Then by February 1st i've given myself so much "grace" in keeping said resolutions that i'm practically no longer adhering to them at all. By March 1st, i'm definitely not. And so January 1st rolls around again and i say, "This time, i'm going to do it."
Obviously this cycle is not working.
So this year's approach is going to be different. You may recall that in 2012 i read Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. It was about Rubin's year-long quest to find more happiness in life, which she did by implementing monthly resolutions centered around a certain theme. After reading this, i was floored and plunged headfirst into such a project for myself. The over-doer in me prevailed, however, and each month i came up with 4 to 5 resolutions i wanted to keep. This meant that by the month 3 mark i was trying to keep up with about 15 resolutions on most days, and i still had 6 more months to go (because my happiness project was only 9 months instead of 12). Rubin may be able to do that, but i could not. The holidays hit and i became lax on my resolutions, because how could i possibly be expected to exercise, eat only one dessert, find time for solitude with God and go to bed early when we're traveling and visiting family and offered so many yummy desserts? By mid-December, i wasn't even marking my progress on my resolutions anymore and was wondering if i should give up the project all together.
Rubin has this great statement she makes where she says "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." And i think that's a profound statement for me. i couldn't be perfect at my happiness project. In all honesty, i had bitten off way more than i could chew and there was no hope that i could keep all those resolutions let alone add on more each month. But what i was attempting was a good thing and i shouldn't give it up.
Therefore i whittled down each month's resolutions to 2. And i vowed that for the coming months i would only add 1 or 2 more resolutions, not 5. i also was honest with myself and knew that i needed a solid month to give my current, albeit whittled down, resolutions a go before i added on any new ones.
Which brings us to January 1st. Instead of coming up with a list of new year resolutions, i have a list of 6 resolutions i'm carrying over from 2012 which will help me be a happier person in 2013. i have a plan for implementing a couple more resolutions each month to add more happiness in my life. And i'm also going to include you (yes, you!) in the journey, so you can hold me accountable and maybe so you can think about your own resolutions to add to your life as well.
All this to say, here are my resolutions -
For health, my two resolutions are to exercise 3 times a week (no matter what, even if we travel), and to go to bed by 10 pm (unless special circumstances arise like a crying baby or a late night with family).
For faith, my two resolutions are to spend at least 10 minutes a day in solitude and prayer with God, and to memorize a scripture passage each month.
For my marriage, my two resolutions are to pray for J daily, and to actively try to always think the best of him.
i'll let you know how it goes!
What resolutions have you come up with for 2013?
No comments:
Post a Comment