September reflections and October goals

I knew going into September that it was going to be a bit of a rougher month, and that proved to be true. September was always a busy transitional time because for the last how many years, it was getting back into the swing of school and the excitement of a new year, reinvention and seeing all of my favorite people. This time around, it was just an amplification of my never-ending job hunt (and resulting stress) coupled with a mystery virus that took me out of commission for a few weeks. My goal for September was to write down three things every day that I was grateful for. At my lower points, I somewhat underestimated the difficulty of practicing gratitude when all I could come up with were the classics- food, shelter and a working car (a Houston essential). I missed quite a few days in the middle, but for the most part I was consistent. However, every time I took a second to reflect on the day, I was reminded that while things may not be perfectly in place, there is indeed still so much to be grateful for.

My October goal is, once again, to not eat red meat! I like doing this twice a year, because I can try to make changes from the previous run in terms of recipes, foods to have stocked up, alternative sources of protein etc. I’m going to see friends in California in a week, so if there’s a special meal happening, I might make an exception, but for the most part I think this should be a successful month.