The Year in Review

As I did last year, I find it helpful to reflect upon the good and the bad of 2016.

Minimization

After 2015 focused on minimization, I didn't need to do as much in this area.  I did notice, however, a general spirit in my life now of 'use it or lose it.'  It's a helpful attitude to have, and I continued to minimize (albeit at a slower pace) in 2016.  May it continue!

Personal Spending

I did reasonably well here, using only gift money (or proceeds from game/card sales) for personal spending. That is, until November, when I became infatuated with a 'dead' CCG and spent a few hundred dollars on that.  I must make up for it; my Christmas money went towards minimizing that deficit.  I'm less materialistic than I used to be, but I'm not there yet.

Reading

I met two important goals this year in the books:
- I read down the number of books in my "owned but unread" pile
- I read less

Regarding the first goal: after starting the year at 30 such books, I ended at 5.  As long as the number is less than 10, I'm happy.  I don't want to start piling up things here I'll never get around to doing.

Regarding the second: yes, this sounds odd, but there's only so much time in a day, and reading 80+ books/20,000 pages per year came at the expense of other priorities.  So though I exceeded my 2016 goal (36 books), my numbers are still down from the year prior: 53 books, just over 14,000 pages.  Solid; I'm happy with that amount.  My post here recaps this year's recommendations.

Fitness

My goal was to get to 180 lbs; I failed.  I dropped 5 lbs in the first few months, then gained it back and leveled off the rest of the year- I'm still at 195 lbs. My overall health improved, though, as I worked out a lot more and exceeded my goals in that area:

2014: 51 runs for 104.6 miles, 98 gym workouts
2015: 47 runs for 103.0 miles, 81 gym workouts, 5 soccer games, 5 PT sessions

2016 goal: 80 runs for 150 miles, 100 gym workouts.
2016: 98 runs for 205.8 miles, 115 gym workouts, 4 bike rides

I also did 36 yard work sessions (mowing, raking, weeding, trimming), which definitely counts as exercise.  Unfortunately, I did not stretch more frequently, and that's shown.  I need to work hard on flexibility in 2017.

Nutrition

Ahhh, here's the problem.  I worked out more and didn't lose weight in part because I ate poorly.  I need to eat less sugar and snacks in 2017.

Spiritual

My relationship with the Lord still isn't where it should be. I read the entire Bible this year (well, I listened to it).  This year I want to do more focused, in-depth study.  I didn't make the time for prayer  nearly as consistently as I should; that must improve next year. I didn't get the family into daily devotionals, either- that must change.  On the plus side, we got actively involved in our church community, which was a blessing.

Parenting

This section is a verbatim repeat from last year.  I'm not a great parent. I'm too quick to anger at home- I have to remember that I can't expect my children (ages 6, 4, and 1) to act (or reason) like adults. I also get uneasy when the house is a mess- which is all the time- so I have to dial back the OCD if I have any hope of surviving their childhood. Finally, I don't do a good job cherishing the time, frequently looking away to the future when the current challenges will be overcome. May I remember that current challenges will be replaced with other, possibly harder, ones, so I need to learn to enjoy each stage for what it is. Our kids actually like us now- so may I take advantage of that rather than view it as a burden that they're CONSTANTLY in our faces, even when we're in the bathroom.

Conclusion
This year, I made considerable progress in:
- reading
- working out
- Scripture reading

but fell short in:
- flexibility
- nutrition
- prayer
- family devotionals
- parenting

I'm glad I made certain strides, but 2017 needs to see improvement in many areas.