Resolutions Time!

Yep!  That's right!  It's that oh-so-special time of year when we reflect on ourselves- past, present, and future.  People love to joke about New Year's resolutions.  They are silly, pointless, set us up for disappointment, etc.... Yet, we still make them.  Why?  I'll tell you why- because it's good to take some time to self-reflect and think about where we can improve ourselves and our lives.  There's nothing wrong with that!  I'm not saying not to be happy with yourself, I'm just saying that I feel we should always be thinking about ways we could be better versions of ourselves.

Of course there's always the common resolutions- lose weight, quit smoking, get more organized.  Those things are all great and most of us would do well to try for those things.  But, in order for you to have success with your resolution, it has to be something you can buy into and REALLY want.  So, I've decided to focus on areas of my life where I could use some improvement.  I'm going to focus on goals for SELF, FAMILY, WORK, and SPIRIT.  Feel free to quit reading now if you are going to be bored to tears.  I won't be upset.  Actually, I won't be upset if you keep reading and roll your eyes a few times.  I don't expect you to agree with everything.  Honestly, I'm just putting this all out there in an attempt to hold myself accountable.  There's something about putting it "out there" for everyone to see that adds a bit of pressure to make results happen.  So, here goes...

SELF: Yep, I am continuing on my goal of weight loss.  Last year, I lost about 15 pounds, but that's no where near where I should be and that was good.  Rather than just the number on the scale, I'm going to focus more of creating a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family.  I have a lot of young eyes watching me (at home and work), and I want to be a good example to them.  I'm going to focus on eating cleaner (I feel like crap when I eat crap anyway), and moving every day.  (FYI, my hubby got me a fitness tracker for Christmas.  He didn't want to get it for me because he feels it's "gimicky", so I want to prove to him it was a good investment!  If I don't prove to him that it was good to get me what I asked for, he'll never listen to what I want for Christmas- he'll only get what HE deems worthy.  Challenge accepted!)

FAMILY: It is sometimes way too easy to get caught up in the business of life and things that you have to do, and it is easy to forget to spend quality time together.  This year in particular, I've noticed time has flown by way too quickly for my liking.  Before I know it, my girls will be grown up and starting on lives of their own!  (God, it gives me anxiety to think about it!)  So, I'm going to set out with the simple family goal of doing one quality family-time activity per month.  Maybe going for a hike in the summer, going fishing, build a snowman, go sledding, camp in the backyard, whatever!  I'm also going to document this year of family-time through pictures and put it into a photobook next January.

WORK: Last year's goal was to not get stressed out about what the future holds- and I feel I kept to that pretty well.  The teaching profession is not was it was, not what people think it is today.  It is tough, with LOTS to balance and it can be very easy to get super overwhelmed.  My work mantra is: I can only do so much, and I'll do everything I possibly can.  I work continue to work my ass off, but I'm not going to kill myself or jeopardize my family togetherness because of my job.  My family does and will always come first.  I'll continue to balance things by leaving each day earlier, and staying one night late per week.

SPIRIT:  This is pretty simple, but has a couple parts to it.  1) Continue to blog.  It's good for me.  I'm going to set the goal of blogging at least 1 time per month.  It helps me reflect and keep grounded (and just might inspire others sometimes).  2) Go back to church.  Every week.  No exceptions.  3) Listen to Joel weekly.  I'm recording them, so I can watch them.  I like his messages, and I like how they make me feel very reflective.

So, that's it!  Only a small list, but an important one.  Will I make it all year? Hopefully.  Maybe.  I'll try my hardest, but if I don't, there's always next year.  :)

Happy New Year and have a wonderful 2015!!