Ring In the New Year

January 1st. A day to clean up from the holidays. A day to stop celebrating, and start getting serious about turning your life around. Make changes. Stop eating sugar. Smile more. Stop gossiping. Be more charitable. Etc, etc.

I have mixed feelings about Resolutions. Do I like the idea of making goals and trying to change for the better (I would hope...)? Absolutely! The part I don't like is the timing.

Every person starts off at a full sprint today; you are PUMPED about 2013, and THIS is going to be the best year of your life with this new and improved you! Congratulations! ... And then the end of February rolls around, you've got seasonal depression from the lack of holidays and sunshine, and you no longer even remember your original goals....

It's really a trap because ever goal needs a good starting push, a good motivator, and what better time is there than a whole new year to start fresh and create a new identity for yourself? The problem is, you have the bad habits you have (or the lack of hobbies) because they're fun/easy, and with nothing else to really distract you, it's all too easy to fall back into your old way of life.

I think it's so crucial to make and keep goals you have set in order to really feel happy about yourself and your life. But not having the right push can make it almost impossible.

Maybe this is just me and most of the people in my life. Maybe you NEED to have nothing else distracting you in order to keep in line with your original goal. I can understand that. But if you just read this "paragraph", and shook your head "no", here are some goal setting tips and tricks that have not worked for me (but might work for you), and some that have.

HAVE NOT WORKED FOR ME (but might work for you):

Sticky notes every where. I don't like the clutter, so the sticky notes really just end up driving me crazy more than they help. But it is good to have that constant reminder.

String around your finger/wrist. If it's not jewelry, it will drive me insane to have it on my body all day, and if it IS jewelry, I won't think twice about it. But again, the constant reminder is good.

Pictures of the end goal. Back to the clutter, but the constant reminder.

Support group. Right?! This should be the best. I think mainly I just surround myself with the wrong support group or I don't stick to my guns when I'm pressured (while changing habits).


HAVE WORKED FOR ME (and might help you, too)

Pictures of the consequences of staying the same. As a kid, I would use pictures of disgusting mouths to remind me to brush my teeth. Those visuals stuck with me. You can bet I still brush my teeth regularly. (I even have spares in my car if I'm rushed.). I now use images of health issues followed by not exercising or eating healthily. If your goal is charity work, you could use children of starving children or battered wives, whatever your poison may be.

Set reminders in your phone. I have to be honest here, this works for me, but only after the third or fourth alarm for some things. I really have to have a push, but I know that about myself, which is why I will set three or four alarms. (I also do this before getting out of bed in the morning...)

Throwing out any temptations. This is more specifically for junk food, but if you have other time wasting items that are unnecessary, do it. Don't worry about wasting food; the logic behind eating all of the junk food so it's not wasted is flawed and counter acts your goal. If you're worried about waste, don't buy it in the first place...

Part 2: Look at the monetary aspect behind repurchasing that stuff and how it will go to ware again if you do. If money is no object, let's switch lives. You'll understand why this works for me.

Pros and cons list of remaining stagnant and making changes.

Starting when it's a good time for you rather than when it's a good time for everyone else. (ie, New Years). Don't try making changes when there are already so many going on. (Moving, new job, etc. Too much on one's shoulders) Do it when you feel ready!

Starting small. Seeing the little things change first allow me to check off more boxes quickly. Quick progress is what impatient little me needs to see. It's like paying off debt.


There are a lot more, but my brain is tired from a late night ringing in the new year, and an early to rise lifestyle. :-/. If you have tricks or tips to share with me, please do!

I am an avid supporter of making goals and moving forward because honestly, if you aren't moving forward, you're probably really unhappy, and I don't want to be around that nonsense! And I am willing to bet that most other people feel the same way. Plus, we just need better people, and more positivity these days.

Whether you chose to make resolutions now or in your own time, I hope you find the willpower to make it stick. It only takes three days to start a new habit!! (And something like six weeks to break a bad one... But in the grand scheme of things, six weeks is a drop in the bucket.)

Changes are a Timing...

One year's over and another begins.  Last year ended with a bang.

I quit my job for so many reasons I can't even list them all (I found out there's a limit to how much you can blog.).  I got my hair done.  Finally.  Yeah, that alone could have made my entire year fantastic.  I set up an interview for a new job, but for the past few weeks, I've just had a lot of time to clean and exercise and just play!  (Then why the stink haven't I updated this bad boy?  Pure laziness.  Believe it or not, running around Fort Collins in the freezing cold is a lot easier than trying to share my life with everyone.  Turns out my incredible life is really only interesting to myself.)

Chris is, well, Chris.  I feel like that should be a synonym for so many great adjectives.  I think I might start calling everything wonderful in life Chris.  Starting after this blog, because chances are that habits going to take a little while to develop.  That man actually did a lot more this year than be amazing.

He got married for eternity.  ETERNITY.  (No pressure.)  I feel like that was a pretty great decision.  He went through an entire semester of schooling with a ridiculous schedule. He was never home, and when he was,he was usually sleeping, and who can blame him?  Well all that hard work paid off- we can pay our bills, and he finished his school year with phenomenal grades.  I'm almost positive that he studied only the day of each final.  And it worked really well for him.

Not only did he end the year with great grades, but he also had ANOTHER birthday this year.  He has one EVERY SINGLE YEAR.  What a lucky guy he is!  He turned 25 on December 24, 2011.  Chris got a Kindle Fire, which I know he wanted, but I've only seen him use it twice. This is how I know he's been very, very busy, even though he's supposed to be on Winter Break from school.  Bummer.  (He worked approximately 168 hours a week for the past couple weeks.) 

Also, Christmas happened, so that was obviously a pretty major part of ending the year.  By far, my favorite part of the year.  For so many reasons.

This Christmas was different because I didn't spend it with my family.  We spent this year with Chris's family.  It was a lot of fun to see everyone and catch up, but it was soo FULL.  I'm used to lounging around in pj's and playing games and watching movies all day.  Best ever.  But I had real clothes on this year.  Real clothes.  And makeup.  The sacrifices I've made for love.  (I don't have a lot of room to talk.  It would seem that sacrifice is all that Chris does for me.)

Ringing in the New Year brings changes.  I didn't officially set any resolutions, but I certainly have a few goals I'd like to accomplish.  "How can you accomplish a goal that isn't really set?", you ask.  I'm Mormon.  I  just.  Can.

This year, I will be reading (and completing) at least one book every month.  Chris and I save $11 a week on insurance if we work out three times a week and record it on a specific website through his work, so not only will we be taking care of our bodies, we'll be held accountable by this website, and we'll be saving money (not a TON, but that's $44 a month!  Totally adds up.). 

Chris has three more semesters of school left, and has worked it out so that he'll be able to continue to work full time at night AND still have time to sleep somewhere in there.  He's so smart, and such a hard worker!  That's his resolution.  Keep a roof over our head.  :-)  He is also doing a great job accumulating backpacking gear, so.... looks like we're going to be good friends with nature this summer.  Yay.

We will also be adding to our family this year.  Very soon.

That's right.  I said it.  It's out.

Yeah... Chris and I have a pretty great year ahead of us.