Monday, December 31, 2012

New Stuff for the New Year

Thank you so much for your kind and wise replies on my last post, dear reader! You gave me hope and a plan. I really appreciated your insights. Thank you!

Well, in case you didn't notice, 2012 is pretty much over. If you had asked me 10 years ago where I'd be in 2013, I would have said, "wha? Dude, I don't even know where I'll be next week..." or something like that. Because I'm really, really good at long-term planning. (Insert sarcastic snorting here.)

Actually, it may sound stupid, but I've done pretty much everything I really wanted to do --the important stuff, anyway. I graduated from college. I married in the Temple. I have kids. I'm still active in the Church. Done. Crossed off. Finis! Well, it's not as simple as it sounds, but you have to understand that the Gospel, my hubby, and my kids ARE the most important thing in my life. Everything else is secondary.

So when it comes to New Year's Resolutions, I kind of balk. I'm not against them, nor do I think they are the most wonderful things in the world, I'm just kind of "meh" about them. But I decided it's good to set goals, and it's good to have dreams. There's nothing wrong with setting out to accomplish something new, eh?


This is the plan, dear reader: tonight during FHE (before Brandon has to be at the big youth dance) we will be writing out our resolutions. I've stolen the idea from my awesome Canadian friend, Mandy, from goals I saw taped on her pantry door when we were in their home in July. We'll focus on four areas: Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual. One goal in each. Nothing huge. Nothing we can't accomplish. In fact, here's mine:

Mental: read 4 non-fiction books
Physical: run one race
Emotional: repeat the mantra "calm and kind!" over and over when confronted with situations that would normally make me freak out or get angry.
Spiritual: pray ON MY KNEES at least once a day

See? Doable. And yet they are something I will have to focus on. To run a race? I've got to get running and start losing weight. To pray on my knees? I need to set a time and do it.

But there's more (mostly due to your responses on my last post). Because I tend to do better when I don't think about things too much (or write them down, or tell people about them), I'm hesitant to share. So, let's be vague-ish.

*I will be preparing more essays and presentations about womanhood in the Church
*I have found a system that should "cure" my emotional eating for good (it involves hypnosis. Not kidding.)
*I am going back to a routine of nutrition and vitamins/supplements that worked really well to help  me lose weight and eradicate daily depression symptoms (this was about 5-6 years ago) without setting myself up for failure.


So, what are your resolutions? What are your goals for the year? Do you make resolutions? Do you keep them? 

3 comments:

Avtar Ram Kaur said...

Great goals!

I read an article recently that talked about setting a "keystone goal" that will kick off a whole slew of new behaviours as a result. You don't have to focus on the other stuff, just that one goal, and everything else will fall into place.

For me, this is waking up at 6am every day. (ugh! every day?! ahaha)

That means I have to go to bed at a decent time. That also means I will have a chance for early morning meditation, prayers, and hitting the gym before the school run. It will start my day in the black, instead of me always racing to catch up.

And other stuff, I hope.

So that's my goal. One thing. Everything else is a bonus.

Cheryl said...

That is perfect! I used to be a morning person, and I want to get that back someday.

But, yes! Keystone goals. That's what my running a race will be, for sure.

jendoop said...

Cheryl,

It's been a while since I've read your blog and after our Facebook conversation the other day I wanted to see how you're doing.

I'm worried that you're seriously considering hypnosis for weight loss. First of all because your weight is not a "big" issue. Of course you're addicted to food, we all are, it's called eating and it keeps us alive ;)

But seriously, there are horror stories about hypnosis... I won't go into. It goes back to our Facebook conversation, there are no easy answers. I share this because I genuinely care about you, I empathize with where you are, and the amount of desperation that comes after dealing with these things for so many years. Just being tired of it. There are no tricks or secrets to living your best life beyond the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you really think a God so loving as to send his only begotten son to suffer for our sins would hide anything that would greatly improve our lives?

This great advice is from the church website: "Leaders should counsel members that true self-improvement comes through living gospel principles. Members who have social or emotional problems may consult with priesthood leaders for guidance in identifying sources of help that are in harmony with gospel principles."

For me, hypnosis isn't in harmony with gospel principles, maybe that's different for you and it's obviously your decision and I'll love you whatever you decide. It's just that I've watched good faithful members waste their precious resources on "answers" that did nothing but dash their hopes and waste their days. Your time is already so precious, I'd hate to see you lose even a day chasing and empty answer.