The time has come for an obligatory blog post about a fresh new year, and making resolutions about how I’m going to drink less and exercise more, have fewer typos and see friends more, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
For me, 2015 wasn’t a bad year – quite good, actually – but it was a year of extreme highs and extreme lows. I’m craving a bit more consistency, so I made some pretty drastic life changes to better serve my personal and professional goals. While it’s just a coincidence these changes are lining up with the new year, like a January Joiner at the gym I’m going all in – starting now (or, Monday). Continue reading I’m Joining January.
The role of a resolution is to fix all the things you neglected since you gave up your last resolutions in March. My goal last year was to get my shit together, and I think I pretty well accomplished it. My bills are up to date, my fitness regime is fairly on point, we keep up with the dishes, and I do my best to find creative, intellectual, and temporal space to keep up with my life
The thing is, I feel pretty darn good about 2013, and instead of a resolution, I just want more of the same.
It’s not that I don’t value making goals – I definitely have some – and resolutions can be powerful for many people. But maybe the overarching plan should be getting to the point that you don’t have to make resolutions to feel good about your life, because it’s good as it is.
Here’s a little summary of what 2013 looked like, and I eagerly charge ahead into 2014 with the goal of doing the same thing, but better.
Lent is perfectly placed in the calendar… just enough time has passed to falter on New Years resolutions and people need an excuse to regain focus. As for me, I feel pretty good about my New Years resolutions: in 2013 I’m looking to meet more deadlines, find space, and drink more tea.
For the most part, I’m keeping my end of the bargain, but I’ve also been itching to take it to the next level.
You see, I’ve been on a diet for a few months. Let’s call it “Weight Watchers” (because it is). I didn’t add anything food related to this year’s resolutions because, frankly, I know better. This is my third attempt with Weight Watchers and it’s taken awhile stick. But now that I’ve embraced the plan it’s starting to work. Overall the thing I’ve benefitted from with Weight Watchers is a renewed mindfulness toward what goes into my face. The problem is, I’m not losing much weight.
Maybe this should concern me more than it does…
Part of my ambivalence has to do with realizing that I abolished the plan and joyfully gained weight over the holidays. So after four careful weeks on plan I’m now about where I started. The other part is: my pants fit better. I actually feel as though my body is lighter and leaner even though it’s not reflected on the scale. Given my past piss-poor relationship with food, I consider my laissez faire attitude a huge victory. Every shred of my intelligence about food and fitness tells me I’m on the right path, and that it’s not about the numbers, but about the overall lifestyle. Still, it’s frustrating to not see much in the way of tangible results.
So I think it’s time to take it up a notch. By notch, I don’t mean a juice cleanse or joining The Biggest Loser, I mean Lent.
Having mastered the vending machine last year, I decided that I was up for another 60-day challenge. What better excuse to deprive yourself of superfluous indulgences than Lent?
So long, old pal
Disclosure: I made a not-so-public pledge at New Years to dramatically reduce my consumption of alcohol. I was drinking enough that my energy levels were consistently low, as was my motivation and zeal for life. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’ve pegged alcohol in causing my waist to rapidly disappear over the past year. I made a promise to myself that I was going to cut back, and I did. I’ve gone from 1-2 drinks a day to 1-2 drinks a week.
Long story short, it’s working, my waist is shrinking, but unfortunately I replaced one vice with another: caffeine
Give up coffee? Are you kidding me? Not a chance.
I’m kicking the diet cola for 60 days.
That deliciously refreshing, bubbly treat.
A caffeine boost that I can drink after 4pm and get away with.
I’m giving it all up.
This will, I imagine, save me a boat load of money and dramatically lower my consumption of caffeine and chemicals. The replacement: tea, which promotes adherence to one of my three resolutions… win win.
Teaser:
There’s one more goal I’ve added to the pile for 2013, but you’ll have to wait until the next post for the big reveal. Here’s a hint: it involves padded shorts. See you on Wednesday!
Holidays, party of 1. No mom, I don’t actually smoke. Photo credit: Kelly Rose
I’m fairly confident the year was sufficiently rung last night. The wine flowed, the turkey was delicious, as were all the delectable sides (including mashed potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and my Mom’s creamed corn). I made a solid batch of deviled eggs and shoved blue cheese into pitted olives for a final touch.
But enough about me. Most importantly, the meal was shared among friends. We managed to cram nine people around the table for a family-style dinner, and were totally blessed with a night of laughter and plenty of leftovers.
I’m a little conflicted about making resolutions. I tend to shape my life goals around the academic year because, well, I work at an academic institution. Sure, I’ll be joining the pack that returns to the gym (but, to be fair, I went twice last week too). Lose weight, eat better, let go of all the holiday vices… blah-di-blah…
But if I really had to pin down what I want out of this year, it’s to get my s&*# together.
I’ve wrapped this up into three smaller goals that look like this:
Meet more deadlines
Find space
Drink Tea
I’m pretty responsible, but the things that either (a) aren’t a priority, or (b) I don’t get paid to do sometimes fall by the wayside. It happens with writing, and paying bills, and things like student recommendations or taking a ballet class. In order to deal with all the little details and try to keep on top of managing my life, I need to find space in my brain. But, I’m also seeking out a physical space so that I can continue to work on dance related projects. With my change in jobs came a complete loss of free rehearsal space, and soon, I believe I might find the creative home that I’m looking for.
Vicki Crain told me that she was resolving to drink more tea, so this resolution is borrowed from her. But drinking tea is not just the action of sipping on a overly hot, lightly caffeinated, somewhat tasteless liquid… it’s a life philosophy that I whole-heartedly buy into. So, good one Vicki.
What, pray tell, are you going to work on this year?
Lauren Warnecke 
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