Looking Back at Last Year's Resolutions

Do you ever go back and see if you achieved last year's resolution? It seems like we just move forward. I challenged myself to look back at a resolution I wrote down last year. Remember this post?
My goal was to tap away at my neglected keyboard. I had dropped my writing habit, and my intention for 2014 was to get myself writing again.

Despite popular life coach advice to make all goals measurable, specific and exact mine was not. But you know what? Not being exact left me with an indreibly open mind. My first brave venture of 2014 was to attend a writing group. It seemed everyone was hacking away at novels. I didn't know if I was cut out for such a task but I courageously tackled a couple chapters just so I could show up to this group. As part of the group writing process I read my ameature novel out loud and then was critiqued out loud the following week.  It was the scariest thing I've done.  It was harsh and humbling. I went for a couple more sessions and guess what I learned? Now is not the time for a novel, for now I'm focusing on shorter pieces like articles. This humiliating experience like most humiliating  experiences taught me something of great value. I'm glad I went and I hope I will be in a position to go back one day. I don't think I failed per say I think I fell. And it's okay to fall, because that is how we learn.

Being open minded meant I was open to rejection and acceptance. I submitted a piece to ksl and they rejected it. But the amazing thing was the editor called me on the phone and left me a message. Did you hear that? Called me. Not email, not IM, not text. She said something like, "We cannot accept this article and I would like you to know why, but I can see you have talent for writing and I would love for you to try again." She asked me to call her back.  At first I was irritated, like many of us are at the first sign of rejection and then as I swirled it around in my mouth the taste turned from bitter to sweet. The same editor gave me a personal assignment. I did it, she worked with me and got it published. This gave me the courage this write another piece for ksl, which they published and I hope to continue to work with them. This is a story of rejection and acceptance. They both hold weight and meaning.

Before this I had geargenius.com ask me to write and review products for them. It has been a joyous gig in where I test out outdoor gear and equipment and then I write reviews about said gear. I also write for their other sections. It's never once felt like a job more like hobby where I get to pursue my passion of fitness and the outdoors and then sew them all together with my writing. I absolutely love it and I hope they'll keep me on for years to come.

So here we are in February, more than a year later. Did I achieve my goal? Of course I did because I took the total cop-out approach of being completely vague about my ambitions. Okay that's one argument. But the answer I like better is YES I did achieve it only because my so-called vagueness allowed me to let go of goals that were unlikely and out of reach and embrace what is possible for me at this time in my life. I'd like to say I did more, and I will do more but for now I feel like I am inching my way toward something I've wanted to do for a long time.