New Year, New Systems???
Today I was reading an article shared by my old college buddy, Caro, about goals. Said article by James Clear can be found here. James goes into detail about why setting goals is probably not really the best way to go. Goals are end results, not constant and consistent progress and continuation after reaching the goal. He mentions how people for example can work their way toward a marathon, then, when it's been completed, they just stop training and they're done. This really struck a chord with me. I don't want to just set goals and meet them. I want to change daily habits and meet goals but keep going and not just stop there. I don't want to ever become stagnant. I want to be perpetual for as long as I live.
I do still have goals, but if I don't meet them in a specific time frame, I won't give up. I still want to do that marathon, but I'm thinking it might not be next year, like I'd originally hoped. I'm thinking this year, I'll probably do some more 10k's and quarter marathons and work my way up to a half next year, and that's great! A year ago, I had yet to give serious thought to me actually running, like for real, not just fantasizing about it. A year ago, I was over 300 lbs. A year ago at this time I was a different woman. Who am I kidding? Last week I was a different woman! I feel like this, if you're not keeping up with me, you might not recognize me the next time you see me. I am a work in progress.
I was talking to a coworker tonight about what we want to be when we grow up. He told me, he didn't know. I told him, I already am what I want to be. He asked, a patient access rep? No, I said, I am everything I want to be, a wife, a mom, a woman I can respect. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect, nor do I deign portend to be, however, I like the direction in which I'm headed. I have some really great friends, a loving family, and a supportive husband, all of whom encourage and help me in whatever way they can and I need. I feel good. I'm content, not complacent.
2014 is a big year for me. I am going to turn 40 years old. I can hardly wait! I am so very excited to become 40. My thirties have been a decade of transition in so many ways. I became a wife, a mother, a knitter, and a runner. I went from trying to make my way in the field of education to finding my place in healthcare as a support staff member. I love where I am. There is always room for improvement, but I am content. I don't care what others think of me, I no longer need to impress them. I just want to be the best me I can be by my own standards, if you like that, fantastic! If not, well, you know what you can do with that!
I found a polish idiom the other day which I plan to take with me into the New Year. "Not my problem" in Polish is "nie moj cyrk, nie moje malpy." Literally "not my circus, not my monkey." I can't tell you how much I love that. I have every intention of adhering to that this year. Some things just aren't your problem and it isn't up to you to fix those things. I'm going to work with what I have and make the most of what I can.
Here is a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year.
Make a memory jar, made, just needs to be filled with memories.
Save some money
Cut out processed foods
Get organized, got the journal, just have to start and stick to it
Get back to working out on a regular basis
Run 7k on my birthday, registered
Run the Sweet Home Milwaukee 5k, registered
Run a Quarter Marathon, registered
Sign up for at least 2 more races for 2014
Finish at least 5 WIPs (unfinished knitting projects), I think I know at least 3 of the 5 that will get finished
and, finally, get our Christmas cards out December 1st at the very latest!!!
These are all very doable. They may not seem major to you. You might be one of those people who has the luxury of being able to handwrite your cards. I'm just lucky if I get them out with stamped addresses and printed labels. I would LOVE nothing more than to be that girl, who leisurely writes out cards to Aunt Margaret and my dear roomie from college. I have romantic notions sometimes. I also wish I was better at sending out thank you notes, but one thing at a time.
If I was to assign a word to this year, that word would be consistency. Yes, that would be the word. That is the word I will strive for and focus on and chase after for this whole year.
I do still have goals, but if I don't meet them in a specific time frame, I won't give up. I still want to do that marathon, but I'm thinking it might not be next year, like I'd originally hoped. I'm thinking this year, I'll probably do some more 10k's and quarter marathons and work my way up to a half next year, and that's great! A year ago, I had yet to give serious thought to me actually running, like for real, not just fantasizing about it. A year ago, I was over 300 lbs. A year ago at this time I was a different woman. Who am I kidding? Last week I was a different woman! I feel like this, if you're not keeping up with me, you might not recognize me the next time you see me. I am a work in progress.
I was talking to a coworker tonight about what we want to be when we grow up. He told me, he didn't know. I told him, I already am what I want to be. He asked, a patient access rep? No, I said, I am everything I want to be, a wife, a mom, a woman I can respect. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect, nor do I deign portend to be, however, I like the direction in which I'm headed. I have some really great friends, a loving family, and a supportive husband, all of whom encourage and help me in whatever way they can and I need. I feel good. I'm content, not complacent.
2014 is a big year for me. I am going to turn 40 years old. I can hardly wait! I am so very excited to become 40. My thirties have been a decade of transition in so many ways. I became a wife, a mother, a knitter, and a runner. I went from trying to make my way in the field of education to finding my place in healthcare as a support staff member. I love where I am. There is always room for improvement, but I am content. I don't care what others think of me, I no longer need to impress them. I just want to be the best me I can be by my own standards, if you like that, fantastic! If not, well, you know what you can do with that!
I found a polish idiom the other day which I plan to take with me into the New Year. "Not my problem" in Polish is "nie moj cyrk, nie moje malpy." Literally "not my circus, not my monkey." I can't tell you how much I love that. I have every intention of adhering to that this year. Some things just aren't your problem and it isn't up to you to fix those things. I'm going to work with what I have and make the most of what I can.
Here is a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year.
Make a memory jar, made, just needs to be filled with memories.
Save some money
Cut out processed foods
Get organized, got the journal, just have to start and stick to it
Get back to working out on a regular basis
Run 7k on my birthday, registered
Run the Sweet Home Milwaukee 5k, registered
Run a Quarter Marathon, registered
Sign up for at least 2 more races for 2014
Finish at least 5 WIPs (unfinished knitting projects), I think I know at least 3 of the 5 that will get finished
and, finally, get our Christmas cards out December 1st at the very latest!!!
These are all very doable. They may not seem major to you. You might be one of those people who has the luxury of being able to handwrite your cards. I'm just lucky if I get them out with stamped addresses and printed labels. I would LOVE nothing more than to be that girl, who leisurely writes out cards to Aunt Margaret and my dear roomie from college. I have romantic notions sometimes. I also wish I was better at sending out thank you notes, but one thing at a time.
If I was to assign a word to this year, that word would be consistency. Yes, that would be the word. That is the word I will strive for and focus on and chase after for this whole year.
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