2012 - a year in review

This post is a review of 2012. It was inspired by a lovely tag. I found a version of this tag on the blog Heart to breathe. And I found a really nice adaptation at Selbstbewusst leben. My version is a mixture of both. 

1. Prevalent feeling 2012? Last year was quite mixed. Although I surely felt a lot of happiness in 2012 and now in retrospective it also turns out to have been a great year, I also suffered a lot of fear and anxiety due to my thesis. When I started to meditate in September, however, I found a great way to relaxation and slowly gained back control over my life and my time. So, for me meditation was one of the greatest discoveries of 2012.
   
2. Done for the first time in 2012? Meditation, Qi Gong, Pilates (I mean real Pilates and not just some bums-tums-and-legs training called "Pilates" ;-))
3. Done 2012 after a long time again? Yoga. But I didn't like it, unfotunately, because the Yoga teacher was not that great. I don't think that I'll give it a try again in 2013, but surely later in a couple of years.
   
4. Unfortunately not done at all in 2012?  Knitting. I miss it a lot. Hopefully, I will be able to do it again in 2013.
5. Learned lessons: Amongst others, I learned how to let go and this made a huge change in my life. But I also learned a ton of other stuff. 2012 was the year with the most insights concerning self-development, relationships and health and sports. Looking back, I feel so much wiser than before and although it was a year with ups and downs, I managed to make huge progress - even if it might not be that visible. I did a lot of foundation work and especially at the end of the year, it really paid off. :-)
   
6. Insight of the year? I'm the one in control and attitude is everything.
   
7. Word of the year? Unprocrastination :-)
   
8. Gained some weight or lost some weight? Lost weight.
   
9. City of the year? Stockholm. I have friends there and have spent some really great time there in spring 2012.
10. Locations I've visited: Berlin, Dublin, Stockholm, Stuttgart and different smaller towns in order to visit relatives.
11. Binge drinking? No, I don't like being drunk and never drink too much alcohol. ;-)
    
12. Hair longer or shorter? no change
    
13. Spent more or less money? I don't know. I probably spent more because I spent a lot of money on beauty and cosmetics. Next year I will definitely spend much less money in general.
    
14. In love? Totally. I'm in a relationship for over 10 years now and we had our ups and downs but in 2012 we fell deeply in love with each other again. :-)
15. Most called person? My significant other.
    
16. Spent the best time together with? My significant other, family and friends.
    
17. Spent most time together with? My significant other because we also share a flat.
    
18. Song of the year? Breathe by Dan Gibson. Love it. So soothing and relaxing! I love it for meditating, working, relaxing.
    
    
    
19. Books of the year?
    
    Non-Fiction: My Qi Gong book (learned a lot about traditional chinese medicine; it's a really great read),  Gestatten ich (great book about conciousness and sub-conciousness and therapy ;-)),  Golden Rules (see my review),  30 Minuten für effizientes Lesen (see my review),  Selbst- und Zeitmanagement (great book on managing time, work life and personal projects),  Gefühle (great book on emotions), Der zweite Code (great book on epigenomics)
    Fiction: The Corrections (see my review), The chronicle of a man named Han (very thought-provoking novel about the separation of South and North Korea and the struggle of both countries with anomosities againgst each other afterwards.)
    Altogether I am quite happy that I managed to read 19 books in 2012. 6 of them were fiction books and the remaining 13 were non-fiction books (above I mention only the ones I liked most).
20. TV series of the year? I watched many series in 2012. I enjoyed Awake a lot. But I also watched the new british Sherlock Holmes series and loved it. I also liked Smash a lot, too. (See a couple of Smash songs here) And I watched all 5 seasons of Stargate Atlantis and loved it very much. 
21. 2012 was with one word? Transforming (because I made huge changes and learned a lot)

Altogether, 2012 was a great year for me. Concerning sports and health, I made a huge break through. For the first time in my life, I managed to do quite some amount of sports on a pretty much daily basis for more than 8 months. Now, I am very happy to be able to say that I am much healthier and much stronger than ever and that I feel really great in my body and also look great because I lost weight and gained muscles and definition and my posture has improved, too. Sports has also become a very important part of my life and I don't want to live without it anymore. In 2013, I want to continue on this path and see what I can manage to achieve with further perseverance.

In 2012, I also made a couple of experiments with relationships, had a couple of disappointments and learned a lot. In the end of the year 2012, however, I changed part of my environment and I also found a couple of great new friends who do inspire me a lot. In 2013, I want to focus more on bringing the right people into my life and I don't want to loose too much time anymore with persons who are limiting myself in any kind of way. (See this related recent advice, I try to follow in 2013.) 

Besides sports and insights around relationships, I also decluttered a lot and rethought my approach to minimalism. I want to walk further down that path in 2013. I also became more organized and also changed my work environment and work habits and work processes. It is an ongoing, iterative process but I'm sure that I'll be able to reap the fruits of my labour in 2013. :-)

And last but not least: Another great thing I did was to start this blog. It is a great spare time occupation that is a lot of fun. It also allows me to practice writing and to also practice my english (I'm german and english is not my native language) and to share my thoughts with you, dear readers. I also made great new acquaintances and friends through blogging. Of course I'll keep this blog in 2013. However, I might blog a bit less due to my thesis (it still isn't finished) and some major changes including a move into another country. I'll tell you more about it as soon as it is done. :-)