This past Tuesday you may have woken up, groggy from a bit to much fun the night before, determined that this was going to be your year. This is going to be the year you get your stuff together, the year you exercise more, the year you eat better. This is the year you will start a new project, a new job, a new romance. Things are going to be different because this is a new year!
Like many all across the world, New Year’s is like a perennial reset button. We gather to celebrate new beginnings. Fresh starts. New Dreams. Some see this time as a chance to start anew, to chase after the things we care about most in life. Every year we set our resolutions and for about a week we are super into that chia seed diet or hit the gym every single day. Then, things stop. We petter out. Our motivation sapped away by the demands of life. Then a New Year rolls around and the cycle starts again!
I love New Years, it’s a time to look back at what I have done and to look forward to the horizon and imagine the future. Every January here at the DreamAnvil we talk about how to set goals that you can achieve and start working towards your dreams. This year will be no different, but this year I have a little twist. Instead of facts and allegories, I will talk about how I achieved my goals last year. I am currently in the middle of working towards one of the biggest dreams I have ever had, my surgery this May. This past year saw big changes to my environment, my finances, and to my health, all of those were resolutions I had set last New Years. So let’s take a quick look back before we look forward.
I am in the middle of working towards one of the biggest dreams I have ever had.
My gender confirmation surgery has been one of the biggest goals in my short life and it is taking place in just five months! Back in April, after a lot of searching, I got a new job and a new healthcare plan which finally put the surgery within my reach. This past month in December, I moved into a new home with fewer stairs, more light, and more room. My new roommates have been super supportive about offering help through the difficult weeks following surgery so that is a bonus! These changes allowed me to stop worrying about how t
After I had my consultation with the surgeon last year she mentioned that I should really consider losing weight. I had put on 30 pounds during the crucible of my transition and I was already seeing that the clothes I once loved, no longer fit as they should. Both my friend Mike and Sarah shared with me how they stay active and fit and encouraged me to give it a go. This all happened within the month of June! It shook me out of my complacency and I looked forward down the timeline of my life. The surgery would be hard on my body so to help with recovery it would be a good idea to be in better shape. Then I wondered what kind of life I wanted after surgery. Did I want to date then? (Yep.) Did I want to feel good in my body? (Yep.) Did I want to take care of this body for the long term? (yep) Did I want to keep up with hikes with friends and the challenges of a busy life (yep) or did I want to stay as I was now? (nope) I choose option A. I talked to friends, set goals, signed up for programs and went for it. I was all in. Today I have lost 40 pounds and have another 40 to go before May. I feel great and am feeling stronger every day.
The changes to my home, my job, and my body were not achieved overnight. I had to work towards each one and had some lucky breaks along the way. I had to be smart about my goals and set reasonable timelines for myself. Most of all I had to keep trying, even when I failed. That is what we are going to be spending this month talking about.
It has been a wonderful, tumultuous, crazy year but it is nothing compared to what I am about to go through in 2019. I have five months to get ready. Five months to lose