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Not Resolutions but New Beginnings
Jan. 7th, 2023 06:01 pmCross Posted from Post.News: https://post.news/@spiritedrinoa
I don't do "resolutions", per se, but I do see the new year as a new opportunity. There's something about the days getting longer and brighter that helps fill me with energy. I'm sure that the fact that I just came off nearly two weeks of vacation also helps. In 2023, I want to continue my journey learning Japanese, and also focus on my physical/mental well-being.
Last year, on January 1st, I ended up starting a journey in learning Japanese. One that, at the time, I didn't know how tenacious I'd be with it. I've tried engaging in self-study for foreign languages in the past, and they've always fallen flat. I've tried French - since I took the equivalent of 5 years by the time I was out of high school, German - since I know a few people I could converse with, Norwegian - because other than French and English it's the 3rd biggest part of my ancestry, and Japanese - but I didn't stick with it long the last time.
This time around, I managed to stumble on a great supplemental online at-your-own pace course, which also included a great community to help keep me encouraged and engaged. The course and community is ToKini Andy, if anyone here is also looking for such a resource.
And I stuck with it. In one year, I got through the first 8 lessons of my textbook; no small feat while working full time, having family commitments, and also trying to have some down time that wasn't studying.
In 2023, I want to continue this journey, and hope to stay on pace, meaning I'll be 1/3 to 1/2 way through the second textbook come December 2023.
In addition, today I took a big step towards my physical health focus by completing day 1 of Yoga with Adrienne's CENTER video series. I plan to follow this for roughly the next 30 days (knowing that I will miss the few Mondays when I need to be in the office), and then see where to go from there, based on how strong my core and abilities are feeling once I complete this.
Last year, I increased the amount of walking I did (my whole family did). I hope to do even better this year. I managed to get through the 30 minute yoga session today, which I haven't been able to do since early in the pandemic, so I suspect last year's increased walking helped.
