I've never really been one for making resolutions with the new year. There's a huge stereotype out there that people make resolutions and never follow through. I mean, we've all heard that. Many of us have probably made resolutions and not stuck to them at all. Hey, we're human (I hope).
Plus, too many humans use January 1st as an excuse for continuing bad habits now. For example...how many people thought in December, "Well, my 2015 resolution is to lose weight, but until then I'm going to stuff my face with pizza and beer!". To me, that's kind of setting yourself up for failure. Why wait? If you really want to commit to something, you'll start tomorrow. Or today.
Okay, maybe the above paragraphs weren't the best way to start off a post about positive new year resolutions.
Lucky for me, this is my blog and I do what I want.
I may seem rather pessimistic about the whole thing, but I was actually really excited to set some goals for this year. Mainly because I'm writing them down. This kind of ties in to one of my resolutions, so I'm just going to dive in and tell you about them:
Read More
I'm sure a lot of people have this same resolution. I was always a reader growing up, but after going into text-heavy majors in college (English and Communications), I struggled to find time to read for pleasure and have had trouble rekindling that passion now that I'm graduated. But this year, it's going to happen. For sure. I'm going to try to expand my literature horizons...but I have a feeling I'm going to turn to my favorite genre, fantasy, for truly pleasurable reads.
Write More it's going to happen.
There are tons of benefits to writing. You'd think I write a lot, considering this blog exists. I've always been more of a reader, honestly. I don't write for me a lot. So that's what I'm doing. I started by buying an awesome-looking notebook and writing down my 2015 resolutions. That way, I can look back on them. I don't plan to write every single day, but that habit might form. I see this as meditation time — reflecting on how I'm feeling, where my mind is, and being in a relatively quiet environment with just me (and my cats). Plus, it will be really cool to look back on what I wrote.
Check out my awesome journal! It's rad.
Practice Gratitude
I think this one's pretty self-explanatory. I firmly believe that expressing positivity helps to spread it. It's contagious, like a laugh. I want to be one of those people who spreads that shit around. Hell. Yeah.
Smile As Much Or More Than 2014
This one is also self-explanatory. I'm not going to lie, 2014 was an awesome year for me. The past year was one of the happiest years I can remember, hands down. I accomplished a lot of things — graduating from college (well, technically that was December '13, but what's a few days?), landing a job in my field less than a year later, spending time with friends, family, and the man I love. It's going to be hard to top. But I'm so excited for so many things in 2015. Plus, I'm hoping that having this resolution written down will remind me of all the good times and things I have to be happy about when I'm flipping back or am feeling down.
You'll notice that these resolutions aren't specific. I know that general advice says to make specific, measurable goals in order to meet them. Well, I don't want to. The minute I start specifying "read 10 books this year" or "write every day" is when I start stressing...what if life gets busy, and I don't write one day? Should I just throw my whole resolution out? What if it starts to feel like a chore when I'm doing it every day? Yeah, I don't want that. I'm doing things my way.
I did, however, make more specific CrossFit goals. CrossFit is something that is measurable stress-free.
I made goals for 2014, but only stored them on my phone. Sadly, that phone broke and I lost pretty much everything on it. I remember some of my 2014 CrossFit goals—body weight back squat, 100# snatch—and while I met some, I didn't meet others. I didn't stress about it. I know I didn't fully apply myself at the gym, especially near the end of the year. I have no aspirations to be a competing athlete, but I do find it helpful to have attainable goals in mind.
CrossFit Goals
- 120# Snatch
- 200# Back Squat
- 250# Deadlift
- 140# Clean & Jerk
- Perfect handstands (I currently can't kick up to the wall...have to wall walk up)
- 1 unassisted pull-up
Yeah, most of my goals are lifting goals. Lifting is my favorite part of CrossFit. I remember that last year, one of my goals was to run a certain number of races. Well, I can certainly do a 5k or a reluctant 10k, but I'm just not a fan of running. It's the equivalent of setting a goal like "I'm going to punch myself in the face every day"! It just doesn't work. So this year, instead of having a goal for everything, I'm focusing on the stuff I actually care about — lifting and basic movements. It's a little shameful that I still can't do a pull-up. As for the handstands, I know I can do them, I just have that mental block with kicking up into it. I'll get there!
Your turn! What are your 2015 resolutions/goals/whatever-you-want-to-call-them? Do you make them specific, or keep it general like me?
Amanda says
Yes! You know, I do think sometimes people inadvertently set themselves up for failure with resolutions, but a lot of times, it's probably because they're too broad and not either realistic or planned out HOW they can work on them. Very specific goals can seem much easier to achieve for some people. At the same time, I don't think there's much harm in using resolution time to reflect on what areas of your life you can improve upon, whether or not you follow through on anything. Even if you do something for only a few days or weeks, that's more than you would have done otherwise, right?
I struggled with reading after college too - all those class assignments to read that I hated sucked the joy out of reading, but I've finally found the desire to read for fun again!
Chelsea says
I'm so glad I'm starting to read for fun again. And yes, I agree...so many people gain different things from resolutions depending on how they approach them to make them work. I've seen a lot of people this year not pick goals or resolutions, but instead pick a word for the year. Something like "achievement" to help guide them through the year and what they want to accomplish. Obviously that's a very abstract approach...but hey, if it works for you, go for it! 😉