Resolutions
Hello friends and a belated Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed their time throughout the holidays. I feel like it’s been a hot minute since I wrote, but wanted to take this opportunity to give you a few thoughts regarding the new year and it’s possibilities.
Every year since I can remember, I’ve tried to have a New Years Resolution, if not several, because the thought of starting over or starting fresh is a nice thought and always seems like a grand idea. One problem though… I’m the worlds worst at following through. How many times have I bought a YMCA or Planet Fitness membership only to go for 3 weeks solid. Or the amount of times I’ll swear off all sweets and carbs until someone teases me with a donut or some mashed potatoes and gravy… then it’s all over! My willpower isn’t exactly my strong suit. In fact, probably one of my weakest. (And I do realize all my mentioned resolutions are food and weight related - but that’s where I tend to focus or have focused in the past with my own resolutions)
My sister Abby sent my sisters and I a list of 21 things in 2021. Instead of a “resolution” it’s more of a goals list. Something manageable. Something achievable. Something that I can be proud of when I look back at the end of the year. As cliché as resolutions are - they are built with good intentions. For me, I usually dream up this grand idea and have such high expectations that I am setting myself up for failure. Now obviously, not everyone is like this. Some people stay motivated and driven and will finish their task no matter how hard. Others (like myself) who feel it’s a great idea, but after a month or so of working toward that goal - it’s lost it’s luster and the flame dies out.
If you are like me and tend to base your success/failure on all you accomplish - then maybe this post is for you. It has taken me some time to realize this, but just because you set out and achieve big goals doesn’t make you a success. Same goes for if you weren’t able to finish a task or a goal, it doesn’t mark you as a failure.
For me, I’m going to try and make my 2021 count on a different scale. I am going to try my best not to measure my success based on how much I weigh, or how much I exercise, or my caloric intake vs caloric deficit. It’s not a “New Year, New Me” type of post… I’m aiming for a “New Year, Let’s Make it Count” post. Below are a few things that I’m going to try and make better in 2021.
I would really like to maintain my blog, “Positivity, Prayers, and Prozac” that I started last July. I want to write one post a month at minimum. I think that this is attainable, as I have so far done that. While my posts are not always mental health related - I think as long as the positivity and/or message shines through, it can’t hurt.
Work on my punctuality. Anyone who knows me knows that being on time is not my strong suit. (Turns out I hardly have any suits at all, lol!) As hard as I try, I am horrible at time management, especially in the mornings. Let’s be honest people, I don’t show up to work trying to win a beauty pageant, it’s usually leggings and a t-shirt until all the leggings are dirty! I need to be better prepared for my mornings and get my ish together the night before!
Be in bed before 11 pm. This might have some to do with my lack of function in the mornings, but my mind stays wound up, or I’m reading just one more page, or scrolling mindlessly through Instagram. I need to focus on a bedtime routine that I can get down with and not be left feeling zombie-esque.
Have more dates with my husband. (And yes, I mean actual dates! lol) Our time alone together is precious these days. It’s either accompanied by a wild, almost 5-year-old., or we are with our family. As much as I cherish being with everyone, sometimes Cameron and I need to go out unwind, just the two of us. When we do, I always question why we don’t do it more… life’s like that I reckon!
One on One Time with Anna Kate. This is a tough one for me along with many parents. I want to spend more of our time together doing actual activities - being outside, riding bikes, on the farm, playing games… not stuck behind a screen. (My fault, not hers) I want her to realize that there is so much to do without the need for electronics. I am so guilty of letting an Ipad “babysit” for a few minutes while I knock this or that out. I think in this generation, we are all guilty to a degree. I just want to be better and more mindful about what her time is spent doing and not waste her childhood on crap tv and cartoons.
While it’s not a list of 21 things, I think those are some of the things I think I need to work on the most. Not only will it make for a happier/healthier me, but I think a happier/healthier household as well. These days I’m trying to hone in on simply that… what makes me and my family happy. What good I can do for someone else. How can I better the world I live in? Stop trying to guess what’s next or staying concerned with what others think. I want to focus on the right here, right now and appreciate it because it happens in a flash. We blink and another year has passed us by.
I wish you all good health, peace, and endless blessings in the New Year. Make it count! Do good! Be good!
All the love - Alexis