Tag: new years

I Made Plans Today

January is my number one planning month. I like to plan, but in the past I had more plan than execution which always translates into disappointment and frustration. In more recent years, I moved into an action-oriented way of doing things which then resulted in the type of LaLaland distraction which I have always been prone to. Come to think of it, I wonder if my love of planning had some of its origins in how well it worked to help me cope with the outside world and its demands.

Whatever… that is an example of the rabbit trail kind of thinking that dogs my life 🙂

Back to telling you what I did today that relates to you- my dear readers, or happenstance visitors…

I made plans today that incorporated two activities and goals that are at the top of what I would love to accomplish this year:
Get Ready!

Better Health Better Blogging

Which I am hoping will help to accomplish

Better Success

You might be disappointed in how cliched, how prosaic, those goals are, aren’t these the goals of 99.9% of the people out there? Maybe not the blogging, but some part of their life like that. Health and fitness always rate right up there for most people. But for me, I linked the two, and outlined them on paper.

There is a part of my brain that is convinced that uniting goals and making connections between dissimilar parts of our lives leads to a better balanced and successful overall life.

‘Blogging’ and ‘Health’ goals have been at opposite poles for me in the past few years. when I spent lots of time blogging, or making websites (the involvement with sitting long periods at the computer), the worse the effect on my physical well being. I became sedentary, I snacked on food I usually don’t even like (always unhealthy processed, fat-laden, sugar-infused foods), sat in awkward positions, just to name a few of the worse side effects of loving to blog.

When I exercised, gardened, took walks and hikes, cooked from scratch… interacted with people, you know, real life activities, I not only did not write or work on computer related website-making or graphics, or any of the many tasks linked with blogging… I lost my place. That’s right, I had no idea of what I wanted to do with the sites or blogs, and had problems with the software. Updating, using plugins for function, fixing things that go awry, became a giant learning curve again.

That also is very much my natural personality default. Long periods of focus sharpen my thinking, as well as create the logic and connections that my mind works well with.  If other activities take me far away from the thought and concentration and I sort of forget everything.

So, I have decided to harness the power of blogging to sort through and create accountability in some of my desired improvements, including taking ownership of health. It isn’t enough to know the requisite knowledge of what to eat or how to exercise, etc. I need to incorporate the actions, and in a way that I don’t lose sight of other important goals in my life, like communicating with people.

So, I made my map for a couple goals, and this long dormant blog is going to be a part of this experiment.

My experiment in this years resolutions, which I confessed to my family in our conversation time on January 2nd, that I have not even formulated yet. Until I wrote my plan for the health/blog/outline, I didn’t even have much of an idea that I was going to focus on health this year. At least not in a real, organized type of way.

And do you know what inspired it all? God works in mysterious ways, I tell you: a Sam’s Club Advertisement magazine. Yes.
I think it congealed with the Copyblogger articles I was reading which lead to an INC article and BOOM! There I was making my plan.

I remembered I joined the affiliate programs for these businesses, so in the spirit of integrating goals, plans, and actions I’ll post my affiliate banners here. Perhaps at some point I will know how to sync serving my posts linked with business affiliations etc.that will be of real value to the readers. For now, it is just sort of a non sequitor random banner posting… just because reading Sam;s club’s ads sparked a whole new direction of my thinking in a positive way.

47296_Shop at Samsclub.com (120x60)

Inspired Theme

Resolution Check-in

It is the end of the first month. So, how am I doing so far?

Let’s see…what were my resolutions, exactly?

  1. get healthier and lose weight
  2. reread ‘Boundaries’ by Cloud and Townsend
  3. It is time to cultivate relationships that bear good fruit.
  4. more time into my garden
  5. My children will receive the first cut of my time.

Ok. #1… I have been regular(3x weekly) about going to Curves all month. Except for last week when I only went twice. I felt a difference in strength, but the weight is stubborn. I did make a plan to not worry so much about the actual pound amount until I have been in this for a couple months… I am cutting back on sugary foods and butter, etc. so this is is a “so far so good” assessment on the getting healthy resolution. And I have taken my vitamins more…just not regularly.

#2 Was reminded about this, but haven’t been out to the store to buy my new copy. I think I should order it from Amazon- it would probably take the same amount of time-given my procrastination. So I can’t check this one off yet.

#3 Wow. This is the hard one. The family I was born into has become more toxic than ever… and they are loathe to let their scapegoat go….. just a few more burdens for us… just this…just take responsibility for that. But I did get a nice letter from a dear Uncle… he is planning to visit this year. So that is good. My family’s actions are so depressing it has been hard to function well, but it is a down rather than out ( although there are days I feel close) situation. I think I will have to think of some concrete plan of action. Sort of like “This week I will….” I wouldn’t hate phone calls so much if I had more of the positive kind and less of the burdensome kind. I have made excuses all month for why I don’t go to the midweek meetings. Time to deal with that.
So far I have to rate this as “failure” so far, but the year is still new.

#4 Gardening… internet style, yes, I’ve done more of that. It turned terribly cold during the usual January thaw time, so once it warms again I am intending, anyway, to prune. We’ll see. I can’t start seeds yet, too early. I’ll give this a half and half, given the weather conditions.

#5 I have given them more attention, but I wouldn’t say I am centering my thought process in the way I resolved. I took baby steps in this one…but baby steps are something. Soon I will be spending a little time helping my eldest after she gives birth to her first baby. Just some support to ensure some rest and good meals and hugs! She was the first born and in our family that meant she is well-trained in the practical art of mothering. I think the demands of pregnancy were a surprise to her, though.

So. I have made faltering progress, but my motivation is staying strong. I am happy that there is forward momentum. Especially happy that I broke the dread of exercise barrier. I did have some of the stiffness and effects of exercising this sluggardly body, but all in all I feel some strength returning, and well not the energizer bunny yet, I do feel I perked up a bit, physically.

So I give me a small yay!

I think I should add some resolutions to the list…. sub resolutions you might call them. One is to practice gratefulness more, including doing the Thankful Thursday posts. I think I should start listing the “praise reports“. One of which happened at Christmas. My son has a friend who is a chef. He came by with so much meat and fish that we had to go out and buy a freezer ( Our old one had gone kaput several years ago, now). I looked up a recipe on the Curves site ( mycurves. com- you have to be a member to enter it, though) for Rosemary-Lemon Halibut skewers. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
I praise the Heavenly Father’s provision for us, even though we were not looking for or asking for anything like what He decided to bless us with. My family had grilled steaks the day after Christmas…. all of us! It was something very special.