Resolutions!

I really don't like the idea of new years resolutions because they're so cliche and hardly anyone ever accomplishes them, especially me! But there is something about starting a new year, the idea of starting fresh and coming at things in a different way, that is so appealing. I took some time to think about why my resolutions always fail. There are several reasons I can come up with. 1) the goals are long-term and not paired with any short-term, attainable, and measurable goals. For instance, losing weight. I'll either make it a generic goal of simply that or I'll say something like...I want to lose 20 pounds. When I don't see results soon, I get discouraged and give up. There isn't anything to keep me motivated. But if I made smaller goals, like 4 pounds a month for example, I can start to see progress and start meeting little goals, thereby encouraging me to keep going. 2) the goals are something I feel like I should do, but not something I really want to do. Or maybe I do want to, but not as badly as I want something contrary to it. Maybe I want to lose weight, but not as badly as I want to eat chocolate. Maybe I think I should go to the gym everyday, but I don't really want to. I think there are ways of getting around this. (I know I keep talking about losing weight, but it's such a common one and something that, as cliche as it is, I do want to do.) But I think if maybe I broaden my thoughts of losing weight to more than just hours logged at the gym, I could start living a healthier lifestyle by doing other physical activities, making small changes, and eating tasty but healthy things--rather than completely cutting out things I love. And this brings me to the final reason I think my resolutions fail. 3) I make it all about restrictions and abstaining from things. What is meant to be a positive and encouraging endeavor becomes a negative and insufferable experience. So, maybe rather than only focus on things I won't do, I can focus instead of things that I will do. It seems much easier to start something new than to quit something old and familiar. Not to say I shouldn't cut some things down or make changes, but positive additions will go a long way, I think.

So, bearing all this in mind, I have come up with a few "resolutions" for 2011.

1. Eat more veggies! I feel like I hardly ever eat vegetables and there are so many choices out there that are tasty and super nutritious.
2. drink more water. Water is good for you in so many ways, it's free (we have well water), and it's refreshing!
3. search for more alternative recipes for some of our favorite dishes (ie, whole wheat pasta and breads, fat free sour cream, egg substitute, etc...)
4. find more ways to be physical throughout the day (walk around every 30 minutes at work, lift weights while watching TV, always take the stairs vs. the elevator, etc...)
5. do more physical activities for fun, like riding bikes, taking walks, dancing, etc...
6. spend more time outside. I feel like I'm always indoors! We have such a beautiful and spacious lawn and a nice pond outside our house and we never go out there! I want to spend time sitting on the front porch reading, fishing in the pond, walking around, and playing the lawn games we got for Christmas!
7. visit family more often. we tend to wait for reasons to visit people, and some people never provide concrete events or "reasons" to come see them...so we don't see them at all, or only once a year at Christmas. I want to see everyone more, especially siblings, cousins, and grandparents. I want to make plans to do this at least once a month.
8. hang out with friends more often. Scott and I always joke that we don't have friends. It's not that, it's just that we are homebodies. We love being at home and relaxing. And we love being together so much that we rarely feel the need for other people. But relationships are important to me and I want to be close with other people. There are people in my life who I love and I want to spend more time with them. I want to plan to do this at least once a month as well.
9. Spend more time with God. I used to spend at least 30 minutes a day in prayer and Bible study...just talking with God. I can't remember that last time I did that. I still pray and read the Bible, but not in larger segments of time, and I rarely give God my undivided attention. I honestly feel like I've lost a lot of the passion in my relationship with God and I want it back so badly, and I've been struggling with this for a few months now. I hope that seeking him through devoted time each day will help me grow closer with Him.
10. Continue paying off my student loans each month, even though I don't have to since I'm still in school. It seems smart to make payments before interest kicks in again. We stopped doing it b/c of Christmas expenses, but I want to start again.
11. Find ways to give more, whether it be with money, time, possessions, etc... We tithe regularly, donate to ministries, and volunteer regularly at the church. I don't feel like we're doing poorly in this area, but I believe there is always room to do more and I don't want to become complaisant in this area.
12. Read more books! I want to read at least one non-school related book a month. That doesn't seem like a lot, but I often get bogged down with school work, and if I do any outside reading it's the Bible. That is more important than other reading, but I think I have the time if I set it aside to read for fun.
13. Do at least one project around the house a month. There are lots of things I would like to accomplish in our home, but I rarely feel like doing any of it. But projects can be fun once you get into them, and I find that I'm always so much happier when the house is clean, organized, and put together. I want to do some work outside, paint several things, fix the trim around our fireplace, etc...
14. Make all A's each semester
15. and lastly--write more. This blog is about the extent of my writing outside of emails and school papers. I want to continue to blog, but also do some free writing every now and then. I don't know exactly what my goal is in this area. Maybe 10 minutes a day? That's not much, but it's good for starting out, I think. I really want to make these goals simple, attainable and measurable. And they need to be things I'm committed to. I can go ahead and tell you that I won't do all these things, but I hope to at least make small improvements in all areas.

So, there ya have it! Lose weight, yes--but through specific changes and additions. But really more than that, I want to grow in my relationships with God, family, friends, and myself. And of course, I want to grow with Scott--but that isn't an area that I need to set goals to accomplish. We are naturally awesome at being together! ;)