's true. I did so much this past year. In this moment, the past few months feel like they define it, but I moved to Synergy in the past year! Synergy is literally a personality trait for me. I did a lot of exploring with my relationships with men and in terms of how I meet them and how I convey interest and all of that- I think it was a big question of how much confidence I had in myself and self understanding that would allow me to make the decisions that I know would be conducive for growth for me. I also dealt with anxiety this past year like I never had in my life. I think the constant battle of meds working and not working and trying something else was one of the most stressful things I've ever done. And looking back, I have so much more faith in myself to do things that I know will be hard for me because I was able to get through that. But while it was all happening, I was so mad at myself for the way I was feeling, just looking for a way to feel better, feel like I used to, to find a solution to fix everything. What I wish I would have done differently was given myself more grace- in everything. The grace to say its ok to feel anxious and the bravery to embrace it all allow for more self understanding, to eliminate the fear of sadness. The grace to understand failed relationships as things that had very little to do with me. The grace to understand the anxiety I felt when I wasn't with Ben as something warranted. I spent more time with him than apart. Literally. I was so mad at lyself for feeling so reliant on him, but I was in love! Hard! I wish I would have allowed myself to be anxious and embrace it all as crazy emotions that the beautiful world has given me the chance to feel in such a beautiful moment. I hope to give more patience and understanding to myself this year, to allow myself to feel everything and recognize every emotion that comes up as valid and beautiful and apart of this journey I'm on. I know I'm already starting to do it, by taking each day in my process of grief as a moment, a blade of grass. And maybe we are all just single moments, strung together and held dearly. I don't want to make myself feel any less bad or reward a feeling from anticipating it's permanence. I have no idea what I will feel like in an hour, or in a day, or in a week, or in a month, only right now. SO I'm proud of that, of wanting to exist right now- which is a hard thing to do after the Summer I had.
I would listen to my gut more when it comes to my health. I'm very proud of contining to grow a professional theatre in my town even through COVID-19.
I wish I was better at staying in contact with my friends. I understand that the burden is partially mine but there’s a lot of stress and it’s hard to keep up. I really miss my friends so it’s been hard
I wish I focused on creating an asset outside of work, and my rental portfolio. I’m proud of starting a disciplined exercise routine and morning diet.
I don’t know how it happened, it feels like a blur, but I am incredibly proud of all I accomplished this year. I gave birth AT HOME to my baby girl. We actually picked up and moved our family across the country to a place that makes us happy. And I started a freaking business. I’m sorry, (not sorry) but I am a freaking rockstar. I can do anything. I am creating the life I want to be living and I love it.
I suppose there are things I could have done better but mostly I survived losing my husband of 36 years. That’s good enough
I do wish I had been more forgiving of myself and my students this past year. I felt stretched past my limits, and I was afraid of the new administration at the college, because I wasn't certain what direction they would be taking. If I had been in better shape, I might have been more help to my mother, also, in getting her set up properly in an assisted living facility.
Wish I had kept exercising ... or stopped beating myself up about it.
There are lots of things, I’m sure. I spend too much time fighting with karen over stupid things - she doesn’t feel appreciated or heard so I need to do a better job at that.
Differently: I spent a lot of time with Western medical docs only to receive really delayed, rote, and ineffective care, even for little things. Meanwhile, my Functional Nutritionist and others (not covered by insurance, big shocker UGH) came in with a bang not a whimper and provided me help and suggestions that were game changers. I wish I'd focused more on the latter. Proud: My coping with my parents' aging process and stepping up with them through the processes of legal things and all. We had one amazing meetup for coffee this year where they told me how impressed and proud they were of how sharp and "on it" I am about affairs, despite my hatred lol of talking about all the stressful minutia.
I wish I had made my physical health more of a priority. Again like in past years, I look at the scale and in the mirror, and I am not happy with what I see. This affects my self-confidence every time I meet someone new- or see family members after a long period away, and see that look of shame or disappointment at a lack of progress with my physique (perhaps I am projecting my insecurities on others in general, but certainly in interactions with my mother and siblings the fat shaming is really there) I make excuses for lazy behavior and unhealthy habits, and yet I know nothing will change in my appearance and self-confidence unless I make changes to my lifestyle. That said, I am proud of myself for taking the first steps. Even if I have not been as consistent and disciplined as hoped, I have made some progress. I am proud of myself for resuming playing tennis and beginning kickboxing, and I do feel healthier, slimmer, and stronger than last year, just not yet where I fully want to be. Cooking more and eating out less has been a challenge, but one that I have also begun to take the initial steps towards. I partnered with a friend to try to work out and cook healthy food together, but that poses its own different challenges. As an introvert, seeing this friend every day for exercise and cooking ultimately leads to her leaning on me for support emotionally for the many issues she has in her personal life. This drains me socially and emotionally, and despite the physical benefits, I am unsure if this can partnership can remain healthy long term. I hope by this time next year I can look back satisfied with my appearance and physical health, and be proud of what I have achieved. I hope to finally look at the scale, look in the mirror, and go out into the world feeling confident, sexy, strong, and healthy.
I wish I'd had willingness to do this parenting work earlier so I would have avoided conflict with kids. I'm proud to start doing this work. I can't think of anything else that is nearly as important right now.
There's nothing I wish I had done differently but there's something important I learned from trying, over and over again, to do things differently. Sometimes that will not be possible. Going through chemo (I survived chemo, not cancer), beat out of me the notion that I could decide how much I could do in a day or even an afternoon, or an hour. However, I love that I kept setting the bar impossibly high and going for it because I was also able to stop when I hit that wall and I never gave up. I didn't sit down and bemoan where I was in life. In fact, I got up and went to spas - a lot of them - and pushed forward, pushed myself, even when I was scared, even when I was tired, even when I was nauseous or in pain. And, equally as wonderful and beautiful, when I hit my limit, I sat down and rested and refueled and thought about when the energy would return, the body would not be so nauseous, so painful. I accepted help when I could get it (and chemo will wear out a lot of people from helping. Want to find out who your real inner circle is - go through chemo and see who's there in the end), and I made plans that were flexible, always flexible and rejoiced in every little thing I was able to do. Then, when I sensed the worst was passed I pushed again and showed up at the gym at an early morning weight lifting class - and began to rejoin life among others again. It was hard and sometimes ridiculous but there I was - and things got better, and better and better. I've even retained that newfound ability to be okay and celebrate the days when refueling is what's needed, dreaming about what tomorrow may bring.
This is always the question that gets me and I think the answer is still no, there’s nothing I would change. Some things might have been messy or not worked out the way I wanted but at the end of the day I am thankful that none of these things have had serious consequences in my life and I am healthy and happy. I continue to be proud of the way I handle challenges and bounce back from disappointment and I just hope that energy continues
I can't think of anything I wish I would have done differently this year, other than try to get NIN tickets at the Red Rocks theater. I am especially proud of myself for continuing to pursue answers to my migraine issues. I joined Neura, got off daily meds, and am trying mental health to decrease intensity and frequency of headaches.
I wish I had managed my finances better in the past year. I was so excited in my first year in DC, that I was eager to go out to eat or go shopping or spend money on things and experiences and "the life I want to live" that I forgot along the way that the life I want to live also includes saving for my future. That being said, I still had a wonderful time in the past year and have been happier than ever.
There are so many things I wish I'd done differently, but I'm proud of the fact that I'm not getting as derailed as I used to by realizing how many mistakes I'm making.
I’ve got to worry less. That’s not very specific but I’ve got to go with the flow more. I’m proud we listened to andrew and found a great school for him. It’s been a year of a lot of stuff. Me covid and a concussion. Then an ulcerated eye. Then my car crash and broken hand. 6 weeks in a cast but thankfully that was all. And then six months of hard times navigating my mothers last months. I think I Handled her needs and my graduating senior w autism’s needs very well. So I’m proud of myself.
I am trailing behind for days being sober but my over three drink days are less. That is a positive. However at this point in the year, I am only 96 days for 2022. I am getting better. I wish I had not gained 30 pounds in the last year but I am working on that too. I wish I had seen more family (blood) and I am working on that too. I also am working on having closer connections with the better friends and make a better habit of letting the others go. It is ok. Everybody was not meant for everybody.
I'm glad that I found the courage to leave an unhealthy work environment. I'm not proud of the way I did it, but I am confident that it is the right decision.
I’m extremely proud that I made a commitment to expanding my capacity to open my heart. I feel the world is in extreme need of more kindness, care, empathy, compassion, real connections, to self, others, all living beings, and Earth. And I was persistent. I did not bow to feelings of hopelessness. I kept my intentions strong and was patient. Guess what? Other people began to open their hearts, too! Miracles happen! Try it!
I'm proud of the work I've done to walk again, including yoga and qigong.
I am proud to have tried a lot of things this year: writing worshops, getting more active, new friendships, new yoga studio. Also starting EMDR treatment. I wish, when these things do not work out as I imagine, I did not feel like a failure.
I agreed to have bariatric surgery after 20 years of hesitation. It helped immensely and I wish I had done it sooner. I’m proud of the accomplishment.
I wish I had done my physical therapy every day.
I'm proud of how I'm handling the current situation in an organization I'm connected with. I'm not saying my actions have been perfect, but I've been doing my best to improve a difficult situation. I expect the next few months will show us whether we're on a path toward healing or whether things will fall apart despite the efforts of myself and others.
Wrote and published a book. The Caregiver's Guide to Dementia- AN Unintendd Journey."
I'm really proud of the work I've done with a Health at Every Size dietician, Kimmie. She has helped me to accept the body I have and nourish it instead of trying to restrict my nutrition and control my body. This work has done wonders for my mental health and sense of wellbeing. And she is the first body liberation practitioner I've ever had the pleasure to know. She's amazing and I'm really proud of the work I've done with her. She also turned me on to the podcast Maintenance Phase, which debunks diet culture. All of this together has been life-changing.
I am happy rather than proud of how much joy I get from all my interactions with the people in my life, whether it’s the local kids or neighbours, friends, family, groups that I’m in. My relationships are much more satisfying. My boundaries are firmer and I put my own needs first so that there is very little resentment in my life these days.
I'm proud of learning how to regret things I've done or could have done better and make reparations with the people affected by those failings without making my self-disappoint the center of those encounters.
I don’t feel like I manage my time very well. I put pressure on myself to accomplish things or just feel productive in some way rather than relaxing. I’m 67 and I have cancer I should be able to relax without feeling guilty or that I’m wasting my time. And yet at my age even without cancer how much good time do you have left? I don’t wanna feel like I’m wasting my life.
At times I wasn't living my truth. Times when I'm seeking "more", seeking attention from dating apps, spending my precious time with people that don't inspire me or excite me. I'm done with feeling dull emotions and hoping for more. I deserve rainbows. I'm proud of continuing to do the hard work of digging into my soul. It is not easy, and at times I've felt discouraged and angry. It is hard to go through life without the distractions above. I want to be loved. And I'm finally seeing that I am, just in non-conventional ways. And that's okay!
I would probably say I’m proud of coming out to my friends & some of my family. That takes a lot and I finally feel like myself. Done differently? I’d say stay single for a bit longer and feel free to express all sides of me. Being in a heterosexual relationship is confusing and hindering.
More patience with others and their stories
I wish I had not broken my ankle but I had no control of that. It just happened. I had no choice. I am proud of the way I got immediate care for myself and of the general equanimity in which I acted while in the hospital. The less said about rehab the better. I am proud of the open hearted way I accepted help during the early weeks of my recovery at home. And that led to a new and deep friendship. I wish I had communicated better with my sisters immediately after the accident. I know they wanted to speak to or see me, but I was so overwhelmed by what had happened and so exhausted by talking to people all the time that I just couldn’t. I have apologized to them. Which they accepted. I’m proud that I have continued to chant Torah albeit still virtually. I joined Kol Ami so I could continue to do this. I am most proud of humbly accepting help to get my house in order. To say I’m proud of this is inaccurate. I’m grateful for the help the local Jewish community and my sisters generously provided to do this. I AM proud that I’ve generally kept things tidy. There is more to be done, but had I not accepted this help…well, I would still be living in a mess.
I wish I had quit the old job sooner. It was not healthy for me or my family. And they took advantage of me caring so much about the patients and abused my willingness to come in and help. I am proud that I got the new job. In a much better environment- yes there's some administrative BS, but that is pretty much every medical job that exists. Staffing is a million times safer and management *seems* to listen a lot more readily to our problems.
I made so many mistakes this year, and handled things in a way I’m not proud of. My brother’s illness and death intertwined with family conflict, and led to the explosion of my career. I am proud that I was at my brother’s side, despite the expense. And I know I did the best I could.
I am proud of: 1. Starting to run again 2. Finally getting a prescription for antidepressants 3. Seeing more doctors 4. Leaving my old job 5. Facing some professional challenges I probably also made some mistakes, but I don't remember those.
I wish I had been able to cope with grief in a more healthy way, but I am really proud about the self-knowledge and inner growth that my broken heart has opened a gateway to.
Not healthy eating it is something I need to improve, gaining 10 lbs a year isn’t good. The longer I live the more I’m grateful and proud of a long lasting marriage (51years) and raising 2 great children who maintain their Jewish heritage. Proud we maintain a ‘normal’ life in the face of caring for a disabled child, who’s now 42. We have a lot of support.
Maybe i shouldn’t have let husband come home. maybe that should have been it. I think it would hand been better for everyone. Proud of getting out of restaurants! Took time and effort but so worth it. I don’t throw up everyday before work!
Yes, I wished that I’d been able to stick to a diet and exercise plan. Not sure why but I continue to self sabotage myself.
I wish I was less reactive in general. I’m proud of all my professional growth.
Kinda wish I figured out what I want to do with my life. Getting old and job is getting stale, though they pay me enough where I can’t complain.
I wish I was able to cut myself some slack. I wish I was better at not caring what other people think. I wish I was kinder to myself. Ironically, I said this last year. Perhaps I'm getting incrementally better at this? I don't know. Today is a difficult day and I'm a little low on self-compassion. I wish I could exorcise my mother from my head, and since no one will read this but me, I wish my mother would die, it would be so much easier to love her then.
I wish I had hiked more. I really was enjoying hiking a lot the last couple years. Wasn't as active as I wanted to be.
I am tremendously proud that I smashed up against that pain; that I threw myself against the wall again and again; that I felt the sadness, shame, fear, loneliness, guilt, darkness, anxiety, depression, desperation, fright, panic, resentment, jealousy, agony, sorrow, regret, grief.... I felt it ALL I breathed... and sobbed... and let it pass through my body... And I emerged a new, transformed, more beautifully awakened person. I am profoundly proud of myself. I am a fucking rockstar.
Quit my job sooner. I quit 2 months ago and Started my business I wish I would’ve done this long time ago! I’m very proud that I took the leap and trusted in myself it’s sept 26 and today my business is fully open .
I'm proud of my work at becoming a more honest person. I'm proud of maintaining my sobriety through some difficult times.
I've cleaned up the bulk of my unreleased music archives from the mid 2010s (three EPs and one full-length album), and there's very little left to clean up before I can release it all. This has been a stop-start process since the early days of the Covid pandemic, but truth be told, I did most of the necessary work between February and July of 2022 -- while also writing and rehearsing songs for my current band's next EP. Sometime in 2021 I found the focus I've always felt I lacked, and I've written tens of thousands of words since then, making creative practice part of my daily life and prioritizing it over the day-job side of my life (which remains thriving with my accelerated output).
I'm not sure there is much I wish I had done differently. I was really able to travel and see everything that I wanted. I might've planned things a little bit more in advance. For example, once I got to Greece, I realized it is hard to get around to the islands. I might've planned a small weekend cruise or something. It gives me an excuse to go back and explore the islands. I'm proud of my resiliance and bravery from the past year. I traveled on my own through Europe. I'm impressed with myself and how I handled everything. The trip did have it's bumps but I was able to work through them and come out on the other side.
I'm proud of my work on the Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation museum exhibit.
I am very proud that I have made the steps to recovery from my alcohol addiction by going into an in-patient rehab and following up with meetings.
Yes. I wish I would have become more aware more quickly to the true nature of the real difficulties that were at the core of distress in my life so I could address the sooner before more damage was done. However, I am grateful I began to practical radical acceptance in the last few months so I could begin to address them finally.
I’m very proud of my primary-school-aged son, who has recovered so much of his confidence since I deregistered him in June 2021. He had reached a point in his mental health issues where I had to act urgently, and I am so glad I did - because after a year I have my lively, bright, imaginative boy back.
I wish I reached out to friends more. I feel like I am loosing those connections. I am proud of my work/life balance and managing stress this year. Having a steadier pace in work and not always saying yes to everything has led me to be more present and to spend more time with my daughter, which is even more rewarding and fulfilling.
I’m especially proud of how I’ve been able to visit with my parents so regularly. I fly every week or so to spend quality time with them. I’m proud of the kindness I’m putting out in the world with small acts, like the gratitude committee for Newman, delivering food for Rodef, helping at the preschool and trying in any small way I can to make the world a little better and brighter. I feel proud of the many friendships I have and the relationships I’ve cultivated. This is the meaning of life for me.
This year has been a wild crazy ride of change. I’ve worked several jobs trying to find my way. I’ve Tried several different outlets of therapy and new ways of spirituality. I’ve done much travel and there has been lots of honesty. I wouldn’t change it up at all there is a lot of growth sprung from a lot of hurt and a lot of love.
I just wish everything I have tried actually worked. Can I be proud of insane perseverance in the face of zero results?
This past year, I'm proud of how determined I was to turn over a new leaf at the beginning of this school year (2022-23). I thought a lot about this over the summer; how I don't want to feel as burnt out, or inadequate, overwhelmed, disorganized. My students are in 8th grade now, they've risen to the top of our institution, taking on leadership roles and risks. Just last week, I got this ridiculously beautiful thank-you note via email from a student, who always writes a sweet card for Teacher Appreciation Week. This one, however, came in week 3 of the new year school, expressing gratitude for an article I'd forwarded to her and her best friend, and a study session I hadn't realized made such an impact. Here I was, just doing my job, tired after a couple of non-stop weeks back, and I got the most sincere, detailed, personal (unexpected, heartfelt) note from a 13 year old. She expressed how I made her feel welcomed, comfortable, nourished, accomplished, and at home in my classroom. My tears can't express how much this makes it all worthwhile. 🥹🙏🏼
A casual conversation at a back-yard party made me realize that I had achieved an important thing. Over the course of our 42-year relationship, I managed to set boundaries with my MIL without extinguishing our ability to feel some level of affection and respect for each other. And writing this just now, I am realizing that she should be proud of her part in that also. I’ll look for an opportunity to share that with her.
I think if I've learned any lesson in the past year, my first year as a parent, it's that the perfect is the enemy of the good. I tried so hard to exclusively breastfeed, to the result that my son dropped a dangerous amount of weight (he went down to the 5th percentile of infant growth before we switched to formula) and I was in so much pain from sore nipples and was suffering such severe postpartum depression, exacerbated by the fact that i was waking up every 2 hours to pump, that I had to quit breastfeeding entirely. I think if I hadn't tried to breastfeed exclusively, I could ironically have breastfed a lot longer. But I'm also proud of myself for getting my postpartum depression treated, even if it necessitated going on medication that meant I had to stop breastfeeding entirely because the medication wasn't safe for him. My son is thriving now, 96th percentile of growth, healthy and happy - and I am so much of a better mother, calmer and more resilient, now that I'm no longer so anxious and depressed. It was really the right decision. I've realized that it's the black-and-white, all-or-nothing dictums, like "breast is best" that get us in trouble as parents - what's "best" for a child is to have a mom who is happy, healthy, and sane. It took me too long to figure that out, but I'm glad I finally did. And I'm proud of myself for that.
I try not to dwell in the place of regret. When I think of all the things I might have done differently, it is very easy for me to spin out of control. When I find myself in a place where something didn't work out the way I'd hoped, in my finer moments, I'll ask myself what I learned, and how I might do it differently the next time.
I wish I had played more. I tend to be very serious and take care of business, but when I look back all I see is a bunch of stuff tha I did. Better, EVERY WEEK, to do some things that are fun and playful. I'd also like to give more to others. Playing fills me. Giving makes space, helps others and expands my heart. I'd like to do both more.
How desperately disheartening it is to reread last years response and feel as if I could simply write 'ditto' for this year, save a few changes in cities. Despite what I thought was a solid commitment to do better, I routinely and blindly put my own needs on the shelf in order to help others. While I sincerely wanted to help, it occurs to me that I'm not valuing my time enough to set proper boundaries. Without any thought I accepted that my grandkids will only be this age once, that my husband is the most important person in my life, that I wanted to be thought of as that person who my family and friends could always count on. All of that is true, and yet I've allowed those ideas to push my deep desires to the bottom of the pile. It's interesting that a few months ago I warned my sister that she puts others needs ahead of her own to her detriment. She responded that I do the same- more than anyone she knows. Her answer stunned me and I actually didn't believe her let alone take her assessment to heart. Reading last years entry drove the point home in a way that nothing else could have. I must do better if I intend to take care of myself the way I deserve.
I am happy to say that I write every day just about every day. I keep my thoughts and stories in a small book. Sometimes I write on this laptop. I write first thing most mornings over coffee, all alone. Often I write about the prior day's events or some strain of thought I want to develop. Sometimes I really like what I’ve written. Sometimes I just describe what I see, some person I met or a room I am in. I am working on a story, although I regret to say I have not finished a story this year. I have not finished a story in thirty or forty years. I start them. I write dialogue. I work over them. I just never bother to finish. Why is that? I made up with my younger brother. I saw him when my mom was ill and I was taking care of her. I text him from time to time. More about him and my older brother, who is ill, later.
As exhausting and frustrating as it was at times, I wouldn’t have done anything differently this year. I am so proud of my resilience and how a joking goal of “the trifecta” (bonus + severance + new job) actually became reality. I fucking did it.
I can’t think of anything I wish I did differently. I’m proud of expanding my circle of people I spend time with. I wish I would’ve written more cards, kept in touch with my uncle and my cousins. But I don’t know, I’ve never Really had a relationship with them.
I'm proud that we got out of China and that we're together. I'm very proud of R and his progress as a baby given the ways that his first bit of life went. I wish that I'd been able to be more present with my students and just let classes be bullshit, but I couldn't do that and then burnout took over. It's okay to burn out. At least I got out and I'm in a new place now.
I'm especially proud of my weight loss and continued focus on working out and eating healthier. I'm down 38lbs right now with an approx 25 more to go. I continue to strive for more patience especially with my children.
Im really proud of getting a divorce. It took guts to leave a situation and allow myself to believe I deserve to be happy. The consequences were hard to deal with, on a lot of fronts, but in the end I'm really proud of myself.
I am overall really proud of myself in the past year (of course there are conversations that I am playing over and over again and little changed and what if’s) but given the last few years I have taken far more ownership of my life. It is still an ongoing process but I’m a lot more optimistic of the roadmap than in the past few years
I wish I would have put down my cell phone more and paid attention to what was right in front of me. I’m proud of how I’ve paid special attention to my health and diet this year. I’m still working on this goal, but I’m definitely in a better place than two years ago.
Divorce, both for and against. It’s amazing that today I wanted to ask my wife if she wants to reconcile, should I or not?
Other than helping semi-homeless friends for a few months (I'm proud of that), I stayed in my own little world (I'm not especially proud of that).
I wish I had cut things off with my FWB much earlier. Actually, I first realized I needed to do so last year or even before but this year was the start of the decline of the good parts and increase in the toxicity and it ate me alive emotionally.
I'm especially proud that I had the courage to care for myself by leaving a job for which I had come out of retirement four years ago. It was stressful to the point of affecting my health and sense of well-being. Leaving has freed up the energy it had been draining for all that time. It has allowed me to begin clearing forty years of accumulated stuff from my house and move toward making the house a home. I have also had the time and energy to focus on caring for my body and spirit. In addition, I finally rejoined my synagogue. In addition, I'm volunteering with Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization that assists people recover from floods, hurricanes, fire, earthquakes - all disaster situations. I'm especially proud and honored to be a "kick ass civilian" greyshirt with TR 😄💪
I'm really proud of the way I've embraced exercise and fuelling myself for it in a healthy and balanced way. For the first time in my life it makes me feel strong and energised rather than weak and depleted. I'm pleased I've laid off taking on extra work where it doesn't serve me. Before I started dating Andy I did loads to fill time, but now I like the evenings together.
I feel pretty proud of my completion of the therapy program I was in. It definitely didn’t go as I imagined it had but I can appreciate the journey it was. It’s not totally over but the weekly classes and readings and papers are!
Create more art. Celebrating 40 years of sobriety.
I am just getting on with my life. I suppose now that most of the year I have been dealing with cancer and surgeries, I have been brave and not let it eat me up. I am strong.
Spent more time with mom
I left my job this year and started a new one with the things I wanted. My only box that was not checked on this path was to move to a different state. I think that is something in the future. A new beginning in a new work environment is WONDERFUL.
I'm especially proud of establishing new relationships. I feel like this past year has been all about letting myself be loved for being me and learning how to avoid those who would try to change me so I'm acceptable to them.
I'm proud that I've no interaction with others the I need to regret or apologize for. I wish I'd spent more time on my photography.
I wish I had been able to attend the Hebrew class in person more often as well as temple. I am proud of our new poetry collection that we just published: For the Brokenhearted.
I wish I had eaten better and gotten exercise. I feel like I'm abusing my body. I'm proud of my work with OHA. I bring a lot of gifts to the program.
Done different, I would have made more me time set aside more time for my self Most proud of, getting colin back on track through his break down all on my own with out any help
I wish I had taken more time to "stop and smell the roses." It has been a particularly busy year at work and I feel as though I am just running through the daily paces to get things done. At the end of most days, I'm simply exhausted. I don't feel as though I have really lived a good life this year. Even when work was relatively slow at the start of the year, I wasn't really enjoying life because I was so stressed about what might happen with my job. It's entirely normal to have had all of the mental and emotional responses that I have had this year in all that has happened with the buyout. And this year has not been like any other, for sure. I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I need to be patient and wait it out. All of these things that I know. They don't bring back the joys that I have missed in recent months. There is no turning back, though. Move forward and begin living my best life again soon! I am especially proud of the fact that I pushed and advocated for myself, and that I landed myself in a position that I am really looking forward to. Being an SOBM feels like a fantastic fit for me, and I'm thrilled to have found "my place" within the new organization. I had to reach way outside of my comfort zone and be particularly pushy just to get the interview. I had to leave Tina and Gwen in a bit of a lurch, which goes against who I am as a person, but I didn't cave to that pressure either (and they 100% supported me!) Also, I am proud of the decisions that I have made in terms of weight loss, and look forward to what the next several months will bring.
I wish that I'd been more patient at times. I really want to have more general patience. I'm proud that this is my focus, and that in the last month or so I have seen progress. I'm trying so hard to let go of things that are out of my control, and stay calm amidst what I feel is the last push of chaos in my current circumstances. I feel proud that I can keep my response and reaction a priority.
Similar to my answer from last year, I take pride in being able to ride my mountain bike for about half an hour almost daily.
I'm very proud that I managed to work very hard to save for a 3 month's long service leave. I was proud that at 70 years of age I'm still working even though moving forward I would like to work a bit less and have more time to myself
I am proud that although I felt very ill, i continued to work out every single day and just do the best i could.
There's really nothing I can think of that I would have changed - it was a pretty great year for the most part. Nothing much to be especially proud of for myself, but WOW I am I EVER super PROUD of Tandy and Michelle - although it's been a lot of hard work, they've both achieved career/family success accomplishments. (ps.. I'm not so proud that I GAINED the 8 pounds I lost a year ago!)
Loosing weight. Seeing a dietician
I wish I asserted myself more at work to establish my new role. It was created for me and my strengths and instead I waited for something to happen instead of making something happen. Not only did I weaken my credibility, it affected the careers of others relying upon me. As a secondary effect, it “taught me” that my value at work was less.
I am proud of what I have done professionally, pushing myself out there and being in the front, rather than in the background. I do wish that I had courage in other spaces, though.
I wish I had devoted more time to inner work, to dreaming deeply, to meditation and to laughter.
I wish I had done more for my healing but I did everything I could anyway.
Unfortunately, this past year, like the previous one, was somewhat a "lost year" due to Covid. Aside from a few highlights, a lot of the year was spent home, reading, walking, spending time with my husband (once he retired), etc. What I wish I been able to do differently is to have done more things, gone more places, traveled more. Not having done so was a result of being on the extreme end of Covid precautions, due to the fact that we are among the more vulnerable group because of our ages.
I made it through the past year. I don't even know what happened in that time. There are things I can be proud of: setting new records at work, getting the raise I asked for (asking for a raise!), getting back into writing. But I think this is the first time in my life I have really tasted regret. I don't think I chose wrong, but I wish I had gotten more time with my friend before he died. I wish I had kept up being penpals with him at least.
Maybe be more optimistic about my health. It doesn’t help to not be more optimistic and the opposite is true.
I would have done nothing differently. It all turned out as it needed to. I am ridiculously proud that we got our kid off to uni! He is thriving and I am so proud of him. But I’m also proud of us. I gave him what he needed from me as a mother, and that prepared him for this grand adventure.
I believe I bungled my relationship with some colleagues in one of our units, causing them to lose confidence in me. I am not entirely sure how I could have handled it differently, because communications were made much more difficult with the ongoing restrictions imposed by the pandemic, but I could have been more open-minded in my approach, I think. My boss was forced to take over that relationship to see if it could be repaired. I am proud of the support I have received from people for my work and their belief in me.
One thing I wish I had done differently is push harder to get my oldest son therapy. It seemed like things might turn out okay last fall, we had bad days and weeks but then some days were fine. Looking back I realize now it was actually getting worse. I get what people say now about having to really push medical providers on things. It was treated kind of lackadaisically and not that big of an issue. In the grand scheme of things, yes perhaps my son's issues weren't as bad as other people but they were bad for us, and we needed help. The other thing is through all of the stress, I wish I would have done more for myself - kept active, etc. I think looking back I did the best I could have given all that happened. I can see now that I basically just shut down. Perhaps to be able to function each day? But I think a little care for myself could have gone a long way.
I wish I had waited on enrolling in school. Several people told me that I was taking on a lot -- between getting pregnant, starting a new job, and losing my friend to cancer. I ended up having to withdraw halfway through my first term. No regrets about withdrawing, but I really did stress myself out needlessly when I could have just been patient and waited a bit.
I wish I had lived in the present moment more, and spent less energy on worrying or wishing the present circumstances were better. I wish I had taken the gift of each day gratefully. So much of what I worried about didn't come to pass, or if it did I survived it just fine.
I wish at times that I had done more, gotten out, traveled, but I stayed on the side of caution. I may have avoided Covid but it made for a very quiet and limited life.
Went to the gym more from the start of the year is something I wish I had done differently. And I am proud that I enrolled in and got accepted by Union Theological Seminary.
I struggle daily with unchaste sexual urges. In college I messed around a lot, and I have had a hard time learning from that. I feel like I'm shackled to my lusts. I keep repenting and asking God for forgiveness and yet every so often I still give in. During the High Holy Days this year, I want to rededicate myself to chastity and purity. Ultimately, I know that I'm not the one who does the real work. Sin has already been defeated. But I still desperately need God to help me be better. I'm proud of myself for learning to enforce my boundaries and stand up for my beliefs. I've been doing better at living authentically. Of course, this will be a lifelong, uphill battle. But every victory counts and every step in the right direction brings me closer to the person God wants me to be.
I started using Noom and have lost 80+ lbs of Trump admin and pandemic weight gain. Feel great. Good lesson on incremental progress over longer time horizons.
Well, I FINALLY hopped back on the healthy lifestyle. As of 9/26/22 I have lost 22 lbs. I am no longer having to say "lose 20 lbs" "lose 20 lbs" "lose 20 lbs" over and over again. Reading this next year, I hope it reads I have lost some more weight and toned up my body more.
I am proud I moved forward from grieving and adjusting to changes. Getting on with my life.
i am especially proud of the prairie i now have in my yard where only 'lawn' used to be. i'd rather not 'wish' about the past. are there things i COULD have done differently? Of course. I did what I did. Hopefully learned from the choices i made. And... i believe, like everyone, i did the best i could at the time.
I am proud that I auditioned for and performed in a play with my local little theater. Doing so has been on my "bucket list" since I was young, but I suffer from migraines and never thought that I could commit to it because of my likelihood of having a bad headache and being unable to perform. With age, my migraines have improved, so at the age of 52, I played the role of Mrs. Phelps in "Matilda" this summer. It was a huge commitment of time, but I really enjoyed it.
I wish I was recovering from my heart surgery faster. I need to find the energy to exercise more to help my recovery.
I guided one of my clients, a successful candidate of my online course, through a very difficult relationship challenge. Her husband cheated on her for 1 1/2 years and she found everything out by accident (or not). She wanted to split up, then run an open relationship, then she decided to need space for 3 months and wanted him to move out and then in the end she decided, after having worked through all of her issues connected to this situation, to let her husband keep living with the family and work through their issues together. I maneuvered her through every aspect and internally she grew so much in these past months. She upleveled so fast like many people will never do in a lifetime. She feels so much more secure in herself, so much more relaxed, at peace, selflove and respect. She stands up for her wants and needs and believes in herself. I am so happy for her and so proud of her!
Something I wish I had done differently this year was make time for more outdoor adventures and for tech free Friday's. I wish I replaced tech with something my boys and I could get excited about doing together or with friends. There is a part of me that wishes we were living more of an outdoor life connected to nature and purposeful living. Something I'm especially proud of this year is that I continued my healing work internally and also that this work has allowed me the stillness, strength, and centered love to start a private practice to support others on their healing journey. And in reading last year's response- I realize I aalso proud of my relationship with my boys and my home life- I am in a sweeter spot with Isaiah. A calmer connected place, where I can listen, ask questions, not react to his outbursts or not contribute to them. we are doing great. I wish for this to continue.
I wish I learned sooner how to say no to guys who did not give me what I wanted. I kept thinking that if I just try long enough, they will come around. At some level, I was scared that perhaps if I cut off this one, I am limiting my options, all the while not realizing that I am keeping myself stuck in the past and unable to move on. When it finally clicked for me and I blocked all the guys who I knew deep down I have no future with, I felt enormously relieved. And the move to Germany of course, but that was way easier :)
This year I tried pottery, as in throwing clay on a wheel. I signed up for my 1st class and wasn’t very good. Im on class number 4 and still not very good. I love that I keep trying and it’s good messy fun! And that I didn’t quit after the 1st class.
Not fuck as many friendships up from my drinking. This is something I’ll be working on over the next twelve months. I am also proud that I am still here.
I wish I had not gone back. I’m proud that I’ve come so far for school.
I am proud of my dogged perseverance to get the main tasks that needed doing done at my house, and especially proud of myself that even when justifiably angered by the utter lack of customer service in pretty much every step of the way, I was still extremely courteous/professional.
One thing I'm proud of is having the courage and will to try things, however small. A new class. A new restaurant. A new driving path. A thing I wish I did differently? Nothing. I believe everything comes to you the moment you are ready to handle it. And if it's a heavy thing, it's just meant for character development. The pandemic has depleted me, but things are looking up, finally.
Spent less time on social media especially when I don't want to be on ir but feel obliged
I shouldn't have worried so much how to keep the house clean and food done after my baby wad born. I am proud to become a mother
I am proud that I am still alive, that I am still quite sane. I am proud of my contribution to ICC and how the girls have turned the corner.
This year, I am proud of how I applied myself to my studied, and proved that I can excel if I try. I won a prize for creative writing, and have submitted the piece to a journal. With help from my partner I have been able to turn around the quality of marks I was getting, which means I should hopefully be able to achieve my academic goals.