I'm not good at resolutions. I tend to be better at reflecting than I am at looking ahead, at least in a realistic way. I'm impatient, so I tend to know the things I want the future to bring, but am not very good at waiting for them to come to pass. I am also really great at thinking of the various things I want to accomplish, and even maybe concocting a plan as to how I should go about doing so before epically failing at the follow through.
So, with the new year and the flood of new resolutions people are making, there are tons of things I could put on a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year: Finish that novel I've been working on for years (ha!), lose weight, exercise more, write more, eat better, cook more...the list of things I should do goes on and on.
But..I likely won't be any more successful things at any of those things than I have in the past. I'll focus on them intermittently, sure, but it'll be in spurts. I'll do a GREAT job of going to yoga every week for a month or two and then....I won't. I'll be super proud of myself for eating broccoli one night, and then kill a frozen pizza by myself the next. I know myself well enough after all of these years to know that these resolutions that sound so great (and are worthwhile) will probably fall apart before January is even over.
And yet, I'm here. Writing about resolutions. So, clearly, I'm looking to achieve something, right?
2016 was a hard year. Admittedly, for me, it started in 2015, and as I sat here at this time last year, I told myself 2016 was going to be better. I don't know that it was. 2016 was enlightening, in that it showed me some of the wonderful things I have going for me at the same time that it highlighted some of the ways in which I'm so far from where I want to be. Life is never going to be perfect, and we have to take the good with the bad. I think what 2016 taught me was that, even in those moments when the shit storm seems to be pouring down all around you, that's when you need to focus on the good things in your life even more. I have a lot of good, even on the days when the bad feels suffocating, and turns me into a real bitch.
Here I am now, then, in 2017. You bet I'm hoping for a better year than 2016, for me and a lot of other people in my life. I'm not foolish enough to believe that it will be all sunshine and roses to make up for the year that just ended. There will be bumps and bruises, and 2017 holds plenty of uncertainty. So I'm going to try and set some resolutions. I may not achieve them all, but I think just trying to keep them in mind in the year ahead might help me keep things in perspective
- Re-Read Harry Potter - because it's long overdue, and it will be fun to revisit. Plus, I've got a bet going with a 10 year old about who will finish the series first, and I need to at least try to give him a run for his money.
- Be a good friend/daughter/sister - I am surrounded by so many great people in my life, and I want to try and give back to them. I want to spend time with the people I love, and be the best friend, daughter, sister, etc. that I can be to them. They deserve that.
- Go on a vacation. That requires me to leave home - I can stay-cation like a BOSS. And do, at least once a year. But I think there's something to be said for actually leaving home and getting away from the stresses and obligations of every day life. I want to see a new place, and make new memories.
- Read. A lot. - Okay, so I do this anyway. I'm pretty sure it's a resolution I can keep to myself, plus I just freaking love talking about books with people. Gotta keep the good going.
- Walk Cassie more - This is more like those traditional resolutions, but...it's good for her AND for me. And she deserves me making more of an effort to get her out more. It's bonding time, and we could both use the fresh air. Just maybe not when the weather is in single digits....
- Get out of my head/CHILL OUT - I am SO GREAT at convincing myself I'm the worst sometimes. My best friend isn't answering my texts as quickly as usual? I'm super annoying and she probably hates me. Someone doesn't want to eat the cupcakes I made? They must be terrible, I should just throw them all away. Cassie won't cuddle with me? I'm the worst dog mom ever. I can be a bit overdramatic, and am way harder on myself than I tend to be on people around me. I need to work on not taking everything personally sometimes, and giving myself a little more credit than I do.
- Don't let the introvert win all the time. I am a homebody and a couch potato. I love reading, and I love watching TV and movies, I like time spent alone, and I can talk myself about doing just about anything that requires me getting up off the couch on a lazy Sunday. Which makes this probably one of the toughest resolutions for me to try and keep. But I want to say yes more, get off my couch more. Because what I've noticed this year? It's those lazy Sundays that start out great on the couch, and by Sunday night, all those crazy thoughts in my head (see above) have taken over. If I want to experience more, I need to do more. Just as long as I still leave myself some time for the TV and reading....
So, here's to 2017. Whatever your goals for the year are, I hope you achieve them, or at least gain something by working toward them, even if you don't do quite what you tried to. We learn a lot from our failures, right? I know I certainly have.
Thus ends my New Year's post - maybe I'll be back sooner than I think, even though I'm not officially resolving to write more for 2017, Who knows what the year will bring.. ;-)
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