Monthly Review — September
September life update
Hello Friend,
I hope you are well,
Another month has gone by in a flash, and time for another monthly review. I enjoy writing these monthly updates, it gives me a chance to sit and reflect. I can see what’s gone well, what hasn’t gone so well and where I can improve going into next month, and of course, it makes me reflect on what I was doing this time last year…
This time last year me and Jennie were just about to leave the famous Phi Phi island in Thailand having just recovered from a case of food poisoning. It was a rough few days I’m not going to lie. Flicking through some photos from this time last year, I’d just started writing my first blog post draft too. I’ve just re-read it now… it was terrible to say the least. But we’ve all got to start somewhere haven’t we. Wow, I can’t believe that was a year ago, how time flies!
Highlights of the Month
Jennie’s Birthday Weekend
It’s Jennie’s birthday on the 10th of September, so of course we had to celebrate it in our usual foodie style. We ate at Brooks Sri Lankan Tapas, our first taste of Sri Lankan food and wow, it was out of this world! The best meal out we’ve had in quite a while. It was an easy 15/10! 1000% recommend it, we can’t wait to go back again!
The next day, we headed out on a road trip with Jennie’s family to the east coast. Me and Jennie have been meaning to go to the seaside for a while but haven’t been able to go for one reason or another. Luckily we found the perfect day where we could all go together. We managed to visit Staithes, Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay. It was a lot of driving but so worth it. We’ll be going back at some point in the future, Jennie is desperate to give surfing another go! (maybe when it’s a wee bit warmer).
Whilst we were strolling the coast, my friends were running. Big shout out to them for completing the Great North Run Half Marathon — top effort fellas!
Kettlewell Trip
Me and a friend took a trip over to Kettlewell, a small, quaint village in the Yorkshire Dales. He was running his usual weekend fell race, so whilst he was doing that I snuck over to a small café for my usual Saturday morning coffee and writing session. After he finished racing, we took a stroll along the river for a couple of miles, had a pint and chit chat before eventually walking back into the village. A lovely, quiet, chilled out excursion.
Most Interesting Thing I’ve Learnt
Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest geniuses of all time, and master of numerous different fields (art, geology, mathematics, mechanical engineering, physics, zoology to name a few), never actually received any formal education apart from very basic reading, writing and maths. Pretty crazy right!
Favourite Quote
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves” — Alan Watts
Favourite Book I’ve Read
Letters From A Stoic — Seneca
I’ve re-read a couple of books this month, one of them being Letters From A Stoic. I’ve torn this books to pieces, highlighting and taking notes on virtually every single page. It’s so good! Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Here are a few of of my favourite quotes from the book:
- “It is not the man who has too little that is poor, but the one who hankers after more.”
- “If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according what others think, you will never be rich.”
- “If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.”
- “Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them.”
- “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”
Favourite Thing I’ve Listen To
Modern Wisdom: #670 — Alex Hormozi — 23 Controversial Truths About Life
As I’ve said before, I love Chris’ content but this was an exceptional episode. Alex Hormozi (who I also really like), discusses some really thought provoking and motivating ‘truths about life’.
I’m not exaggerating, it’s probably one of my favourite podcasts I’ve ever listened to and by the end of it I was really fired up!
Give it a listen!
Goals Update
- Figure out how to work and make money remotely
I haven’t really been working on this one to be honest.
- Read a book a week — Weeks so far this year: 39. Books read: 44. Smashing it.
- Learn how to play chess properly — Completed, though I should definitely practice more frequently.
- Run a half marathon — Completed. Another one is coming up in the next couple of weeks!
Future Plans
Me, Jennie and two of our friends are running the Manchester Half Marathon on the 15th October. I’m confident I’ll perform better in this race than the one I ran earlier this year (fingers crossed!).
Then, straight after that, on the 17th me and Jennie are going to our second home, Malta, for a week to see Nana and the rest of her family. I can’t wait!
That’s all for now folks,
See you next time,
Yours sincerely,
Tom
