Like every year I always have great ambitions on December 31 for the coming year. My ambitions consistently consist of wanting to lose the extra pounds I’ve been carrying around, exercise more (or at all) and eat healthy. The downside to these ambitions is that they are HUGE tasks (well, for me at least) in my already crazy life. I typically succeed for about a month, like the millions of others in North America that join gyms and start diets in January, but then the fad goes away and I fail… every.single.year.
Last year felt like a whirl wind. And in many ways… I was (and still am) a new mom getting used to everything in my world being about my Little Dude, I was on maternity leave for the majority of the year, I weighed more than I ever thought possible, I had support and yet I didn’t always appreciate it, I started writing www.theresashoeforthat.com initially as a therapeutic way to get my thoughts on “paper”, the Mr. started a new job, and… the list goes on.
I have never tried to summarize an entire year into one word, but after seeing some fellow members of East Coast Moms Media discussing this on our FaceBook group I was inspired to think of a word. My word might seem simple, not very creative and rather dull, but here is goes – GRATEFUL. I am grateful for my family and friends that kept telling me I was doing a good job as a mom (and as a person) when I really didn’t believe them. I am grateful more than ever for my mom and my mother-in-law. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had and have created for myself with blogging and in my career. And most of all, I am grateful for my Little Dude and the Mr.. They are my number one fan club, biggest supporters and the reason everything I do is worth doing.
This year is going to be different. I know, I know… this is the same thing we all say every year. But this year I mean it. I have a few goals in mind but am not setting them in stone as “resolutions” and although I do want to get rid of a few pounds, exercise more and eat healthy these ambitions are not my main focus. This year my theme is “just do it”.
My plan for success is pretty simple – I am setting more realistic goals that benefit me, my family and hopefully the people around me. After reading this article from inc.com called “10 Ways to Start 2017 Off Right” I am convinced that making a list of small, realistic goals is the way to go. The article suggests tackling their 10 suggestions in the first week to get the year started “correctly” – I think its a great list, but let’s get real… this is not going to happen this week. In my case, I would be happy with getting all of these things done throughout the year. some of them really should be done in January, but items like “read a book” could really take a backseat to “check in on your finances”.
Here is my list of items “to do” for a successful 2017:
- Self improvement – There are always things to improve… in my case I want to consciously work on being more patient and showing gratitude.
- Family – As everyone keeps telling me “Little Dude will not be little for ever”, so with that in mind I want to enjoy the little things with him and the Mr. as much as possible. Take time for family outings, play after work/daycare and not worry so much about making the perfect dinner or getting the dishes done.
- Be less than perfect – I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to be my version of “perfect” at everything. My goal this year is to remove that pressure and “just do it” knowing that it doesn’t have to be perfect, others will not mind and in the end this should make #1 and #2 a lot easier to accomplish!
- Blog – I started this blog as means of therapy for myself. It helps me relax and put things into perspective, the same way colouring or making a cross stitch does for me; it is a way to write my thoughts, connect with others and hopefully provide some useful content to others. This year I want to continue this blogging journey and see where it takes us (we are in this together!)
- Reconnect – There are so many people that come and go in our lives whether they be from elementary school, university, a job you used to have, a project you once worked on, etc. My goal this year is to reach out to one person per month, find out how they are and reconnect even if its in the smallest way.
- Try something new – I have no idea what the “something new” might be as of now, but I think adding this to the list brings a small sense of adventure to the year ahead.
Here’s to making this year the best one yet!
Happy New Year everyone!
My shoes for that: Nike Training Flex Adapt Sneakers
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| Yes, those are my feet/ankles on my deck… what a beautiful day! |
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