A bit of 2011 reflection

So, did I manage (√) or not (X) to achieve the things I was aiming for in 2011? Let’s see, in no particular order I was aiming to:

1. Get fit again - X
Failed miserably. Will try again this year. Must stop feeling sorry for myself because I had to give up running. It’s been over three years now – come on, get a grip woman! Get on your bike, get your walking shoes on, get in the pool, get off your arse!

2. Start training towards becoming a fully accredited counsellor - √
After years of toying with the idea, finally took the first step on the road to finding out if counselling’s really for me as a profession by starting the COSCA Counselling Certificate course. Module One: completed successfully with Rowan Consultancy at their Dunblane training centre along with a great bunch of fellow students. Made a special friend for life. Module Two: completed successfully at Stevenson College in Edinburgh, but intensely disliked the way the course was run. Got to know a new bunch of students, some of whom went on to become friends. Learned a lot - from the dreadful tutor - about how not to behave as a counsellor. Module Three: completed successfully with Rowan Consultancy at their Perth training centre. Met yet another new bunch of students and learned a lot - from the excellent tutor - about how to behave as a counsellor. I’m looking forward to starting Module Four next week and hope to be finished by mid-February and be awarded the full Certificate. That’ll be the first step towards accreditation in the bag. Next step – possibly the Postgraduate Diploma at Strathclyde Uni, if I’m successful in my application to the full-time course.

3. Complete some more Open University modules - √
Did lots of mumping and moaning when it came to assignment time, but I miss the essay-writing now that the modules are finished! If I don’t get on to the Postgrad Diploma course, OU here I come again!

4. Keep on top of work work - X and √
Failed miserably at keeping the office tidy; sometimes I was on top of work work, sometimes I was way behind. But, everything that needed to be done got done. That’s an overall tick in my book! Aiming to gut the office this year, keep it tidy and always be on top of work work...

5. Qualify as a Samaritans volunteer - √
Every moment of the long training program was worth it to end up in the privileged position of being trusted by callers - who are often deeply distressed - as they share their deepest fears and feelings. Along with every other SAM, this year I’m again aiming to play a part in reducing the number of deaths by suicide and, in turn, reduce the number of families who are deeply affected by the aftermath of a suicide.

6. Do more at the Hospice - X
Kept up my voluntary reception duties at Strathcarron, but never did manage to fit in the Bereavement Counselling training. I’m still waiting to hear if I’ve been successful in my application for a part-time placement at the Hospice through Vodaphone’s World of Difference scheme. Will hopefully know one-way-or-the-other by mid-January. Expect a very grumpy post if I get knocked back!

7. Stop listening when folk tell you you can’t do things - √√
Managed more than ever before not to let any porcupines spoil my party. I’m definitely getting better at following the ethos that I’ve brought my kids up with. It goes something like: “If someone laughs at you, or mocks you, or tells you you’re not capable of doing something, do it anyway. You’ll gain something just by giving it a go. Go looking for the things that you think’ll make you happy, don’t sit still and wait for them to find you. Your life will be so much better for doing that.”

8. Find a singing group in Stirling - √√√
After years of looking, found THE singing group in Stirling! This time last year I’d never even heard of The Heart of Scotland Choir. Now, it’s a big, big part of my life. I love it. I love the people that make up the whole choir family, I love Monday night rehearsals, I love the gigs and I simply love that something I love to do but have really only been doing in the shower or at parties for the past thirty years has become something I now do regularly here, there and everywhere! I’m so looking forward to more of the same this year!

9. Write more often - √
Even managed to get a little article published in the Samaritans News! Not quite Pulitzer Prize material, but we all have to start somewhere....! This year, yet again, I’m aiming for a proper published article. This is a good example of “it may never happen, but it’s all good as I’m doing something I love to do in the ‘trying’ process!”

10. Get thin again – X
Failed miserably. Must try harder! Have started the year off, a bit hypocritically, by starting on one of these ‘cut out the carbs’ diets. I’ve always been really critical of any method for losing weight that doesn’t just involve eating less and doing more. Sod it. I’m desperate!

11. Be happy - √ and X
It’s not possible to always be happy; let’s face it, life can be really shit sometimes. This year there’ve been times I’ve been worried, angry, stressed or sad. In the words of that famous old geezer Carl Jung, “There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t aim to be happy. So, I’m looking forward to another year of looking for the things that I think'll make me feel happy.

Definitely more ticks than crosses - that'll do for me. Right 2012, let's see what you've got to offer......