I'm normally not one to bother with NYRs, although I think I did try to come up with some last year. I say "I think" because I was so hard-core about them that they fell off of my radar within the first couple of days. Maybe even sooner...
But, this year, I'm going to try to do things a little different. So, let's start at the beginning, shall we?
What exactly is a "resolution" anyway? In thinking about what my resolutions were going to be, I asked myself that first. Lots of people come up with things that they vow to do in the new year, and most of the time they inevitably fail. I'm not always what you would call a genius, but I think I may have an understanding as to why that may be.
According to Miriam Webster, a resolution is, "the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc." That made me realize that we (ok, I can't speak collectively for everyone ever making a NYR, but I can generalize) have been going about it all wrong. We set resolutions as things that we want to do in the new year to make ourselves better or our lives easier (i.e. losing weight, finishing our degree, learning how many ways there really are to skin a cat....No, don't do that. Please. The furball sitting next to me begs of you.) The point is, most of us never really break down exactly why we want to do a resolution because we haven't thought about what the conflict is that we are working to resolve.
Although the 1st of January is a completely arbitrary day to start doing this, I like it because it's a "round" number. It's the beginning of a new month, a new year, hell, even a new week in some cases, and it gives us all a clean slate. A countdown, so to speak. 365 days of good-intentioned effort. Why don't we do "new month's resolutions" for the same reason? Other than the fact that it doesn't quite have the same ring to it, my personal opinion is that it doesn't give us enough time to procrastinate on getting the job at hand done. But, that's my cynicism at work.
So, this year, I'm stating my resolutions in the form of conflict-resolution. Combined with the fact that there really is "an app for that" (NYRs, that is, not necessarily my approach, although that could make me some good money if someone tech savvy enough wants to go in on that with me), I feel like I have a good chance at achieving my goals. So, for all the world to see, and a reminder to myself when needed, I present my conflicts and resolutions for 2015.
Conflict #1: I have been lazy and "fat" for the past year and a half, deciding not to get up early to go to the gym, and more often than not, deciding to go into work earlier instead. This has caused me to lose strength and muscle tone as well as a little extra jiggle (albeit I'm the only one that notices that, but I'm the only one that counts in this situation).
Resolution #1: I will to go to the gym (or, if not available, do some sort of legitimate workout), at least 3 times per week. This is specified as some sort of strength training and/or circuit training workout. This can also include large-scale activities such as climbing the Zugspitze, 60 km bike rides, etc. Walking around the neighborhood doesn't cut it.
Conflict #2: I am a giant ball of anxious energy, I want to be able to learn to meditate better, and the ability to be able to do cool things like fold myself into a pretzel and do a handstand when I'm (eventually) supposed to be old and decrepit is super appealing to me.
Resolution #2: I will practice yoga at least twice a week. I'm paying to use a wonderful site (which if you've never heard of Gaiamtv.com - formerly MyYogaOnline, do it. Totally worth the $10 a month, and they didn't pay me to say that.), so I really should actually use it. Again, laziness, and ironically stress and anxiety, have held me back of late.
Conflict #3: I suck at relaxing. Did you not read conflict #2? A simple act of "non-productivity" like, oh, I don't know, expanding my mind by reading a book, stresses the crap out of me. That's why I need to do it. I like reading - I'm far enough out of school to say that. But, I have slight anxiety attacks when I do things like that because I'm being "lazy". (Again, read Conflict #2's first eight words.) On a recent vacation in Mallorca, I was actually forced to relax for part of it and did finish a book. I felt accomplished and productive in doing so. Ironic, huh?
Resolution #3: I will read at least one book per month. I'm not going to be picky; it can be a "fun" book, an informational book, or a professional book. Children's book, however, don't count.
Conflict #4: I live in Europe and have a growing list of places that I want to see and things that I want to do, but I haven't done all of them yet. I'm often so busy travelling for work that it can kill my spirit (and sometimes time) to travel on my own. Not ok.
Resolution #4: I will travel to at least one new place per month. It can be a day trip or a real vacation but I need to get out of my house and see everything around me. Travelling to the same places (especially work related) over and over again is only so satisfying. Maybe I'll even find someone to do it with me on occasion, but that's not a requirement.
Conflict #5: I don't pray as often as I should. That can be a thankful prayer for my blessings, an earnest prayer for guidance, or a selfless prayer for others' intentions. I've learned that praying as I'm in bed is a horrible idea because I'm blessed enough to have anywhere from 30 to 120 seconds of wakefulness after my head hits the pillow before my gradual approach to REM begins.
Resolution #5: I will say a rosary at least once a day. Yep, I said it...a rosary. In case you were wondering, I'm Catholic, even if most "good" Catholics would call me a "bad" one because the last time I actually went to Mass was over a year ago while in Rome after being scolded by a priest during confession. (True story.) But, even if I weren't Catholic, I could still say a rosary. It's a form of meditative, guided prayer. Plus, I've always felt a connection to Mary. You can try and read into all of that if you want, but it's a relatively quick way (about 15-20 minutes) for me to really focus my prayers. For those that fear that I am worshiping Mary and don't "know" that I can talk directly to God, I'm fully aware of that ability as well, and intend to use it, but that's often not a very focused form of prayer for me and sadly tends to fall more along the selfish lines of request. I'm not going to go into a whole lesson on Catholic Doctrine here, but it's my choice, and I'm happy with it. If you're really interested, read Practical Praying by John Edwards.
Conflict #6, #7, and #8: I really want to be better at speaking more than just the English language. Unfortunately for my enthusiasm limits, this actually comes in the form of learning three other languages - German, Spanish, and Italian. German and Spanish are not technically new to me, and I've taken at least a couple classes in each during my lifetime, but Italian is another story.
Resolutions #6, #7, and #8: I will review/study German at least one hour per week, I will study Italian at least one hour per week, and I will do a review on Duolingo (a language app) every day for German and Spanish. I have formal text books for German and Italian. Sadly, there are no classes currently available to me to take through the university online for either one of them, so self-study it is. I don't have any text books for Spanish, but Duolingo is a great app for those that already have a little bit of a background in a language (which is why I'm not committing to it yet for Italian), so I can review with it.
Conflict #9: Sometimes I forget that little things in life are to be celebrated when they make me happy, and those things that cause me frustration, grief, anxiety, or pain are actually often blessings in disguise (granted, we have to look for the specifics sometimes to remember it).
Resolution #9: I have created reminder "jars" (let's be honest, they're empty plant pots that I haven't used in a while) for those very purposes, as well as little strips of paper that remind me of the "take a phone number" advertisements that I can write on and put into the "jars". At the end of the year (or when I need a pick-me-up), I can remind myself of my blessings. I haven't decided whether or not I will see how my blessings in disguise have resolved themselves by looking at them at the end of the year, but whenever I put one in the jar, I have to make a promise to myself to let it go and trust that whatever it is, it's being taken care of on a level much higher and more sophisticated than my own.
So, there you have it - my conflict-resolution guide to 2015, as well as promotions for various different products that I have no formal associate with but speak highly of anyway. It may seem overwhelming, but when they're really broken down in the ways that I have done, it's only a small portion of my time to develop beneficial habits. And here's the key: if I fail to fulfill each one perfectly every week or day, I can pick it back up the following week or day. No one is perfect!
I also have a few other goals that I would like to achieve in the new year, like growing my Rodan and Fields business in order to bring beautiful skin to people (super shameless plug - visit my website here and email me for more info) and expanding my clinical skill sets by learning new techniques, but those aren't really conflicts to me right now, just things to continue working on.
All my resolutions are loaded into my app, broken down into achievable pieces, and ready to go! Let's see what 2015 has in store. I know that I will be continuing on my awesome journey of life, it's just a matter of what and how.
Now, where's the champagne to celebrate? ;)
*thumbs up*
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