The Year of Patience
- May 25, 2017
- 2 min read
As I blow out another set of birthday candles (29 this year - wowza my twenties flew by), I'm excited to take on yet another 365-day personal challenge - the Year of Patience.
This now-annual tradition began when I wanted to take on the Year Without Fear at 27, and continued with my Year to Listen at 28. Both "Year" challenges were successful in so many ways, and gave me an excuse to step outside of my comfort zone and grow a little bit more than I would have otherwise. So when it came time to find this year's opportunity for growth, it was my very own Charlie Brown who pinpointed something in particular that I could use some work on.
"What about a Year of Patience?"
:::major side eye::: "You think I need to work on my patience?"
"Do you disagree?"
....ok, so he's not exactly wrong.
So what does it mean to practice a Year of Patience? Well for one, it means that I'm making a conscious effort to work on my eagerness while at work, while out and about, and especially while stuck in traffic (which thankfully doesn't happen as much as it used to anymore #WorkFromHome). In many cases, I just feel trapped when I am surrounded by traffic and noise (human, email, vehicular or otherwise) and tend to panic a little bit. Apologies to my steeling wheel and unbeknownst people in front of me for the things I say to them.
In other ways, I'm using the Year of Patience to take care of myself. For instance, I've been dealing with a foot issue that I'm guessing stemmed from my marathon in October. Anytime I go for a run, I feel a nagging sharp pain in my right foot that's bothered me, but not enough to hang up my running shoes for a while and deal with it. In fact, my eagerness to run in another race in resulted in me training for and running another half marathon this past weekend.
:::shrugs:::
So, I'm taking some time off, from long distances at least, and am going to give my foot some time to heal.
More so, the Year of Patience is the perfect opportunity to re-channel my inner yogi, especially now that I'm not running as much. A couple of years ago, I was on a hot streak and attending Saturday morning yoga. It gave me an hour every week to unplug and unwind, and you know what? It was so amazing, and I would walk away every week without a care in the world. I'm excited to roll out my mat and start attending classes again, and observing how it impacts me in the long run. Namaste, ladies and gents.
29 is going to be great year, I can promise you that. Among new adventures, a few haircuts and likely a "holy crap I'm almost 30" freakout, I'm looking forward to another year of actively making myself stronger and better off than the year before.
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