It's that time of the end of the year again, time to start thinking of what you want to make of the new year to come, and boy does that tend to put a lot of pressure on people. I either make very lofty goals or do totally nothing, my objective for 2015 is to sort of become a more efficient self. That doesn't mean I want to become a workaholic, everything-must-be-perfect-machine, but I want to become better about some things that plague me in life. I've made a little infographic explaining what I'd like to work on this year:
Getting Organized: Probably my biggest hurdle. I am a pack rat. I am emotionally attached to so many things that clutter my life: t-shirts, magazines, birthday cards, refrigerator magnet, you name it! I blame it on Toy Story, but I feel as if everything I own has a soul and will feel abandoned and lost without me and I feel so guilty getting rid of anything. My goal this year is to try and not become so attached to things, but to focus that attachment to people. Not like a velcro-friend, but by spending more time with my friends and family and not so much time acquiring stuff and feeling guilty about not using it all. I did a major closet and stuff purge this afternoon and it was so hard and so ridiculous how I lets things rule my emotions! Plus, everything looks so much nicer when it's organized!
Try New Recipes: My meals have turned into so many permutations of chicken and vegetables that it's starting to drive me insane. It's time to find new ways to make healthy foods without feeling I have to adhere to the "separate protein, vegetable, and vegetable" approach for every meal and not just replace everything with pizza. I want to find a salad I actually like to eat and I really want to try more soup recipes! There's so much food out there that is good and easy to make and I stick to the same crap night after night. It's time to try something new, even if it's just once a week!
Exercise: I tell myself I'm going to get radical when it comes to my workout routine every year, but I'm doing pretty well when it comes to the gym. I am trying to run more races this year, because they are a lot of fun plus a medal and a t-shirt. I guess my exercise resolution is to keep up the good work and pat myself on the back for once for sticking with my gym routine. I've been going 4 times a week pretty regularly for the past year and that's pretty great for a bigger person. I've upped all my lifts tremendously and I've kept insecurities at bay and done what I wanted. This year, I want to continue the gym habit while adding fun stuff on the weekends that are active!
Drink More Water: There have been days where all I've had to drink is a cup of coffee in the morning, a 10oz glass of water at lunch, and another 10oz at dinner. That is not enough water! My goal this year is to make it a habit to drink at least 24oz of water 5 times a day. That's right, basically a gallon a day. It's not really that ridiculous, I've been doing it for a few weeks and on days where I've been slacking my body lets me know really quick! I have one big Tervis full at breakfast, at work between breakfast and lunch, one at lunch, one between lunch and my workout, and one at dinner time. It all adds up and makes my skin look good and keeps my stomach in check. This is what I really want to make a habit of this year!
Save Money: I try so hard to save money because I am really afraid of being totally broke. I don't have a job where I get money thrown at me from all directions and I find my account balance a little too close to $0 than I'd like from time to time. I guess my biggest issue is being totally aware of my spending. I'm not a compulsive shopper, but I do justify buying things that aren't necessities more often than I'd like. I heard a trick from a coworker that was imagine the price of the item you want and then figure out how much work it would take you to earn that item. Do you really still want it? Do you really want a nail polish that costs as much a half an hour's work? It's a great way of putting money into perspective. I just want to be able to have some saving for car emergencies or any bumps in the road without having to sell my body on the street!
Relax: Now, this isn't a "take a spa day" or a "kick your feet up and make it all about me" kind of relax. It's more of a "things happen, it's not the end of the world. Life is what you make it" relax. I take too many things personally that are in no way directed towards me that cause me unnecessary stress; all brought onto me by me. It's high time for that to stop. For the most part, people are caught up in their own lives too much to spend theirs making personal jabs at you. If someone makes a remark that upsets you, confront them about it or brush it off. When I first started just brushing things off instead of getting angry about them for an hour, the result was so incredible and I felt so dumb for being so sensitive for so long. I still take things personally, things that I had really nothing to do with, but I made myself a part of it for no good reason. Just let it go! I also spend way too much time feeling guilty about things. I do this with work a lot, feeling bad about things that no one else will ever notice or care about. If someone asks you to do something out of the ordinary that you really don't want to do, it's ok to say no (just don't be unreasonable). This is not to say there is no such thing as personal responsibility, but your life should not be run by guilt. Worrying does nothing but take my eye off the prize and the older I get, the more I want to savor every second I have. I want to spend more time doing things I really love, like going to the beach, seeing my friends, reading, writing, making things, spending time with loved ones, and learning new things. These are the things I find relaxing because they enrich me and make me happy. Taking a nice bath doesn't hurt either! Happiness is relaxation!
I know this is a bit of an essay, but it's the new year, baby! Anything is possible! There are so many things that I think I should have accomplished by now, but I'm healthy, I'm not homeless, my friends and family love me, and I don't hate myself, so I think that's a pretty good place to be. Start with baby steps and you can accomplish something, even if it isn't earth-shattering. Happy almost-New Year everyone and make some dreams come true!
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