It's that time of year again

Everyone is compiling their yearly highlights and reviewing their accomplishments (or failures) from the last year. I have been contemplating what I would like to do for the past few days and still have not reached any firm conclusions. On the one hand, I feel ready to make some resolutions and attempt changes. Last year I gave myself a pass because the stress of moving and having a baby pretty much destroyed my sanity and I didn't need any more pressure on myself. Now we have had a year of stability in our home, family, and job situations and things feel much better. I still hesitate to make resolutions because they never seem to happen. As I look back on posts labelled 'goals' I see many of the same themes: read my scriptures, lose weight, eat fewer treats, and so on. I want to change many of the things I've been failing at for years and so I feel rather daunted by the fact that I've been trying for nearly a decade to change the same things about myself.

I think what I would like to do instead is to set monthly goals. One piece of the puzzle to work on each month; perhaps accomplishing small, measurable things will help me make some lasting changes. For January I am going to get back on a regular sleeping schedule. I will be in bed with the light off at 10:30 and during the week I will get up at 6:30 (either to exercise or to get ready for work). I do have goals for exercising and scripture study that I'd like to do in the morning, but for this month I will focus on sleep. I will report back at the end of the month.

Comments

Katya said…
I don't ever make New Year's resolutions. (Well, I quit smoking every year, but that's just a joke.) I'm not a big goal-setter, generally. Instead, I try to track certain behaviors and reward myself for doing them regularly and often.

I know that sounds a lot like setting a goal, but in my mind, setting a goal means starting with a theoretical idea of perfection, which means that any real-world deviation from that is seen as a failure. Tracking a behavior, on the other hand, means starting from nothing and recording positive steps, even if those steps are slower than I might have originally envisioned.

Good luck with your goals!
1/02/2011 8:44 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Truth Comes Out

I have a problem when it comes to buying shoes. Well, it's actually a problem with buying clothing in general. I'm cheap. Very cheap. I tend to have arbitrary price limits in my head and refuse to buy anything that costs more than that. This does come in handy considering our limited funds for things like clothing and shoes, but it also means that I tend to have a wardrobe of odd, non-matching, ill-fitting clothes. While it's true that I have found some great things at thrift stores and on clearance, I definitely have other clothes that are just plain lame. I will often choose to buy things because they are cheap, even sacrificing what I really want because it doesn't fit my predetermined price conventions. I am convincing myself to buy this jacket because it is comfortable, stylish, fits a wardrobe need (I don't have a blazer or jacket), and matches a skirt I already have. Oh and it comes in petite, so I can get a large that won't squeeze my tummy and not hav
Read more

Happy, Happy Blog-day Foxy Dear

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my blog. I had no idea where my life would go when I started this blog, and it's fun for me to read back through the archives and remember feelings and events that I have already forgotten. I think the most surprising thing about blogging that I have discovered is the sense of community. I have about fifty blogs that I follow somewhat regularly; many of them are people I haven't ever met in person. I still consider them to be my friends. I've been very grateful for all the virtual support I've received from so many people who don't really even "know" me. Miss Nemesis recently celebrated her blog's special day by asking lurkers to come out of the woodwork and reveal who they were and how they found her blog. She got 52 comments. If you want to make my day, see if you can top her numbers. Maybe then I can change my blognym to "Queen of the Universe".
Read more