New Year New Me?

Welcome to my blog dear reader! I am so glad you are here. I hope you enjoy your time here. As this is my first post and I am uploading it on New Year’s Eve, what better topic than New Year’s Resolutions?

Full discloser, I greatly dislike them. I am a firm believer in making changes to improve your life all year long. You don’t have to wait for the calendar to flip to make a positive change in your life. Changes happen all the time. I personally would love to be driven enough to make a change right when I decide to do it.

The thing is, change takes time. There is a commitment involved in making a lasting change in your life. It takes 21-31 days to make a habit. So basically a month. This means that you can’t just decide one day to make a change and then *POOF* you’re a new and improved self. You have to decide to make that change every day until it becomes a habit. Even when things are a habit though, there is a temptation to go back to the old way of doing things i.e. skipping the gym, sleeping in because it’s the weekend or any number of things. So, not only does change take time, it takes a lot of hard work and discipline.

Now, if I dislike New Year’s Resolutions so much and I campaign for positive change regardless of the season, why am I writing this post? Yes, dear reader, I can hear you asking yourself this. Well, I am glad you asked. As much as I love being able to understand that if I want to make a difference in my life, the only person stopping me is me, I’m still human. The aforementioned constant decision making has been a thorn in my side for the last few years of my life. I love being able to make good habits but I’m way better at making excuses on avoiding doing them instead.

This winter I’ve been doing some reflecting on life and how it’s going for me compared to how I want it to go. Quite frankly it’s too big of a difference and I’m not happy with it. I need to make some changes in my life that are more involved than making my bed every morning. Therefore I’ve decided to actually make New Year’s Resolutions this time around. The last month I’ve spent some time thinking about how I want to go about it. And, perhaps, if you are like me and are wanting to make a change and don’t know how to start or your goals seem too far away maybe some of my ideas can help.

First, here are the goals that I have decided to set for myself (yes I said goals and not resolutions, more on that later):

1. Receive the sacrament of Penance every week.

2. Work out 6 days a week.

3. Wash my face every morning and evening/stick to a skincare routine

4. Update this blog every Tuesday. (Maybe every other Tuesday. We’ll see how my creative flow responds.)

5. Make plans with a friend to meet in person at least once a month.

6. Make a budget and stick to it.

7. Help Mom make dinner once a week, start to finish.

8. Stick to the diet of foods that are best suited for my needs. (I have so many allergies it’s not even funny.)

Now, some of these goals might seem a little ambitious. They are. I haven’t stuck with a workout schedule in a long time. That’s why it’s a goal and not a resolution. “But what’s the difference?” Be patient, I’m getting to that. When a resolution, New Year’s or not, is made, it’s a 0-100 (real quick. Hee hee) change people try to make and that’s a big reason why they fail. My goal of working out 6 days a week is an eventual thing. My plan is to start with 3 days a week and work my way up from there with the 6 days a week goal being achieved around June. This way I am still challenging myself to be better but it’s not as lofty a goal as going from having a spectacular time having Christmas treats to being workout crazy. That’s not healthy either.

When a goal is made with the end in mind and a plan on how to get there, the chances of it being a successful habit are much higher than making a resolution New Year’s Eve night and trying to keep that promise by the end of January. That’s another reason why I am including my own goals in this blog post. This post is my plan for 2019. By taking the time to think about my goals and then voicing them I have a better chance of keeping myself on track or risk embarrassment. I’m a highly self-conscious person. I hate being embarrassed. Ergo, I will do what I said I would do to keep myself sane.

So, my dear reader, I have also told you my plan for 2019 as it relates to this blog being updated. This means that I am more accountable to you to keep that promise. My blog posts will mostly be about my life and how I’m making my way through young adulthood. There will also be Q&As, book reviews and various life hacks along the way. I have learned some valuable lessons in my twenty-five and a half years of life and I’m sure I will learn more. I would love to share them with you and grow together. When I am not writing this blog or at work, I am on Twitter and Instagram. Links to my profiles on those platforms are at the bottom of this page. I’d love to chat with you! This next year is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to take all y’all along on this adventure of life, finding beauty in the crazy. ☀️💙