New Years Resolutions

It is already 5 days into the new year. Wow, time really does fly lately. I am a big fan of self reflection and assessment. 

2014:

...was a truly amazing year. Things started off very difficult and trying. It was cold here in WI and not the cold we are use too. We had wind chills of -40 F, which is insane. One cannot even go to get the mail without your face freezing. In addition, we were snowed in for 3 days. I went completely insane and walked in the cold to the closest store. I had to get out of the house! 

Once spring came everything fell into place. The warm air returned, the sun was in the sky and long weeks of grey skies was over. The summer continued to be a nice and busy time of year.

In June, I started to realize how fast time was going, how old my son had become and how much I wanted things to be different. I wanted life to slow down so I could enjoy every moment. After much reflection and personal growth, I came up with a plan on how to accomplish a more relaxing and enjoyable life style. First, I tackled the idea of not having all the laundry done, dishes cleaned or house tidy. I made a list of to-dos and instead of accomplishing everything on the list, I limited myself to two tasks a day max. This still gave me the feeling of accomplishment and achievement but also gave me time to relax after a work day and NOT feel like a lazy bum.

Personally, I have always wanted to be a better reader. I never read, except for work or school. I never felt the desire to read a book for pleasure. Last year, I decided I want to be a good role model for my son by reading more. I am a gadget person. I love little toys so to meet this goal I treated myself to a NOOK. I am proud to say that I read a trilogy, and 3 other novels as well. I a very proud of this goal.

Looking back some of my goals were not met last year. I started going to the gym and stopped. I started running and stopped. I started to eat better and stopped. I see a pattern here! I know it is the typical pattern for most people. I have struggled with this for many years.

Finally, last year, I decided to tackle some anxiety that I have. I worry. Not normal worrying either, I worry and over think EVERYTHING! Surprisingly, this is not the best way to slow life down and relax more. Go figure! I decided to start taking action to control my worrying. I would say 6 months later and I have been much happier and truly enjoying life because of addressing this issue. The anxiety is not gone and I do not think it will ever be completely out of my life. However, I can now control it and relax.

2015:

...first, I want to keep up the changes I have made in 2014. All of these new changes, are just that, new. They are not habits yet and I need to make sure I keep up with the healthy changes I have already made.

In addition, I do have the classic desire to eat healthier and lose some weight. However, jumping into a new exercise routine and changing my diet seems a bit much to chew off. First, I want to look at working out somehow. It needs to be part of my daily routine without taking time from my family. As a working mom, I have precious time with my son during the week. I realized a simple yet hopefully effective change I could make today. I work on the 9th floor... DUH! Why not just take the stairs, everyday, every time. I could do about 50 flights of stairs a day if I used them exclusively! I am hoping this change will show a difference in my weight by summer. Even 5 lbs would make me feel awesome. 

As for the food, this is tough for me. Eating unhealthy is fast, convenient and cheap. Plus the obvious, it tastes delicious!  Pizza, bacon, cheesy bread... CHOCOLATE. Who does not love these things? But I think you can eat whatever you want... in moderation. Again, I am hoping this will be the key to my future success, moderation. I love good food too, do not get me wrong. Fruit is amazing, veggies are good snacks. I just need to incorporate more of those and eat less (not completely cut out) bad food. This goal is not something I intend to accomplish by Feb or even June. I am giving myself until Dec 31, 2015 to have a better routine worked out for my habits. Fingers crossed I can get there.

Good luck to you and your resolutions. Here's to 2015.