January Recap

Hi Everyone! Thank you for reading my article! I hope you are doing well!

If you care about your development, it is very important to know your strengths and weaknesses. The easiest way to discover them is to write down your achievements and failures every day before you go to sleep. I don't like the world failure, so I prefer to call it "area for improvement" :-)

Here is the link to the video for my today's article: January Recap.

Today I want to talk about my January activities: what did I do right, and what did I do wrong. You can look at my examples and think of your achievements and areas for improvement. What have helped you to become more successful, what was holding you back. By analyzing your achievements and failures you can make a huge progress in your self-development.

Now let me start with my achievements.

1. I signed up for singing classes. I attended 4 classes so far and I loved it! You probably think that this is not a big achievement, but for me it was something new, something out of my comfort zone. I spend way too much time by myself. I study a lot, but I do it online and I don't meet new people. It is not because I feel stressed when I am surrounded by people I don't know, I don't really care. I just never felt the need of meeting up with someone. But I do believe that humans are social creatures and we do need to interact with each other, it is almost like some type of social obligation for me. If you are in Chicago and looking for singing classes, here is the link to the school and the teacher that I like: Old Town School of Folk Music - Julia Storke.

2. I sewn a cardigan. I used the pattern M7476. The fabric I got at Joann's a while ago. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take good photos of finished garment. I just want to say that I liked the result, the cardigan came out cute and warm :-)

3. I presented the project results. I was extremely busy at work in January. We finished phase one of very interesting project and presented it to managers. I was not the leader of the project, but I was given an opportunity to introduce myself to the department I usually don't interact with. I also was invited to a new project by my manager. I cannot share the details of what I am doing in the office, because most of my work is confidential, but I want to say that I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that I got at work. I am super busy, but I love it!

4. I went to Minnesota for a weekend! It was the best part of my January! My friend Sally has a daughter Sophia who plays volleyball and she participated in Midwest tournament. They won all the games and the energy was amazing! I also visited art gallery, a cute park, and an aquarium (in my previous article I posted some photos). My decision to go to Minneapolis was very spontaneous and it exceeded my expectations. I think that we need to be open to different opportunities that come up to our life and take them without fears!

Now I need to mention couple of my areas for improvement:

1. Take care of my health. I was not very smart and was walking around in Minnesota without my coat or scarf. As a result I got my cough that I had in December back. I was so happy when I got rid of it. Now I have to take medicine again, otherwise I cannot sleep because this cough becomes strong right when I go to bed. Oh well, it was a good lesson. Don't walk around without warm clothes if you are in a cold state! :-)

2. Watch less comedy shows. I like one comedy show and I was watching it almost every day. Too much! I usually mix fun stuff with educational videos or with videos related to crafts. But for some reason in January it was all about comedy show. I even watched interviews of comedians! I call it addiction, ha-ha. I promised myself that in February I will be more careful and will watch something else. I already watched some Brian Tracy's self-development videos and sewing videos. So I feel better about myself now.

Based on my achievements and failures I already set up some goals for February. I want to sew a new garment. I have some fabric leftovers from cardigan and I already started to work on a skirt M7386. I definately will take care of my health. I want to study more. I will continue my singing classes. And as I like to add something new to my life, I decided to learn how to cook asian food. I already made chicken with teriayki sauce yesterday and it came out really yummy. Maybe I will share my favorite recipes in early March.

To sum up I want to say that tracking of achievements and failures everyday is very useful. Don't think of your mistakes as of something bad, they are just lessons, learn from them with a smile on your face! I hope you will create your own January recap and will work on your self-development joyfully!

Be Strong And Love Yourself!

From Dasha With Love!

Love Wins!