It's the final Friday in February and it could be because it is the shortest month, but it seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. For me, the month of February was filled with hockey. My 14 year old daughter and her team won Gold at the Alberta Winter Games on February 17th. That same day, my 16 year old son and his team won Silver at their tournament in Phoenix. As a hockey mom, that felt like a pretty gratifying reward. However, aside from getting them to their events and cheering them on, I can't take credit for those achievements.
My February training was geared toward exercise, eating well and getting more sleep. I have to report that I was less successful than my children. I had some successes, but overall, I am still not getting as much sleep as I wanted. My successes with my diet and exercise from the previous month were stalled because I took a hiatus from my plan in Phoenix at my son's tournament. I also found it difficult to get back into my good routine immediately when I returned home. But all is not lost. I asked myself the question I often ask my coaching clients when they don't do the homework from the previous session. I asked myself,"What did you learn from this experience?" And I realized that I learned a lot!
First, I checked in with myself to see if I was really committed to my exercise, diet and sleep goals. Sometimes when we set a goal and don't follow through with it, it might be that the goal wasn't really resonant for us. When I checked in with myself, I felt that my health really is a priority and I do want to improve these areas in my life. So then I asked myself, "what are some ways I could create more support for myself in making positive changes in these areas?" I decided to enlist my family's assistance and asked them to encourage me get to bed at an earlier time. I asked them to help out more with some of the work that sometimes keeps me up late. I also asked them to check-in with me to see I go to bed when they do and have even given them permission to nag me, if necessary. I will see if this makes a difference.
I also believe that getting more sleep will help me with my exercise goals. I have been pretty good about exercising when I am committed to meeting my friends for a run or walk. I am less committed when it is just up to me to go on my own, especially if I am feeling tired. So the extra sleep and making exercise plans with friends will definitely help me.
As for food, I am less excited about my commitment in this area. But I do know that routine helps me eat well. So pre-planning my meals makes it much more likely for me to stay on track with my goals. I am also factoring in some more flexibility on weekends and holidays, so that I can enjoy socializing without feeling so restricted.
So as I reflect on my February, I am giving myself and Gold and Silver medal for my coaching work, parenting, helping my mom self-publish the book she wrote this summer and for finding fun in joy in every day this month. And I am giving myself an Honourable Mention for my health efforts because even though I didn't do exactly what I had intended, I did make some progress and I have a good plan for moving forward next month.
How about you? What were some of your successes and joys in the month of February? How were you loving to yourself? What would you like to celebrate? What would you like to change? What did you learn this month?
Please post anything you would like to share below or on Social Media. We can learn so much from each other experiences.
And stay tuned for my MAP- March post this upcoming Monday, March 2nd! We will keep going with, "My Amazing-Year Plan," mapping things out month by month and creating a wonderful year for ourselves!