Well that year went by quickly! Okay, 2014 isn’t completely over yet, but with the grand Everest adventure just a day away, it feels like a nice day for accountability.
Honestly, I can’t help wondering where 2014 went. I had quite a few goals and I started strong with a great focus. Inevitably, life happened. I enrolled in a personal leadership and life coaching program that has taken up a bulk of my time. It’s not that I was derailed from what I wanted to achieve, but perhaps I took on too many things, and found myself dabbling more often than seeing everything to fruition. Lesson learned. I’m gearing up for 2015 to be the best year ever with a clear focus, but first, it’s time for a quick roundup. I’ve copied the post from January, now with added reflection!
I cannot believe that we’re already halfway through January! Usually this month feels tough with winter chills and short days, but between work, fitness groups, trip planning, snowboarding and reconnecting with people, the year has started strong with no signs of slowing down! It’s been busy, just the way I like it.
I recently discussed themes for the year. Before the excitement of life gets in the way, I’m finally dedicating some time to write down the goals I want to accomplish. Once they’re out there in the universe, I really should follow-up… Continue reading “2014: Making Things Happen”
Well, it’s time for something new. 2013 was a year of very interesting and unexpected changes. I hope 2014 will be one of great changes. One of my many goals for the upcoming year is to overhaul my digital life. This is no small undertaking! I’ve already been addressing this task since the clock hit midnight and it’s proving to be a nightmare. It started with an email migration gone wrong. At some point, my photos will be imported to Lightroom instead of iPhoto. I want to tackle online security with a complete update of my passwords and and exploration of data encryption. I know, it all sounds fun!
And then there’s my blog, which has becoming an important part of my life and my digital online presence. I write to recount the adventures and misadventures in my life. I set goals, create lists, track fitness, and write about distant places. Beyonce has received several shot-outs on here, so obviously I treat this blog as gold. Writing keeps my thoughts focused and oftentimes I find the process cathartic.
I’ve come a long way in my personal blogging. I remember wanting to find a way to tell my family about my adventures when I lived in London in 2006. At that time, Yahoo 360 was available and accessible. I really enjoyed writing while I was over there, especially since there were many days of solitude outside of work. I wrote about how I set off the fire alarm at the School of Pharmacy where I worked, and was caught on camera in a mad panic. My adventures took me to Leeds Castle, the Cotswolds, and on a Harry Potter tour across England. I travelled to Alicante, Spain to visit a friend who was there attending a conference and that’s where I developed a love for mojitos. I spent a lovely day with a Korean girl exploring great altitudes near Interlaken, Switzerland, and studied French in Montreaux. I’m writing a brief account here because unfortunately I lost that blog. Yahoo 360 shut down and with it, my blog posts vanished. Back in Canada, I decided to restart another blog, this time with Blogger, which eventually became part of Google. Blogger has been a great platform to discuss the amazing experiences I’ve had in Alberta: Hiking. Friendships. Travel. The Big Mountain Challenge. The list goes on.
And now, third time’s a charm. For a while I’ve considered taking my blogging even further. I have no idea what that means, really, but I’m convinced that a self-hosted blog is the way to go. As 2014 was approaching, I figured: this is the year. I’ll learn to build a website, host it, and explore blogging using WordPress. At the time of writing this, the new blog is in rough shape as the migration of my posts didn’t go as planned. It’ll be a project in progress for the next little while, but I’m excited about it! The new website is:
So why InspirationRick? It’s been my Twitter handle and Instagram profile name for quite some time. The name actually came about as a joke one day. A few years ago, I was hardcore into the fitness program P90X to the point where a few friends thought I put them to shame. This was not true, but alas, they remarked that I somehow inspired them to step it up. I sent them a photo with two thumbs up, a rainbow, and a magic star. From then on, the InspirationRick nickname was born.
Here we are years later, and to me, InspirationRick means something different, yet personal. It’s a reminder to keep my eyes and heart open for the people, opportunities, experiences, and adventures that inspire me to face this world head-on with the finite time I have. It’s a reminder that I need to slow down and smell the proverbial roses, and the world will give back in kind for the soul. It’s a reminder that even though the world is large, there’s never a shortage of inspiration around me, whether an arm’s length away or a far off destination. It’s a reminder to appreciate the friends and family who I love. Their love is the most inspiring of all.
We’re all faced with amazing things around us. We just need to pay attention.
And if something I experience results in a glimmer of inspiration for someone else, then that’s not a bad thing either :).
Each year I spend some time over the holidays to think about the upcoming year. I tend not to think about resolutions, which in my mind, have a connotation of success or inevitable failure. Instead, I like to outline my focus for the coming year. Think of it as a vision statement that guides my goals. It’s important to jot these things down because ideas swirling in my head result in little action. Writing down my areas of focus act as a roadmap for the journey throughout the year.
Throughout the ups and downs related to my job, my mind would wander to three main topics:
1) Travel
2) Health and Fitness
3) Financial Freedom
And a fourth topic came to light over the past couple of months:
4) Managing my digital life
Travel
It’s no secret that I love to travel and experience new places, cultures, and all of the emotions that come with those adventures. I spent most of November reading the travel blogs of inspirational people who had left their growing careers for a nomadic lifestyle. Oftentimes we tell ourselves that there’s never enough money or time to travel. This is clearly false; if so many others can change their lifestyle to one of travel, then why can’t I? These people aren’t rich; they’ve just shifted priorities. These people don’t spend a fortune; they just adopt strategies for near-free flights and elite status upgrades. These people aren’t unique in thinking about an unconventional life; they’ve just decided to take action. And I’m jumping on that bandwagon: Travel Hacking. Couch Surfing. House Sitting. Remote Living. Discount travel of any kind. It’s all in the realm of possibility. I’m not saying I want to be completely nomadic and go off the grid, but I do want to travel more. That’s what it comes down to. And I’ll figure out how. Of course, I also have a list of places I would love to visit, but more on that in a subsequent blog post.
Health and Fitness
Admittedly, choosing to be as healthy as I can be and adapting my schedule to include fitness is a lifestyle, not a fad. So this focus is nothing new, but I write it down every year. I have been plagued with several injuries. My ankle hurts; I have tendonitis in my right elbow; curses to the chronic neck and back pain; and the entire right side of my body from the waist down feels like it requires some major physiotherapy. All excuses though! I’ll be taking control of these health issues in the New Year. A costly endeavour, but health comes first. Nutrition will also be a priority again this year after a miserable attempt last year. At the very least, I should try some new recipes. And then there’s my workout routine. I plan to complete P90X3, organize fitness challenges, and begin running again. It’s time to conquer some more races and inch my way toward that triathlon. Hiking will be a predominant activity as always.
Financial Freedom (well… sort of.)
No, I don’t want to retire… yet. But I will be exploring ways to add value to my current skills through workshops and certificates while I expand into contract work. This involves learning about small business ownership and how I can offer my statistical and data analysis services remotely. I also plan to look into the process of becoming a Beachbody coach and what all of that entails. Financial freedom is definitely a work in progress, but it’s on my radar this year.
Managing My Digital Life
This will be ongoing, but I’m so bogged down with different emails, software that I don’t use to its potential, gigabytes of photos that are spiralling out of organizational control, and an online presence that requires full-time hours to manage. There has to be a way to make things easier. There just has to be.
And those are the 4 areas of focus. Everything sounds fine and good, but how do I translate these points into actionable goals? I use the SMART acronym, of course. SMART goals are ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Oriented. I’ll be creating my SMART goals within the next few days.
So what will 2014 bring?
A lot of excitement! I know there will be many great experiences and changes as always. It will be busy, but I’ve come to realize I’m at my best when I’m busy. However the year unfolds, I know it will be a good and overall positive 2014.
I cannot believe that we’re already halfway through January! Usually this month feels tough with winter chills and short days, but between work, fitness groups, trip planning, snowboarding and reconnecting with people, the year has started strong with no signs of slowing down! It’s been busy, just the way I like it.
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 