I just ended a relationship and it’s near the mid-year mark; what better way than to do a quick update on the State of the Darren and see how I’ve been getting on in the last 6 months and 30 days?
I’ll do a full State 2022▼ on my birthday later this year; but this is a mid-year review for now.
1: Physical Health 💪
Earlier this year I caught COVID and it gave me a health scare. I was triple vaxxed and still got it really bad — I literally had to lie down on the floor every 3 hours because I was so tired.
That threw my workout routines way out of whack. Even a month after, I don’t feel like I can breathe as well as before, and I get occasional irritation in my throat, as if I am parched.
I am slowly recovering by running more. The positive side of things is that I am stretching a ton, everyday, so hopefully this builds into a habit.
Last year, I set out to…
❌ BJJ and Bouldering — Did not get anywhere, although I am proactively trialling classes now
Lift Personal Bests in the Gym — COVID knocked my workouts out of whack and I didn’t reach my best levels (❌), but I did make a lot of good progress with form and learned more about upper body/arm workout exercises (✅). Coming back strong.
✅ Improve posture and do a great downward dog I’m doing more stretching and definitely reminding myself to stand and sit up straight more. Posture is debatable.
For the rest of the year, I’d like to
💪 Stretch, Fight, Gym, Run In order of priorities, things I’m going to do to better myself.
🥦 Learn to cook soups Just did a Chrysanthemum Tea yesterday, going to try to learn peanut soups and green bean soups.
2: Family & Relationships 👨👩👧👦
Well, the breakup helped me get closer to my family. I also dated and was dumped by somebody pretty fast, so things are good.
While dating, I backslid with friends. So this is something for me to work on
Last year, I set out to…
❌ More moments of family joy. Between COVID and the chicken crisis, there have been fewer opportunities to go out and eat. Hopefully soup-making helps provide a simple joy for the family.
❌ More dinner parties/board game nights. I was busy dating, and that didn’t help. On the bright side (✅), I’ve said yes to hangouts and meetups with people.
🌗 Proactively date (✅) and do cool things (❌). I’m done dating for a bit, I think, though I might still flirt with people. Back to doing cool things.
For the rest of the year, I’d like to…
🥘 Serve my family (and friends!) more acts of service and soup
🎲 DnD & Board Games with friends
3: Work & Career Prosperity
I have some career prospects in this direction, but I gotta be more proactive about interviewing.
Last Year, I Set Out To
- Have built a personal brand on email + LinkedIn
- Start a YouTube + Blog for comedy sideline.
- Be invited for a talk/interview
I’ve done none of these things (well, the blog is getting the occasional read ✅ – please like comment and share if you enjoy).
On the work front, I could proactively build my reputation and prove myself. And study Data Structures & Algorithms.
For the rest of the year, I’d like to…
- Go for at least one interview
- Talk to one data person
- Write a TFIP guide blog
4: Wealth & Money Satisfaction
I think I’ve been generally frugal.
Last Year I Set Out To …
✅ Bought term/life insurance (Done!)
❌ Own Eth + Crypto; bought some REITs
❌ Have developed all-weather portfolio with bond/stocks
For the rest of the year, I’d like to…
- Get into REITS and bond/stocks.
5: Spiritual Wellness
Writing about things has helped.
Last Year I Set Out To …
🙅♀️ Practice Meditation I downloaded two apps but haven’t put it into practice. Maybe it’s time to James Clear and Atomic Habit this by trying to do it for only a minute
🤷♀️ Be comfortable with self-listening and introspection. Both blogging and the breakup have forced me to pay more attention to thoughts and deeds.
For the rest of the year, I’d like to…
📕 Start journaling more regularly – Not just blogging, but writing down my own thoughts.
✋ Read more philosophy – Starting maybe with more Buddhism
6: Mental Strength
I feel more resilient and stronger – although the real test will be seeing whether I start weeping tomorrow.
Last Year I Set Out To …
❌ Regularly spend time in reflection. This, linked to Spiritual Wellness, could be better. But a midyear review is a pretty good first step (+1!)
🙋Become confident and develop integrity with myself. Sometime during the year, I felt incredibly competent, confident, and capable. I knew exactly what I was talking about and felt really well-prepared for it (✅).
I also feel this year I stood up for myself and started establishing boundaries. I’m not perfect, but I’m on the way, and it’s a step forward (+1!).
✅ Have unbelievable belief #BELIEVE This is still up on my wall:
For the rest of the year, I’d like to…
💭 Practice healthier mental hygiene I consume a lot of junk content and background stuff. I could make better decisions about the kind of content I consume.
I feel quite devastated by the breakup, but I have made progress and moved forward. I will survive this too, and move onwards.