2011 Annual Review: Looking Back

I have also written my 2011 Annual Review: Looking Forward.

Thanks to Chris Stott for being brave enough to post his annual review which is based upon Chris Guillebeau’s annual review. These two guys have really changed how I do my annual review’s nowadays. Not only in the way that they are actually being done but also that I’m posting it here on my blog for everyone to see! Especially thanks to you Chris Stott for being so engaging through Google Plus

So without any further ado, here is my successes and failures of 2011.

WHAT WENT WELL:

I got my business off the ground – Technically, my “doors” opened in 2008. But I was still in school at the time and wasn’t really sure what I was doing. This past year was my first year where I was able to do my business full time and it was my only source of income. And, I might add, it was a fantastic year!

I started toliveinfreedom.com – This was a blog that was a long-time in the making. It had many previous lives but I finally feel excited about what it has become and the potential that it has to grow. I’m blogging about things that I feel truly passionate about and even if no one is reading it, I’m enjoying it.

I didn’t get sick – I can’t remember getting sick at all this year. So if I did, then it wasn’t that memorable. Seeing as how I have type 1 diabetes and as such my immune system is weak at times, this is an accomplishment for me. It also tells me that I’m getting better at taking care of myself!

I started working out regularly – Thank you to the Tone it up girls (Katrina and Karena). Well I suppose that I should first start by thanking my boyfriend, Juan, for getting me started. And then thanks to the tone it up girls for keeping me motivated and providing me with new workouts and diet plans. For a little bit of a backstory here, I used to be an intense athlete. Then, life got in the way, and I just stopped working out. I had gotten frustrated with myself. But no more. I’m headed in the right direction and couldn’t be prouder.

I maintained a strong long-distance relationship – this DEFINITELY falls into the what went well category. Long-distance relationships are hard. In the past, they haven’t gone very well for me. My boyfriend lives in South America (Colombia) so this is most definitely the longest long-distance relationship in terms of distance AND in terms of length (we’re almost at 1 year and 2 months). We have both managed to keep this relationship strong despite living so far away from each other. I’m very happy about this making the list!

I got serious about getting out of debt – I had always wanted to get out of debt. In theory. But I never really wanted to go without certain “necessities” in order to do so. These necessities for me are mostly centered around travel. But this year, I finally realized the quicker I get out of debt, the sooner I can travel all over the world. So now I have an aggressive debt repayment plan in place (and I’ve successfully maintained it for about 5 months now). The best part though is that I’ve still been able to travel. Not as much as I was. But still traveling somewhat.

I was introduced to minimalism – Now while I don’t consider myself a minimalist, the introduction to minimalism inspired me in so many ways. This blog became what it is because of what came up for me while decluttering. Minimalism as a philosophy helped me but a vocabulary to what I was feeling inside – that there had to be much more to life than what I was currently experiencing. I still have a lot of things I could give away. But my days are filled with much more love for others and self-care after being introduced to minimalism.

I invested in firepole marketing – This was a relatively large investment for me and my business. And I wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth it. I’m only halfway through the course right now and it’s been well worth what I paid for. 2012 will be amazing for me partly because of this course and as such it certainly falls under the what went well category.

I began working with two of my largest clients to date – I couldn’t be happier about this. I’m currently negotiating contracts with the University of Texas at Brownsville and we just recently signed a year contract to do editorial layout work for Affiliate Summit and their Feedfront magazine.

I wrote my bucket list - I had always had these items running around in my head. I finally committed them to paper (or rather a page on my website) to hold myself accountable as I work to cross items off.

I found (and joined) the impossible league - Not only have I found someone who I suspect is my long-lost personality twin (yay Sarah!) but this site has inspired me to go after my life! I strongly encourage everyone to check it out.

WHAT DID NOT GO SO WELL:

I felt very unorganized this year – I think it was more a lack of focus than it was being unorganized. Either way, I didn’t like the way it felt at all.

I got into some more debt – This is what led up to me finally making a decision to aggressively start paying down my debts. Although, what got me into more debt this year was a totally wonderful experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world!

I left the country three times this year but added no new countries or states to my list – I visited countries I had already been to before. Now while I love the fact that I got to travel, I wish I had been able to cross some more places off my bucket list.

I felt a serious lack of connection – this has lasted all year. I’ve seen friendships weaken or become non-existent, I have struggled at times to feel connected to my long-distance boyfriend, etc etc. This is part of why this blog was born as well. Connection is a huge priority for me and this year I just didn’t partake in it.

There was a lack of joy in my life too – this one was hard for me to admit to. Especially on my blog. But it’s true. There were temporary feelings of joy throughout the year but they were temporary. Not a long-lasting sense of joy. And THAT is what I need more of in my life.

BOTTOM LINE:

I had some major good things happen to me this year and things that I’m very proud of myself for accomplishing. But there were also some major “needs” of mine that weren’t met this year. However, I truly believe that we analyze in order to know where to focus our attention for the upcoming year.

What has your 2011 looked like? Do you do an annual review? If so, link to it in the comments. I’d love to see what y’all have done this year!

Breathe. Live. Love

Lindsay

You can connect with me on G+