Have you reviewed 2019 yet? I’m not just talking about a trip down memory lane, I’m talking about really thinking about what made 2019 great — or not so great — why, and how you can take everything you learned in 2019 into 2020 to make it an even better year.
What was your greatest triumph of 2019?
Hands down my greatest accomplishment this year had nothing to do with running — it was gathering my courage to enroll in Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) and becoming a Yoga teacher.
What steps did you take that helped you complete this accomplishment?
There were so many small steps that led up to graduating YTT:
- Discussing it with Mr. Judy, because it would be time consuming and it would effect him, too.
- Online or in person?
- Researching reviews of the program — and I’ll be honest, it seems few people actually do review their YTTs online, so that was difficult.
- Actually enrolling.
- Watching all the videos and taking notes.
- Showing up to almost all the live calls (there were three a week). Sometimes that meant not being able to hang with friends.
- Doing the homework (yes, there was homework).
- Practicing yoga with my friend.
- Developing my practicum.
- Figuring out how the heck to film my practicum!
It’s a long list, and it really doesn’t cover all that I did, but you get the idea. If you want to achieve a goal, you have to break it down into little steps.
Just like training for a race — most of us don’t just go out and race a marathon, we lay down our base, add in certain workouts (tempos, 800 repeats) and slowly increase our long runs. That’s why people say it’s a marathon, not a sprint!
What did you learn from your challenges in 2019?
There are always bumps in the road. We don’t learn as much from smooth sailing. One of my biggest challenges this year was dealing with my parents’ health problems and just being there for them through the good and bad — and there has been a whole lot of bad.
I learned that sometimes you just have to lend a compassionate ear. I think we all know this, but we want to fix problems. Often that’s not really what the person needs, but fixing something feels good — to us. It’s harder to listen to complaints and just be compassionate. Yes, that’s even part of the Yoga Sutras!
By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.” — Patanjali
It’s not always easy to just show compassion to the unhappy, but the point is to not let their unhappiness make you unhappy — and not to try to fix them, just listen. Sometimes that’s all someone needs.
Did you let fear hold you back from doing anything in 2019?
If it did, I can’t remember it. I have definitely let fear hold me back from doing things at times — sometimes as simple as going to a party. I’m an introvert; I don’t particularly like large parties, I much prefer small, intimate gatherings.
On the other hand, going to a party where I knew no one except the host was exactly how I met Mr. Judy. Here we are, more than 34 years later.
Fear is there to prevent you from doing something stupid that could hurt you, but it’s too easy to let fear prevent us from doing scary things that will help us grow. I have definitely done a lot scary things this year, not the least putting myself on video and uploading it to Youtube.
By the way, if you missed it, I released a longer Yin Yoga video that can help you destress and calm down after a hectic day. You can find it here. Yin Yoga involves longer holds, and that means they’re not short practices. Trust me, though, you’ll feel a lot more relaxed after trying this video. Comment on the video and let me know what you thought!
What are you going to change in 2020?
If we’re not changing we’re not growing. Status quo is calm and safe — but where do you feel the greatest sense of accomplishment — from staying in your comfort zone or pushing yourself out of it?
I’ll be honest: I don’t know what I want to change in 2020. There is no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be a tough year. Probably even tougher than 2019 was. This is a question I still need to ponder. I’ll leave you with a few more questions to ponder — and feel free to add more questions to this list in the comments!
What was the hardest thing you did in 2019?
What was the most rewarding thing you did in 2019?
What worked great for you in 2019?
Chocolaterunsjudy 
Love your review, Judy! Looks like you had a great 2019 overall! Great job with the Yoga teacher training certification.
My hardest thing was not being able to run for most of 2019. It was frustrating and I felt like in a dark place with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Most rewarding was travelling together with my husband: 3 months in Spain, 1 month in Berlin, rest divided between Florida and Switzerland. It was definitely an interesting year.
Most rewarding: getting back into running!
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I could run, but I also couldn’t commit to much, so that was frustrating, too. But at least I was able to run.
I think I’d train my races for your travel!
Here’s to a great year of running in 2020, Catrina.
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Congrats on your 2019 accomplishment. It was a big one.
The obvious hardest thing was deciding to do a marathon and then doing it.
But the biggest challenge was letting go of things. First tennis that I’ve played for 15 years and then accepting my job for what it is.
I succeeded in the first. Still working in the last two.
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Accepting the job is a big one, because you spend so much time there. I know that it’s hard, but it’s even harder when you spend a lot of time being angry about it.
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Yup.
The marathon was a big one esp at my age.
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As you know, I love introspection. Thanks for a great list of questions to ponder. I will take some time to think about it, but right now, I’m stuck on the first one. I don’t know what my greatest triumph of 2019 was. I’m going to have to look back over my photos to jog my memory.
You had a benchmark year this year. Congrats again on receiving your yoga teaching certificate. I see good things ahead for you in 2020!
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When do you have time for introspection, Laurie?! You’re always on the go! But you also write such thought provoking posts, so obviously you do.
I hope there are good things ahead in 2020. The last few years have been hard. And I know that 2020 is starting out very hard, as well. Pretty sure some very hard things will happen in it, but hopefully some good things, too.
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This is a very thoughtful review of your year. It was great to watch you step out of your comfort zone and achieve your yoga certification. Can’t wait to see what yoga brings to your life this year. Fear does sometimes hold me back from trying something new. One particular thing I can recall is-I am afraid to sign up for a trail Ragnar even though I have done so many road races.
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I would say that it’s probably equal parts fear and the things going on in my family holding me back from pursuing a studio class right now.
I am still slowly putting myself out there, as much I feel comfortable with. And doing the videos — oh yes, that was way, way, way out of my comfort zone!
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I like your take on reviewing the year. The list of my Baylee was a huge dark cloud that hung over me this year but I am going to try and rejoice in the happy times I’ve had this year.
Congrats again on the Yoga certificate! If I was closer I’d love to take a class with you. -M
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I understand. We lost Gizmo at the beginning of 2018. His loss wasn’t as bad as some of the last furkid losses, since he had such a good, long life. I still miss him very much though. I miss having a cat in general.
I have always said that I’d rather love & lose than never love at all, but it’s still hard.
You can take a class with me. One of my Youtube classes, LOL!
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I really admire your courage to take on becoming a yoga instructor. We all have fear, but sometimes facing that fear is pretty empowering. I look forward to seeing where your yoga takes you in 2020!
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Oh, I am still fearful about plenty of things — and not reaching a lot of yoga yet, partly due to that, partly due to my family situation right now. I’ll get there.
When I feel strongly about something I like to share it with others!
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I love these questions! Completing your YTT is a huge accomplishment! I considered yoga teacher training a few years ago but just couldn’t commit. Plus it was expensive and with a kid going to college, I couldn’t justify it. I still would like to do it but I want to focus on rehab/yoga for athletes if I do.
As far as your questions go, I don’t think fear held me back from anything this year! If anything, I think I’ve become less fearful, especially after that prolonged flare I had last spring. That just made me more determined to push myself. Heck, that last race proved to me that nothing is going to hold me back from achieving my goals, not even vomit…lol. The most rewarding thing? I think completing the pediatric mental health certification. It was hard but when I can use what I learned to help kids who are struggling…well, that is a reward in itself. Running my half marathon last month was also rewarding–I wasn’t sure I still had that distance in me!
I think I’ve shared with you that I am scared of getting older and scared that my health will decline. I’m motivated by that. I want to keep going until my body tells me I can’t. Not my mind.
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Trust me, there is an awful lot to be scared about getting older. At least you have family to take care of you – other than siblings, we have none. Now that’s super scary!
Well, we do have nieces & nephews.
It’s definitely part of why I try to make healthy choices most of the time!
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The hardest and most rewarding thing I did in 2019 was to do my ultra. I don’t plan to do another, and it went as well as it could have. I also ran a Run and Talk run which our running club appreciated and made the big decision to withdraw from one aspect of my run volunteering. Next year is about not pushing myself too hard and not rushing around to races, also about getting off my medication and getting stronger physically again. Thank you for the prompts and well done on a great year in 2019 yourself.
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Ah, everyone always say they don’t plan to do another . . .
I’m with you on trying to be stronger physically & also not pushing too hard . . . sometimes. Growth does come from getting outside our comfort zone!
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Completing your Yoga Teacher Training was a huge accomplishment for you this year and you should be very proud. Also, your YouTube videos are so impressive! I still can’t bring myself to do those or live FB videos.
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Aww, thanks. I know there’s a lot of room for improvement but you gotta start where you are. You’ll notice I’m not doing FB Lives . . . maybe someday. When I feel more comfortable with the whole process.
I bet you could do awesome videos! But it’s been a huge learning curve for me & a big time suck. I know eventually it won’t take so long & I’ve definitely learned a lot, but every one so far has seemed to fight me!
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