With the New Year comes new resolutions, goals you set that are meant to give your life structure and meaning against the doldrums that we call “January”, “February” and “Smarch”. We allow ourselves to indulge in so many sins during the holidays because we really believe that on January 1st, we will crawl out of bed a brand new person.
But by April, your three-times-a-week sojourns to the gym begin to wane. Your waistline stops shrinking. Everything you promised yourself you would do becomes pushed aside because of various reasons: I’m too busy. Something came up. Come on, I was drunk when I said that.
The key to achieving your resolutions is to not give up when you stumble. And you will stumble. Most of us do and that’s okay — it happens. Just remember that failure is not falling down; it is staying down and giving up. That is why my resolutions are not so much firm, set-in-stone goals as they are reasonable aspirations. Some are easily achievable, while others may take a few false starts.
There are no time limits.
And do-overs are allowed.
- I will choose a WordPress theme that is more easy on the eyes. (Done! How easy was that?)
- I will blog at least once a week. (I will also start the new blog I’ve been telling everyone about for months by the spring. Of this year. )
- I will cook more and spend less money at Whole (Paycheque) Foods.
- I will eat sensibly most of the time, with the occasional guilt-free, gluttonous indulgence.
- I will take up running again. No, I really mean it this time.
- I will try to achieve #4 and #5 for my health and not for some stupid, unrealistic definition of beauty espoused by lady mags. Sexy is a state of mind, not the size of your jeans. It’s taken me 40 years to figure that out, but better late than never.
- I will keep my legs free of hair, even throughout the winter. Sexy, vivacious women do not have legs like a Sasquatch. (And no, I don’t think this contradicts #6, because it only takes a razor and an extra few minutes in the shower. And let’s be honest, gents: do you really like a woman that has more hair on her legs than you do? Didn’t think so.)
- I will keep my Twitter posts to less than 15 a day, not including re-tweets. (Baby steps, people.)
- I will unsubscribe from blogs I follow because I feel I have to, and subscribe to those that I am actually interested in. Hello, peopleofwalmart.com!
- I will try to engage with friends in person rather than on Facebook. (I promise I won’t poke you.)
What are your aspirations for 2010?
I resolve to read your blog more often!
As always, well-written and thought-provoking.. and I love the new look (even though I really didn’t mind the old one).
Thanks, Jay! Good luck to you!
I have unattainable & reasonable goals for 2010:
* Find a team mate in this world who has my back as I have his/hers
* Write. Write. Write.
* Read. Read. Read.
* Get comfortable with what I have. God knows I won’t be able to declutter any more crap that comes into this house.
* Spend less on entertainment — and by entertainment I mean the bar.
Thanks for the post, I really enjoy reading your blog! It’s always a special treat to see a Bön Mots post in my Google Reader!
Thanks, Lauren. I’m going to sign up for The Running Room to ease myself back into it. And yes, when I do sign up for a race, I will let you know!
Hey Bonnie I am with you on the running. I’ve been on the treadmill 3 – 4 times per week. just 20 minutes, but its long enough for me not to quite. I ran my first non stop mile a couple of days ago,and increased the distance this morning. I’ll be running outside in 2010. So if you want a novice partner, holler at me on Facebook, and then we’ll see each other in person. My goal is three 5K races this year.
I think these are really great achievable goals, Bonnie. I love number 4 and 5 and more importantly i love your reason. Healthy living most of the times means you’ll get to live longer, but enjoying your life now (MEAT!) is also important. I find the easiest way to stick to running is to do something kind of crazy like sign up for a race, so if you want a buddy for that, let me know, I’m game.
Happy New Year to you, Amanda! And Rosaleer (LOL), while your resolutions may be a bit broad, they are great — who wouldn’t want to try new things? The spending less part I, myself, would have a problem with.
Whoops, I spelled my name wrong (I hope that makes you giggle at least). Apparently I have not fully recovered yet … AND it’s 6:23 a.m. — on a Saturday morning — I“m still on coffee.
Bön those are great things to “resolve”! I think I may use some.… cause all I got right now is… a)try new things, b) spend less .… and the last one I’m struggling with and it’s only day two.
God, I love Smarch.
Nice list, Bonnie! I think I need to take up #7 as well.
Happy New Year!