Ahh New Years...That wonderfully obnoxious time of year where people talk about how they are going to change and make plans to do so but fail to follow through. Yes, I am one of them. Every single year I set goals, some I achieve, most I fail at. Why? Because change is hard!!! Also, I don't really put a lot of thought into my resolutions. I tend to regurgitate what everyone else does. Exercise...sign me up for that. Get better organized...oh yeah, I should do that too. So after giving it some thought this year, I realized that the goals that other people set are never, ever going to work for me. I have to put some thought and effort into what I need and what I want to work on.
On my old running blog (which I deleted...sigh*) I had written a post about SMART goal setting. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. The theory goes that if your goals meet all of these criteria, you will be more successful at accomplishing them. Here is a wiki article for more information. While I had this in the back of my mind, the goals I laid out really don't fit within the SMART criteria. Yes, they are specific, attainable, and relevant. One of them is measurable but none of them are time bound because they are life long aims. Despite scoring 2 out of 3, I think they are still pretty smart. So, without further ado, here are my personal goals for this year...
1) No new volunteer commitments. Ever...ever again.
I love to volunteer, don't get me wrong! But...I have a habit of volunteering for EVERYTHING!!! Which in turn leads me to over extending myself and becoming super super stressed out. 90% of the volunteer work I do does nothing to forward my goals to be a better mother and provider for my family. If its not adding anything to my life, then its taking from my life and I can't have that happen any more.
2) Work towards eliminating TV from my life.
I gain absolutely nothing from watching TV, yet I find myself curled up on the couch watching it for hours on end. Sometimes, I will sit around and watch re-runs of the same movie or show that I have seen a dozen times. Not only is this not productive, it also takes up valuable time I could spend doing something else, like gardening, reading to myself or my kids, playing games with my kids...etc...TV is a time sucking vampire and I am soooo over it already.
3) Sort out my priorities. Family, Personal Health, Spirituality, & Wellness, Work & School. In that order!
There are a lot of things I put on the back burner because I am trying to be everything to everyone and have no time to be who or what I need to be. My goal for this year is to put a lot of time into my family and myself. Work on gaining experience and furthering my plans work wise and finishing up school by December so I can move onto my masters program. To me, these things are the only things that are important.
4) Embrace my inner night owl.
For years and years I have tried and failed (even setting this as my new years resolution on occasion) to get up around 5-6am to workout and get stuff done before everyone wakes up in the morning. For whatever reason, I have this idea planted in my head that getting up early is what "successful" people do. The early bird gets the worm after all... But I am not a morning person. Its not that I can't get up that early in the morning. Its just that I love sleep too much. I will try to go to bed around 9 in an attempt to get up early only to toss and turn for hours, look at the clock to see its midnight and then hit the snooze when 5 am rolls around. I am not a morning person. I get more done at night after everyone has gone to bed. My internal clock is set for sleep from 11:30pm-8:00am. I need to embrace that and stop fighting it. I think that in doing so I will save myself a lot of headaches and frustration with myself for not being able to get up when I planned to.
Overall, I think four goals are just right for this year. I will probably take the time to make out a list of how I am going to make these SMART goals (I'm an obsessive list maker...) and move forward from there.
The point I want to stress in this post is that if you are going to make resolutions, set yourself up for success. Don't look at other peoples lists and think, oh year...I should be doing all of that. No! You should be doing what you need to do to become the best you. Think about what you need to do in your life, for yourself and/or your family, that will enrich your well-being and add to your happiness. Remember: If its not adding to your life, its taking from it. Only aim for that which will add to your life.
Happy Planning,
Rachel B.
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