Five things I completely failed at during my step back.

We are not perfect, and I am no exception to that. With nothing but free time and being a generally determined person, you think I would have accomplished all that I set out to when I decided to take this break back in October. Well, I failed. And not just once…

My Five Failures:

1. Cooking More Often I told myself that I would start cooking more often when I moved home. Maybe that would mean making dinner for my parents once a week, baking for my grandparents, or just trying new recipes on a more frequent basis. Well, I completely failed at this. In the nine months I have been home already, I baked for my grandparents exactly once. And I never made dinner for my parents (unless you count that late-night bowl of cereal I prepared for my mom). The fact of the matter is, I hate cooking. I really have to be in the mood to do the whole process (researching a recipe, grocery shopping, cooking, and the clean up) and usually by the time I pick something to cook, I am so ready to eat I just opt for a peanut butter bagel instead. It also doesn’t help that both of my parents are great cooks, so I know a meal will be provided for me.
2. Learning Piano – This has been on my list for years, so when I decided to take this step back, I thought it would be the perfect time to learn! Well, I never did. Although it is still something I want to accomplish, I haven’t been able to justify the expense to my unemployed self. Although it would be an investment in making me a more rounded person, spending the money traveling always won out. I am going to keep telling myself that this will happen soon!
3. Practicing Aerial YogaAnother thing I have gone back and forth on was practicing aerial yoga again. I have written about this before, but I again had a hard time justifying paying for classes when I could be exercising for free in the form of a hike or run. I did take some yoga classes though (I started vinyasa yoga) which my body has really appreciated. I hope that in going back to school, I can take more classes with other students at the gym. Or maybe I will finally invest in a hammock of my own!
4. Redo-ing My Bedroom – One of the first things I wanted to do once I realized I would be home for a longer than initially anticipated (my original thought was to move out in January…and here I am, still at home half a year later) was to redecorate my bedroom. I still have the same twin bed that I grew up sleeping in and the same blue Ikea night stand (it was only $12 and has lasted over 10 years!). It really is time to upgrade the room, even if it is to an office for my parents. Well, I started putting energy to other home renovations first. Remember how that one wallpaper wall turned into redoing all of the bathrooms in our house (No? Read here), well that was just the start. We have since painted the outside of our house, refinished our wood floors and banister, repainted the inside of our house, and got new carpet in our house. With all of these remodels going on, I haven’t had the time, or energy, to even think about redoing my room as well. Maybe once the dust settles.
5. Visiting a New State Every Month I had told myself that I would travel to a different state each month during my time off. This started well enough in November with a trip to not only New York, but also New Jersey. I then went to Dallas in December, Oregon in January, and Nevada in February. My trip to Montana in March was derailed, and I ended up going back to Oregon…twice, one of which did included a road trip from Seattle to Portland. The same thing happened in April, where my money set aside for a flight to perhaps Utah or Alabama was redirected to another trip to Oregon for my MBA interview, although I did again spend a few hours in Washington. Things got back on track in May with a trip to Alaska (post coming soon) and as you read this I am on a two-week stint in Europe, which I am going to count as a qualifier. Because I visited Oregon and Washington in back-to-back months, I give myself a solid B- on this one. Although not a ‘failure’ in my eyes, I clearly did not follow the guidelines I had set for myself. On the bright side, it just leaves more adventures for the future!

Alright! A little dose of humble pie and honest accountability.

This post was inspired by one I posted way back in November. If you are newer to my blog (welcome!), you can read more here.

-TM

What is one thing you have totally failed at this year? Let us know below.