One word – what did I DO in 2017?

At the beginning of each year I choose one word to set my intention for the year ahead. Rather than setting a ton of resolutions or firm goals one word is chosen as a theme to guide me through the year. For 2017 I chose the word “DO”. I’ve mentioned before that sometimes the words don’t always work the way you think they will, and this year was definitely one of those years.

I had high hopes for ‘do’. No more thinking or planning, instead just do! That was the plan, and while that happened, it wasn’t quite in the way I expected. I had planned on so much, but had a heavy focus on my business/career and my online presence. The second item on my ‘do’ list was: Do more yoga, meditation, fitness, self care. It was in doing these things I realized that 2017 was going to be a year of doing things that would change my career and business entirely!

Why choose one word for the year?

While this post will serve as a 2017 highlights post I hope it will also show that by choosing one word, things just have a way of working out. When you choose a word rather than resolutions it leaves you open to grow throughout the year with your word, rather than feeling dejected when life inevitably changes around you. What I’ve personally found with resolutions, is that things that seem important in January often have less significance midway through the year. By choosing one word to guide you through the coming year you open yourself up to more experiences or opportunities for personal growth. At least that’s been my experience in previous years, and 2017 was no different.

January

We had been planning our trip to DisneyWorld for a while. Bob was supposed to run the marathon, but got injured in November 2016. We chose to continue with our trip despite Bob being sidelined from running and had an amazing trip. I honestly wish we’d spent more time there. I cannot wait to go back!

Late January saw the beginning of my professional journey as a yoga teacher trainer. Beginning in January, and continuing through the year I assisted in the teacher training program at the yoga studio. At the end of the first weekend I was hooked, and knew I’d found something I wanted to do more of.

February

A month of planning, knuckling down and working. Aside from spending a week down with a cold, I spent time working on yoga  and personal training. Much of my free time got taken up subbing yoga classes for friends. Bob was away for a week on business, and in hindsight I regret not going with him. I had lots to do at home and work but would have preferred to be together.

This month was also a little bit of regret of not keeping up to date with my accounts over the last few months of 2016. Our accountant appointment was looming in March and so I spent some time getting all our financial affairs in order, specifically my business accounts.

March

In March I attended some sessions at the Yoga Source Conference at Yoga Nook. This was the second year of the conference and I managed to squeeze three sessions into my schedule. It’s always interesting going to events like this because you learn so much about yourself. The marketing isn’t kidding when it says that yoga training changes your life!

This month we took our first trip to Disneyland, meeting up with a couple of our Australian relatives Michael and Jenna. It’s been a few years since they visited and it’s always fun to catch up with them. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable day at Disneyland.

April

Business matters prevailed again in April with lots of clients and classes, and I had to renew my CPR certificate. All the boring things about running your own business. While I enjoy the practical side, the accounting side is not as exciting.

This month also saw the end of the Golds Gym 12 week challenge. At the end of 2016 I was ready for a push to get back in shape and this challenge helped tremendously. My diet seemed to be dialed back in and I was working out regularly again. Over the 12 weeks I (results)

This month I had my annual nephrology appointment which this year was over the phone. This was so much more convenient. I really don’t have many symptoms of kidney disease so all I need from my Doctor is evaluation of blood work. My Vitamin D was low so I increased my supplement, and tried to get as much natural Sun as possible.

Veg Fest LA was in April and I checked it out for a little while. It was fun but I felt like we’re preaching to the converted. I did see a great talk (I forget who by) about leading by example, sharing information and content via social media showing how easy it is to be vegan. I left inspired, but not motivated to return next year.

Finally after 15 years of living in our house we removed the lounge carpet and put in laminate flooring. What a difference. While the trim still isn’t on, it is so much easier to keep clean. Plus it looks amazing! We bought enough to also do the two spare bedrooms (office and gym) and that’s a job for 2018.

May

We had guests in May. Our niece Laura with her husband Tom. This is the third time they’ve visited and we really enjoy their company. We did a lot of shopping, eating, socializing, hiking and had our second trip to Disneyland. All in all it was a whirlwind month.

June

Back in 2016 I’d been told by my dentist that I needed to get my wisdom teeth removed as one was causing damage and others were causing overcrowding. I finally realized there would never be a “quiet time” to allow for recover and scheduled surgery for June.

June saw the start of the RYT 300 program at Yoga Nook. It’s been a few years since completing the RYT 200 and while I knew I wanted to pursue my 500 I needed a break. Well break over! Time to learn. This program will continue through 2018 and total 300 hours of yoga education, focusing on deconstruction, somatics and private yoga training. From June onwards one weekend a month will be dedicated to yoga training (and another assisting in the RYT200 program).

July

After celebrating the 4th of July Bob flew to Florida for work again, and again I immediately regretted not going with him. One thing we both agreed is that next year if he has to travel, schedule permitting, I’ll be traveling with him. As much as I love my career it’s barely secondary income, my main focus is supporting Bob in his job.  One other highlight of July was attending the Gongophoria event at Yoga Nook, what an amazing experience!

August

To say that August was a bumper month of doing things is an understatement. I continued to assist with the RYT200 program. We had a day trip to Disneyland with Mark and his family who were visiting from the UK. I spent 5 days in the Sierra’s on our first yoga retreat for the RYT 300. The day after my return from the retreat we hopped on a flight to the UK. We had a week in Derby catching up with family, and a week in London seeing the sights.

It was during this time I started to feel a disconnect with “workout with Di” and instead began to feel more just “Di”. I wanted to share my experiences in the UK on the blog but it didn’t seem like it fit the fitness niche I’d put myself in. I was growing as a writer and wanted to spread my wings into other areas. It’s during this time I tend to isolate, so I stopped posting to social media as much and stopped blogging/vlogging and went into a long overdue period of self reflection.

September

September is the start of ‘event season’ for us. Soon after returning from the UK we had our 19th Wedding anniversary. My parents and aunt have their anniversaries, and it’s our “Yankiversary” when we celebrated 4 years as American citizens. My time was mostly spent teaching yoga classes, yoga clients, training yoga, or assisting in the 200 program.

October

Our RYT 200 program at Yoga Nook is Jan- September with exams and graduation in October so this was the culmination of my first year on the faculty. What a ride it was. As much as the students learned, I also learned a lot as a yoga teacher trainer. This really deserves it’s own post but I’m honored to be a part of an amazing team of yoga teachers and truly think we have an amazing teacher training program.

Back in August I started playing Pokemon Go again after an 8 month hiatus. A lot of things had changed in the game and I liked the changes so I continued playing. October was my first Pokemon Go EX-Raid, and my first Mewtwo. This is a pretty big event in game as Mewtwo was “end game” in the original Pokemon games so it felt like I’d come full circle.

The whole of 2017 felt like it had been leading up to something. I needed help pin pointing what it was, and what I needed to do to move forward. Working in the fitness industry for 20 years I’d done many certifications and class formats, but as I learned more yoga I felt more and more discontented teaching ‘fitness’ classes.  I’d known for a while that this year was time to put up or shut up and so it was time to niche down. My friend Michelle and I did a New Moon ceremony, I cut the ties to my ‘fitness career’ and I committed to change. From this month forward the only class format I would teach is yoga. No more bootcamp, no more cycle, just yoga!

Coincidentally it was also the month that my time and effort dedicated to teaching yoga and the RYT200 program came to fruition as I earned my E-RYT200 and YACEP. This allows me to provide continuing education to other yoga teachers. Which is something I hope to be pursuing in 2018.

November

Early November was a time of goodbyes as our friends Doug and Laura moved to Hawaii. I’m sure we’ll visit them soon. There was also a workshop with Gil Hedley about fascia that was fascinating. November was the month that my Grandmother passed away, and I’m thankful I got to see her in August one final time. Thanksgiving weekend saw the relaunch of this Website as I transition away from Workout With Di to Di Hickman. This is a huge jump for me, as someone who is an introvert and fears judgement now has her name on her website! The culmination of a year of walking the walk. My one word for the year really helped push me to finally DO this rather than think/talk about it

December

For me personally the year ends on my birthday, which is mid December. November-December is always the time when a new word starts to bubble and ideas for the year ahead form. Early December I went to BodyWorlds exhibit In Los Angeles, which was amazing. As an official anatomy nerd this was anatomy heaven.

The trip to BodyWorlds was on the way to a yoga workshop with Leslie Kaminoff at Soul of Yoga in Encinitas. Learning about the respiratory system and breath was great, but the real prize was spending time with my yoga sisters from Yoga Nook. I spent a weekend with like minded people and that really made me appreciate the weekend even more. This is something I wouldn’t really normally do, but my one word pushed me to take leap of faith and experience new things.

And so the year comes to an end at my 46th birthday. We went out for lunch at Lotus Vegan, then went to see a BAFTA screening of “Star Wars: the last Jedi” at the Disney lot. The screening had a Q&A after with writer/director, producer and actor Mark Hamill. It was an amazing experience, and probably one of the top 5 Q&A’s we’ve had with BAFTA. All in all a great birthday!

And that wraps up the highlights of 2017 and my one word “do”. I learned a lot about myself this year. Mostly that I have motivation to DO things, but it comes in waves. My motivation is tied to what I’m passionate about which is why I’ve been sporadic posting on social media and the blog since midway through the year. The time I lost motivation to be “workout with Di”, and instead just wanted to be Di. More than just workouts, more than just yoga, but continuing with inspiration and motivation.   To not just DO yoga, but to LIVE yoga. I’m excited to see what 2018 has in store!

 

Questions

• Did you choose One Word for 2017?
• What was you’re personal highlight from this year?
• How did your life change in 2017?