I love that we are starting out 2018 thinking not about what we want to change, or what we "didn't" do in 2017....but instead what we DID do RIGHT, and what worked in 2017. Everyone contributed such happy and heart warming things, and it was inspiring and optimistic! New Year's resolutions can be a bit discouraging honestly, a bit demoralizing, which is probably why half the people I talk to say they don't even do them--because why do something that is discouraging and not helpful? You make a list of all the things you want to do better, then you blink and the year goes by and then you rewrite the same list again.
But this year I'm coming at the whole thing from a better place. I'm focusing on what I did in 2017 that was spot on. That worked. That I want to do the same, or have stay the same. Then I'm going to figure out what actions I want to do in 2018 differently, and figure out a place to put those actions into my calendar.
What worked: I started working on my overall health last year, picking it apart and analyzing where I was at, and it has been an increasingly rewarding journey. I dragged my feet for a long time...and my rationale was always "well, overall I am healthy and doing pretty good". And overall I WAS ok. But ok is only ok....and when you embrace the idea that you can feel great, that will change everything. Going to a naturopath was key for me. It was the first time someone sat down and analyzed everything with me. "You didn't sleep well last night?" "Why?"....Has anyone ever done that for me before in the medical field? Pretty sure not. It felt positively indulgent to have someone care what my energy levels were thru-out the day, or if I slept a full 8 hours. It's definitely a first world problem (my health puzzle), but I'll take it.
So, needless to say, I want to maintain the control and awareness I have of my diet and body. I don't particularly need to change anything, but I'd be pretty happy to keep it the same, with perhaps a few more recipe expansions (I tend to repeat myself too much--creature of habit.)
What else is working? Well, yoga. That's working. I've found something I really, really like, and I want to stick with it. I've been doing it since September of 2017 and I feel like it's made a huge difference in my mental health. I think I'm more centered. I'm less edgy and irritable (trust me, it's not gone completely, but it's diminished), and I feel physically strong. I want to keep that up in 2018.
I want to hold on to my healthy kids. I appreciate that every day, and if 2018 could be another year that they are all generally in one healthy piece, I'll be happy. Ditto for my husband...we had our ups and downs this year, but I'll be very grateful for another year of the same.
OH, and lastly...I really, REALLY, really, love my grocery delivery service. I want to keep that. I never want to let that go. Try to take it from me and bad things will happen. It's cut down on 80% of my need to go to the grocery store, and reduced my stress level by at least 300%. I'm no mathematician, but that seems good. That's one thing that really worked in 2017.
I went to "church yoga" this morning....dubbed so because it's on Sunday morning and it's a very meditative, spiritual/thought provoking class. As always, the teacher (whom I adore...he's wise, and funny, and I never walk away without a handful of nuggets of info I need), anyway, he had a great "sermon" on the closing of 2017 and the impending start of 2018. He talked about resolutions, and broke down the meaning of the word itself. But to put it in a nutshell, he said that the most important thing to do as we reflect on what we want for the new year, is to determine what our action, or inactions will be. The results we may or may not have control over, and sometimes they are totally different than intended. Our actions however, that we can control. Do no actions, and you stay in the same place. Do any action, and you create movement.
So here's what I'm doing today, I'm making an action plan for the first 90 days of 2018. Specific "actions" I will put into my calendar, that will hopefully move me in the direction I want to go (and get certain things done that I need to get done). I've spent a lot of time bouncing around the internet, reading blogs, listening to pod casts, and trying to get a feel for where I am mentally....what I need to regroup and move forward into the New Year. One site I ran across had a great article that reminded me that lists are good, but the BEST way to get things done is to get them into your calendar. A calendar is your action plan for the day, week, month....if something is slotted into a time period on your calendar, you are likely to do it. Deal in the currency of time, because time is precious. If it's buried somewhere on a list, say #18 on your "what I want to do in 2018"--then chances are, it might not happen.
Lastly, as I'm making my calendar, and my action plan, I'm thinking about the infamous bit of song wisdom from one of the world's greatest artists (may he rest in peace), "if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.". I can point fingers at the world at large, for it's failings on all kinds of levels....but since I only have immediate control over what I do, and what I put out into the world, I'm going to start by DOING things that reflect what I want the world to reflect. I'm focusing on the output of myself first, and my nuclear family...followed closely by the Melange family of course.
I'm curious, if you have ONE thing that you want to articulate as the action you most want to take in 2017, what would that action be? Not a result...an action. For example, a traditional New Year's "goal" might be to lose holiday weight. Action however, is to say "I'm taking a yoga class 2 days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, at 6:00 p.m.". It gets you (in theory) where you want to go...but even if you don't get exactly where you thought you'd go, it gets you DOING something. So, what is the first ACTION you will be putting into place for your new year?
Signed, ME {lv}
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