In the spirit of being honest, I will be honest here about this last month. It was not easy for me. Lots of ups & downs emotionally. I did make some strides and I had a few shortcomings. Overall I struggled this month through the process but I felt I did grow from it. So I know there’s a method to the madness after-all, especially on the days when I want to doubt it all. 😄

So I only hiked once this month but I did hike 10 miles in one stretch! I had some plans fall through, got sick, and work was busy this month. I wanted more miles but that’s okay. I’m happy to report I’m almost through my guide book on the LST and have a date for a reconnaissance trip in March.

With the purchase of two new kettlebells and help of Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell- I swung 1570 times in the month of February! And I also purchased a few plastic cheap kettlebells from Amazon to work in with on my Turkish Getups. I got in 3 practice runs on the getups. Not as many as Id originally planned, that’s okay. Next month I will hone in on them more. I’d like to mention also that I while I was sick for a few days and I had the realization that I am getting stronger despite not feeling much difference within my body. At the beginning of February it was hard for me to swing 20 and 24 kg. Now at the end of the month, I am thinking about my next purchase of a bigger and heavier weight!

Since I mentioned getting sick, that was just last week btw, I will talk a little bit about my work statistics. And I will admit I probably did not eat enough or get enough sleep and that’s part of how I got sick. But I worked 20 out of 29 days! I saw and provided services to 76 people! I really did step it up at work this month and it forced me to lean heavily into my self care toolbox, I’m proud of myself for it!

I am also proud of myself for sticking with therapy this month, and being very honest. There were plenty of moments where I could have lied or not been fully honest, but I’m glad I was. I needed that.

I started an audiobook, that I have read previously and own, called the subtle art of not giving a fuck by Mark Manson. I love it! It’s a nice reminder for how I used to be when I was a bachelor in college. It’s been a great reminder that my fucks do matter and I matter. Almost done with the book and then I’ll move on to the sequel.

Between the book and my therapy, I decided to reframe a core value of mine. Sometimes as a recovering people pleaser, I choose popularity over honesty. When I choose popularity, I choose other people over myself. And it fucks me in the end. So with the help of the book, and my support team, I have worked to choose honesty over popularity this month. Rough stuff!

February is a special month as it’s got my dating anniversary with my wife and my brothers birthday. Valentine’s Day is a nice bonus!

Morgan and I celebrated dating for 4 years with gifts on the 7th. And we ate some Hot Pot the day before Valentine’s Day for our proclamation of love! 🙂

Gratitudes for February

I got to see my mother and sister in laws this month. 🙂 Grateful for family that loves and respects me. My puppy has made a phenomenal recovery from being spayed! My friends reading this and supporting me with their kind words! Building my garage gym up to have a safe place to be me! That I spent more time being present in my daily life than online. Lastly I’d like to end by saying how grateful I am to God & The Universe for all the people, the lessons, the memories & moments that this journey has brought me. Thank you God 🙂

Till the next epic adventure or recap of my monthly adventures!