Starting 2015 Right: A Guide to Resolutions

Starting 2015 Right!

A Guide to Resolutions

I have a confession: I really dislike New Year’s resolutions. I think they are either too vague, too specific, or just serve as reminders for what we are hoping to change, but never really develop a plan for changing. This, my friends, is why I haven’t made a resolution in a very long time. But, this year, I decided to take a different approach and feel like it really could work. I decided to come up with an overall goal and some benchmarks to help me stay on track throughout the year.

I banned any of those “I’d like to lose xx lbs. this year.” Losing weight isn’t going to make me feel any better about myself, it doesn’t always equate health and vitality. And I think that being healthy is what we really want, we want to feel healthy so we can enjoy our lives and improve our overall quality of life. So I started with a broad goal:

1.    I want to improve my mental, spiritual, and physical, health. 

·        To target my mental health, I’ve decided to read at least one novel a month. It isn’t so demanding that I can’t accomplish, but it will be nice to reflect back on the year and say that I’ve read at least 12 books. That’ll be more than I can say for this year.

·        To target my spiritual goal, I’ve decided to start looking for churches that I could be interested in. I am pretty liberal and being brought up in a traditional Baptist church never quite fit for me. I know a lot of fantastic people that this works for and adds to their character, unfortunately it never really clicked for me. So after a long time of not growing or investing in spirituality, I’ve decided to give it another go. I hope that I can find a place of worship that makes sense to me and helps me grow as a person. I hope that it will help me find a greater sense of purpose and just be a better person. I think it will also help me meet some people in Lexington, where I’ve recently moved.

·        To target my physical health, I am taking a two pronged approach in that where I used to “limit” my gluten I will now be eliminating. It’s really hard. Food is my vice. I am a southern girl; I need biscuits and cakes, and sandwiches. This one will be the hardest for me. I know it. But, I know that I usually make poor food decisions when I haven’t planned what I will eat. It’s when I’m leaving work at 6:30 and I’m starving that I go through the drive-thru of Raising Canes and get chicken strips and French fries. So I have been cooking meals for the entire week on Sundays. Planning has already made a huge difference. Thank you, Pinterest! The second part of improving my physical health is obviously going to the gym. It’s cold in Kentucky. I don’t want to run outside, so the elliptical at the gym has recently become my friend. My fiancé is my account-a-bill-a-buddy. When I don’t feel like going, he encourages me to go. It’s fun and it’s different when you have to answer to someone besides yourself.

This is my plan for building a healthy, thriving, 2015. Remember, it’s never too late to improve your life. And if you have a rough day, today, you can always turn things around tomorrow, loves!

I’m interested to know, what goals have you set for 2015? How will you be making it the best year, yet?