It seems like yesterday I was writing my Mid-Year Review, and it’s already time for the 2017 Year End Review. So odd that time is infinite, yet gone all too soon. Even in really shitty years.

The year started with the same basic structure as 2016, but my “goals” were refined following the mid-year review, and again at my transplantiversary.

Beauty

The virtue of beauty remained unchanged at the start of 2017, with focus on beauty, presence, home and garden.

Body

Mid-Year: didn’t lose weight, did book appointments, didn’t get into a local yoga class. Rating: 🙁

Year-End: put on even more weight, but got into a local yoga class. Rating: 😐

Presence

Mid-Year: did not pick a hairstyle, book hair appointments or do a good job of planning my wardrobe. Rating: 🙁

Year-End: Found a new hairdresser, got a style I liked, and completely cocked up my wardrobe shopping. Rating: 🙂

Home

Mid-Year: did not make or execute a plan for home decoration and upgrades. Rating: 🙁

Year-End: did start thinking about a plan, and we do now have a list of things for attention in 2018. Rating: 🙂

Garden

Mid-Year: did not make or execute a garden design plan to enhance our privacy. Rating: 😐

Year-End: we lost trees and branches in the storms. While we have less privacy, we have more light which feels like a good metaphor for the year. I’d still like a nice seat in a spot that is not overlooked by our neighbours. Rating: 😐

Friendship

I’d hoped to cultivate a professional peer group…

Friends

Mid-Year: it was harder to get into friends calendars, and I didn’t get to a Toastmasters meeting. Rating: 😐

Year-End: More of the same, but I joined a Mastermind that took up some of the slack. Rating: 🙂

Creatures

Mid-Year: We didn’t do any habitat creation, but the dogs got all their vet appointments. Rating: 😐

Year-End: We’ve become almost permanent fixtures at the vet, but the dogs are much improved in health. The native creatures that live here seem to be adjusting to the new gardenscape. Rating: 🙂

Contribution

Mid-Year: while I identified some charities, my sharing program didn’t really get off the ground. I continued to support small and local suppliers. Rating: 😐

Year-End: I shared knowledge, though mainly with my Mastermind Group. Rating: 🙂

Pleasure

I wanted satisfaction, happiness and fun. My writing gave me that in 2016, but in 2017 I wanted it to be personal.

Adventure

Mid-Year: did not plan or do new things or an overseas vacation. Rating: 😐

Year-End: visited Japan, but didn’t go on any other adventures. Rating: 🙂

Recharge

Mid-Year: did manage to turn my computer off by 9 pm, but fell behind in my reading goal. Rating: 🙂

Year-End: still doing well with turning off the computer and behind with the reading. Still struggling with the feeling that recharge is undeserved. Rating: 🙂

Wisdom

Wisdom still aims at becoming a more complex person by developing my mental capacities.

Growth

Mid-Year: didn’t read books, or visit culturally significant venues/events. Rating: 🙂

Year-End: same again. Growth came from elsewhere. Rating: 🙂

Wealth

Wealth was about feeling prosperous and making the best use of my time, physical and mental strength as well as the money.

Business and Development

Mid-Year: Didn’t attend a business or marketing course, or think about buying advertising. Rating: 😐

Year-End: Purchased a business course that includes a marketing component. Decided not to buy advertising until I have more products to sell. Rating: 🙂

Income

Mid-Year: Did not reach my income target, or re-register with employment agencies, though my freelance editing picked up. Rating: 🙂

Year-End: Didn’t meet the income target either, and dropped the editing to finish Holistic Personal Finance. My joy at finishing the book outweighs the lack of income. Rating: 🙂

Overall

2017 was a difficult year in many respects – it jumped the tracks early on and never made it back.

There are a lot of things that need to change for 2018, and I’m hoping that the New Year’s cataract surgery will bring me greater metaphysical as well as visual clarity. In many ways, it feels like it needs to be a year for decluttering and streamlining.

• I need to broaden my network and spend more time with other humans.
• Then there’s the long overdue house and garden work.
• Getting back on track with my sharing programme.
• Guilt-free recharging.
• Developing my business and growing my income.

It still feels interconnected; pulling one string twitches all the others though it’s hard to know which string is the most important. Perhaps we never know, and can only do our best with what we know. Right now, it seems that all those years dealing with kidney failure has put me in exactly the right place to take care of my pretty boy’s needs – I’m happy to know some good has come from it!

Maybe it’s just the breathing space, but looking back, 2017 doesn’t seem as bad as all that.

How did your 2017 year end review go? Are you looking forward to 2018 as much as me?

You can find more progress reports on the Project Worthwhile Life page.