I’m really enjoying this week of looking back at my year.  So far I’ve looked at my favorite posts in 2009, and what I’ve done this year, and now I’m writing about the lessons I’ve learned in 2009.

NINE LESSONS I LEARNED IN 2009

Being fat is not the end of the world. Although this might seem strange coming from someone writing a weight loss blog, I came to the realization this year that being overweight is not the end of the world.  Honestly.  Maybe I lose weight, maybe I don’t, I’m still going to be as happy as I possibly can and live a good life.  Being overweight shouldn’t stop you from living.  It shouldn’t be the end of your world.  If you want to change it and lose weight – do it.  But don’t just give up and be miserable because it isn’t necessary.

Aim to be strong, not skinny. I learned this year that I want to be strong instead of skinny.  My goals changed and instead of chasing some silly weightloss number I realized I want to be physically strong and emotionally/mentally strong.  Both of these things are important and they take time to accomplish.  But with work they are both possible.  I can easily stick with a strength training routine to become physically strong and the other strength is something that comes over time when dealing with trying situations.  With some effort I can be strong and I’ve learned that is exactly what I want to be.

Find exercise activities you love. Before this year I had never tried kickboxing. I experienced it finally and learned that I LOVED it!  It is now one of my favorite types of exercise and I know I will do it a lot more in the future because I love it.  The lesson learned here is that you need to try different things until you find something you absolutely love to do.  Maybe the exercise you love is swimming or biking or even just walking.  Find out whatever it is because then you will have something you enjoy and will want to do often.

Hunger is a good thing. I had the idea in my head for a long time that to lose weight you have to accept and appreciate hunger.  I finally accepted and learned this lesson, because hunger is good.  More specifically, real physical hunger is good.  It is an important part of normal eating to be able to recognize real hunger and distinguish it from the emotional or other “fake” types of hunger that can cause you to eat.

Emotional eating can be controlled.  Eventually I am going to write about this more, but for this let’s just say I learned that emotional eating can be controlled.  Disordered eating (emotional/compulsive/binge eating) that was a problem for me for many years is pretty much under control now I’ve learned that it can in fact be controlled.  I’m not perfect and still working on becoming a normal eater, but I learned this year that it is possible and I will be able to do it.

Blogging is a great outlet. Not only is blogging a good creative outlet for me but it has been a great place for me to work through issues and find my way.  I’ve had a lot of opportunities because I’ve been blogging and met a lot of great people because of it.  It has been so useful for me to have a place I can go to write about anything I am working on or need to think through and have it actually help people as well.

Good things happen when you are open to possibilities. This is my favorite lesson.  When you open yourself up to all possibilities good things can happen.  If you are closed down, expecting nothing, wanting nothing, then nothing is exactly what will happen.  But if you are working toward making your life better and open to all the possibilities that could make it better, some wonderful things can happen.  This is mainly just a mental thing – you have to be able to look out for things that could make your life better when they come around and then take some chances.  But if you do look out for the opportunities and believe that they will eventually come, you won’t be disappointed.

People are amazing. So many people this year have come into my life and stepped up to help me out in different ways.  I’ve learned that given the chance people can surprise you in the best kind of ways.  This is really just another lesson about being open.  Once you open yourself up to people and let them in, sharing yourself and your life with them, they will return that to you and more.  The more you care about other people and try to make their lives better, the better your own life will get.  Maybe it is karma, maybe people just want to help and love someone who does the same for them.  Either way, it is worth it.

Life is awesome. Does this even need clarification?  I learned that my life can be what I want it to be.  It might not always be perfect or easy – it’s definitely not – but it can always be awesome.  I can do what I want and go where I want and not be chained down to a life that lives me unfulfilled.  I’m a person who needs to live a little bit differently, a little bit more exciting and adventurous than most.  That is what I learned I want to do, so I’m just going to be awesome and do it.

In many ways, writing about the lessons I’ve learned this year is more important than any other wrap up post.  If you aren’t learning from what you experience then what good is it?

So now I want to know what lessons did you learn in 2009?  Leave a comment here or write a whole post about it (and link back to this one).  I can’t wait to see what everyone else learned this year.