One year ago, I figured out that one of the major things missing from my life was discipline. So, I decided to make some changes in 2010. I decided to change everything from the way I eat to how I spend my money. I set out to exercise discipline in every aspect of my life.

And, one year later, I think it has been a success. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t always exercise discpline, but I managed to improve every aspect I set out to improve, with results I’d call wildy successful.

I. Health and Wellbeing

The first, and probably most important, area I tackled was improving my physical health. I set out to eat healthier, and to eat less, not so much to lose weight, but to improve how I felt physically. I also wanted to stick to a strict workout schedule.

I started off strong, committing to a workout regime that I stuck to for a few months. Then I hurt my back and stopped working out. But, I refocused and got back into an exercise plan that I managed to stick to through the end of the year.

That combined with my strict eating plan, which involved making healthier choices and paying more attention to the amounts of food I consumed, led to 48 lbs lost in 2010. These weren’t drastic and dramatic changes. I simply ate more-structured meals, cut out my snacking, and paid attention to calories.

And, making such simple and small changes ensures me that I’ll stick to this plan and continue losing weight until I get to my goal weight. I’d like to lose about 20 more lbs, and with what I started in 2010, there’s no doubt that I will make and possibly exceed that goal.

I also had a physical towards the end of the year and was told I was in very good health, with very good blood pressure and excellent cholesterol. So, there’s that!

II. Financial

I set out in 2010 to take care of some of the financial issues resulting from my divorce. My financials were not in horrible shape, but they certainly weren’t where I wanted them. So, I set out to improve them.

In 2010, I was able to pay off my highest-interest credit card, which was a huge deal. It felt good to see it go down every month until it was eventually gone. I was very happy to be able to do that, and it makes me feel good to know I’m going into my new marriage with less debt.

I’d call that a success.

With that said, I need to continue paying down this debt. If I stick to the financial discpline that I exercise in 2010, by the end of 2011 I will be very close to being completely out of revolving debt. I have no reason to think I won’t be able to reach that goal because I laid a solid foundation by paying off that credit card in 2010.

III. Social

I’ve never really been a social person by nature, so making more of an effort to get out and meet people and experience new things was difficult. It’s not that I avoid it as much as I just don’t really think much about it.

Looking back, I have made some strides in socializing. I met some new people, and developed stronger relationships with some of my friends. I can’t say I’ve reached my goal, but I am certainly on my way.

I don’t know that I’d call it a huge success, but I am making progress, which is a small victory.

IV. Focus 

Lastly, I set out to improve my overall focus, both personally and professionally. I wanted to grow in both areas, and I think that in 2010, I have.

Thanks in part to a marriage course Nadia and I took through our church, we strengthened our relationship. Our communication and the way we interact improved dramaticall. It’s not that it was bad in the first place, but we learned healthier ways of communication and resolving disagreements. This has helped strengthen our bond and ensures we have a solid foundation on which to build our marriage.

The course also helped me relate better to my daughter, and be a better father to her. It helped me take a more active role with Nyah and develop a stronger relationship with her. I’ve been very pleased with how our relationship has improved.

The course and literature I read for the course also helped me deal with my ex-wife better. I never had animosity towards her, but we certainly didn’t talk much and when we did it was awkward. I worked on making sure to be clear and talking our issues out. And while it’s still a work in progress, it has definitely improved, and helped us get on the same page for Nyah’s sake.

Professionally, I’ve seen some growth and have learned new technologies for work, as well as getting back into my original business, journalism. I’ve made more strides in journalism than I have in the technical writing arena, but I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made in both areas. In 2011, I need to keep growing into this job otherwise I’ll get stuck.

All in all, 2010 was a good year. 48 lbs lost. 1 high-interest credit card paid off. Stronger relationships with Nadia and Nyah. And, the ability to communicate with my ex for my daughter’s sake. I’d call that pretty successful.

Following Thanksgiving, I gained a couple of pounds because I didn’t count calories.. I decided to stop counting calories over the break to allow myself to eat how I wanted to so I could have a break. But, I also made sure not to let my eating get out of control.

It took me about a week and a half to lose the weight I gained, and now, two weeks later, I’ve managed to take a little more. That puts me down a total 46 lbs. Can you believe it?

Still, I haven’t been walking in the mornings, like I used to. I need to get back into that.

I still have more weight to lose and hope to get down 50 by the end of the year. That would not only be awesome, but it would fulfill one of the biggest goals I had when I started this Y of D thing.

I’m also pleased to say that in three days, I will have paid off my credit card with the highest interest rate. I’m glad because that card was carrying some of my divorce debt. And, while it’s not eliminating all of the divorce debt, getting rid of a large portion of it is nice.

I’m also managing to save some money for the upcoming wedding and am ahead of schedule in regards to my plan. So, I’m psyched about that.

All in all, as we close out the year, I will say that this has been a successful year.

It’s been more than a month since I last posted, and things are not going as good as they once were. It’s not that things are going bad. I’m just finding it hard to find time to exercise. I changed schedules at work, which make it much harder to work out after work — part of it is just an excuse, don’t get me wrong.

I’ve also been eating more. I’m nowhere near where I used to be, in terms of what I eat and how much I eat, but I’m getting worse than I was. So, I need to get back on track. It needs to start this weekend.

I have some time to essentially shut down, recharge and refocus. I need that. I’ve got to get back to my routine and back to the level of discipline I had before I injured my back. I haven’t worked out since then, and if I don’t start soon I risk putting the weight I lost back on. So, it’s time to refocus.

That said, I made some huge strides in terms of financial discipline. I’m not in the biggest of holes, financially, but I’m nowhere need where I need and want to be. But, little by little, inch by inch, I’m getting there, and recently, I was able to see the progress. So, in that regard, at least one aspect of the Year of Discipline is back on track.

Also, I’m working on being more outgoing. So far, it’s in the early stages, but it seems to be working, at least a little bit. Making more eye contact and idle chatter (which I dislike, btw) with people. Not really a fan of it, but I do realize the value in it.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it.

Things have been going pretty good since I last wrote. After hurting my back, I haven’t been doing much strenuous activity, including working out, unfortunately. Tomorrow, Wednesday, is when I will resume my workout. I’ll take it slow and pace myself until I get back into it.

In the meantime, I have been walking a lot more. I was out of town last week for a wedding. We had a great time. And, I did a good bit of walking. The downtown area was more walking-friendly than driving-friendly. We also did quite a bit of walking during our visit to the N.C. Arboretum. Good times.

I didn’t really stick to the eating plan, this weekend. I haven’t eaten until I was completely stuffed all year. This weekend, I did once. It was when we went to the Mellow Mushroom. I ate a lot of pizza and was completely full. The first time in six months I’ve done that. It was the one lapse I had all weekend. Fortunately, it was early in the weekend. After that, I did more to pace myself.

I did eat quite a bit — more than I probably should have — at the rehearsal dinner. We had a BBQ buffet, and the food was excellent. But, I stopped before I got to the point that I did at MM because I didn’t want eating that much to become a habit.

Other than Mellow Mushroom and the rehearsal dinner, I didn’t over indulge on anything. I had pretty healthy breakfasts, making sure I got fruit each time. We stopped at the healthiest fast-food-ish places (Subway, Panera) and I avoided getting a lot of ice cream or milkshakes. So, all in all, it was a good weekend for the Y of D.

As far as money goes, I could have done better. I bought a bunch of things that I probably didn’t need this weekend including a camera bag, a tripod, and some swimming shorts. Still, I budgeted money for it and did not go over that amount, though I was close.

So, I’m still on track, I guess. I would feel a little bit better about how much I ate if I had been working out the past few weeks. But, since I haven’t, I really need to get back into it, so I don’t gain any of the 32 lbs. I lost back.