Obtainable Goals

I'm all about the obtainable goals. In the past, when it came to New Year's resolutions, or for the matter, any new "goal" I came up with for myself, it always ended up to be unobtainable. I'd start right out of the gate with things like "workout for an hour every day!" Yeah... in reality, so not happening! The past few years I've really shied away from making resolutions. I had a few heartbreaks those past few years, so I figured it was just best to hope for a better year. Not that I wasn't being optimistic... it was just that I really needed to not rock the boat, so to speak.

I guess I have a bit of a different attitude for the coming year. I'm learning that life often is just going to pull you in whatever direction it chooses. Now sometimes I think that is okay, and other times I have issues with it! I can't control those aspects of life, but there are plenty of things I can pick and choose for myself! It would be great if I could lose 15 lbs by tomorrow, or suddenly stop becoming a procrastinator, but that isn't reality. It's simply not realistic. You know the saying about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks? Yeah, well I may not quite be an old dog just yet, but I am definitely set in my ways. If I really want to make a few changes in life, it is something that is going to have to be done gradually, and step by step.

So, that being said, I'm all about the obtainable goals this year. Here is my list, with a little explanation behind them.

1. Go to bed at a decent hour.
During the summer, while working I was getting up every single day at 6:30am. I'd be doing well if I could make it in to bed by 11:30pm. Usually it would end up being around midnight, or even later. As a result, when I got home, I couldn't really get my sleep pattern right. I'd end up staying up super late, and then I'd get woken up at some hour that felt ungodly. If I have to work, oh, it is so hard to get up in the morning! I'm an eight hour of sleep kind of girl, and I will feel it in the morning if I've gotten less. I need to make it a point to get my beauty sleep, and a full eight hours at night.

2. Help myself with stress.
I think sometimes I give in to my stress, versus doing things to help decrease my stress. Luckily, all of my resolutions, if stuck with, will help me with this. Simple things like stretching in the morning, keeping my surroundings a little less cluttered, and cutting back on the caffeine can really be beneficial when dealing with stress. I can't take away some frustrations that may come my way, but I can gradually change how I deal with them. Also, for instance, I'm going to put all kinds of grad programs in front of me, and not put a deadline on when I need to decide. I'm just going to take my time, and hopefully it will begin to come in to focus for me.

3. Work at my health.
This idea really encompasses many things, but overall they will work together for my health. Gradually, I want to get healthier. Cutting corners with the junk food I eat can help. Simply cutting 500 calories in a day will help me to lose a pound a week, if I stick with it. That's like getting a 250 calorie workout in and cutting out one soda and a handful of chips in a day, or cutting out a soda and a brownie in my day. Totally do-able. There is cool cookbook I found called Fast Food Fix, and it seems like a great way to cut corners. I'm never going to stop liking junk food, and I know I'll never go cold turkey. I'm not a crash diet type of girl! In fact, I think the whole theory behind diets are completely flawed. I'm not going to go on a diet, I'm simply going to cut out a bit of the junk when I can, and gradually replace healthier snacks for the less healthy ones. I'm also going to make it a point to floss my teeth a little bit more often (baby steps, lol floss once extra per week in January, and then twice more in February, until I am actually flossing seven days a week as I should be doing.) Did you know that flossing your teeth can help you cut your risks for heart disease, and that it is the number one way to prevent miscarriage in pregnant women? I don't have a fetus, but I do have heart that I'd like to help out!

4. Feed my soul more.
Thankfully, all the above resolutions again will help this along. Everything from stretching and making my body more relaxed, to reading a good book, to seeing a good movie will help me along here. Spending more time with my friends and getting out of the house more can really help. Simple idea, hard to always make happen. I think the overall idea here is just to take time for myself, and not feel any guilt for doing that.

Okay, that's it. Those are my resolutions. Nothing long and drawn out, just simple things that I feel can help me grow as a person next year. Personal growth, that's the ultimate goal for 2008.

I have one more post for tomorrow, and then, boom! 2008 will be here in the blink of an eye. :)