Many people do the typical New Year's Resolutions: they toss out the potato chips, join a gym or start scratching items off of their Bucket List, and dive head first into the deep end, without water wings or even a wetsuit.
Well, it gets cold in the pool if you haven't warmed up to it, and you'll soon jump out of the water, convinced you'll never do that again. It's the same thing with the resolutions (or NYR as I call them). You go balls to the wall, never thinking about the consequences...or planning...or really, with any sense at all. That's why about 3 out of 4 people don't keep with their NYRs after a few weeks. You've got to have a plan.
That's why I have my three big NYRs, complete with plans. Read for them? Here we go:
1.) Cook More Often. I used to be very into cooking (used to be pretty good at it too), but during college that fell by the wayside, and I forgot a lot that I knew. I started getting back into it several months ago, but my culinary skills still need some refreshing. So here's my outline for cooking:
- Cook dinner for myself at least once a week
- Plan what I'm cooking for before I head out to the grocery store
- Find recipes that I can manage within my time frame (about an hour; more or less depending on the week) First food item on the list: fruited chicken thighs, combining some of my favorite items to eat: chicken and fruit, yum!
- Write out a grocery list! This should go without saying.
- Clean for about 10 minutes a day, more when I get the chance.
- Get something to keep all my daily to-do items handy (if you have an iPhone, iPod touch or an iPad, I recommend either the "Reminders" section that comes with the latest software update, or this little app called organize; the best part? It's free!)
- Keep on top of things; if I can find time to do something, do it NOW, not tomorrow.
- Practice consistency. Get into a routine. Don't upset the routine (or upset it as minimally as possible)
- Have someone hold me accoutable who will actually hold me accountable! Sorry best friends, but you won't do; I need someone tough, who will force me to hold myself to an almost unattainable standard. Any takers?
- Work before pleasure. That should go without saying as well, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do that. Especially me.
The key to this list is not nessecarily being perfect at it from the get go; it is being consistent and doing the best you can each day. It is not perfection that makes us perfect; it's the journey towards improving ourselves that we become better people. So do I have to do everything perfectly right from the word "go?" Absolutely not. But I have to improve myself a bit at at time, and keeping building upon that.
So, each day, strive to be a little bit better. Sit a bit taller. Work out a little bit harder. Read a bit of a book. Do something each day, and keep at it. If you're patient and consistent, great rewards await you.
