NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS???

[Guest_3072]

Hey everyone,

What do you guys think of new year's resolutions?

Do you guys have any for 2017?

...I need ideas lol

Gabby

[girl_interrupted]

I rarely follow NY resolutions. As Richard and Elizabeth have said, I tend to have all these goals and then either forget them or lose the motivation to start. Last year (actually, just prior to the new year) I started a diet in Dec, which I followed through til about May. I lost a lot of weight, started to exercise and felt much better about myself than I had in a long time. I need to do that again, with a more realistic approach and set goals that are achievable, instead of trying to take on too much. I've joined a meetup group which addresses these goals in a motivational, supportive way. If I can just find the courage to go to the meeting I'm sure it will be beneficial. Other than that, I have so much work to do:

- practice mindfulness,

work on my anger issues,

See a counselor

try to relax more with meditation,

organize my time schedule for work and uni,

find the courage to overcome my fear of crowds/people

join in more activities

exercise more

practice being assertive

practice smiling and laughing more

being thankful for what I have

being kind to others

Thats a start lol. As Mrs D has said, it's great to set these goals, another thing to put them into action! Good luck everyone - maybe we can keep track of each other's goals here?

[Doolhof]

Hi Girl interrupted,

Such an excellent list! I might attempt to make a list myself later on and a daily schedule.

Sounds like a good idea to check in here and help motivate each other, a bit like the Walking Thread that Shelley has started up again.

Cheers for now from Mrs. D

[Elizabeth CP]

Hi Your list is great as a start. I wrote a basic list like ours but then broke up some of the goals to be more specific. For example I wanted to exercise so I wrote that as a heading in a table on my computer. Underneath I wrote my reason for exercise ie what I wanted to achieve. Finally I wrote what I was going to do -walk each day for 30 min.

I wanted to relax more to reduce stress so wrote this down Then I listed different activities to try that I thought might be relaxing My aim was to do something relaxing each day. Obviously how you write up your goals is very personal but being clear why you are doing it is motivating & have ideas how to achieve the goal give you a better chance to succeed.

I recently read some good advice re goals & plans: Write your plans in sand. This means you have a definite plan increasing chance to succeed The sand means if something messes with the plan you just rub it out & rewrite it to suit so instead of failing you just do it differently. The sand is metaphorical. You don;t really have to go to the beach to plan anything

[Gruffudd]

I was rushing through the streets in Paris to the supermarket, rushing to take it all in. Then I realised that to remember it I needed to slow down, use all my senses, and enjoy the moment.

So I'm doing that. Amongst my overcrowded life I am slowing down for lots of moments in the day. I think that may be a resolution along with going to Paris with mother again.

[MsPurple]

Everyone has such good ideas!

I am wanting to work on myself and my self confidence. I have started to be ok with my body. I was diagnosed with EDNOS almost 10 years ago, which I have been recovered for like 8 years maybe more (still have slip ups but nothing major). I am a bit heavier then I would like but I am not making a goal around weight. Instead I am gonna make a goal about strength. I have started going to the gym and getting fit, but I still have poor upper body strength and just general strength. I am wanting to work on that. And work on doing weights and not critising how I look in the mirror. As a result I hope to tone. I do not want to focus on the scales anymore. So I think this is a pretty big goal. I would also love to do a pull up and 10 male/feet push ups 🙂 I want to leave my EDNOS body image behind and work on rocking my big booty for what it is. Beautiful and comfy to sit on

I also want to book a holiday to the USA or go to the USA (if it is still ok post presidential change). I also want to get a job in my field 🙂

I am going to take baby steps to achieve my goals for example: Go to the gym at least 4 times and week and do some weights with cardio. Pick up extra shifts when asked to save for a holiday deposit, do medidation on self acceptance, throw away clothes that do not look good or do not fit (stop keeping them in the hope I lose cm/kg)

Thanks for the post. Kinda put a smile on my face. This time last year I would have wanted weight loss and things that shouldn't be important. I just want to be fit and accepting of myself and just happy 🙂

[Guest_322]

Awesome resolutions everyone! Thanks for this thread, Gabby!

Also, thanks for the funnies too, Gruffud...maybe I should try this chair jumping business too ha, ha.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist so am known for my epic lists. I rarely achieve everything on my list but I do find that I generally achieve between 1-3 each year.

For 2017, my list is relatively short:

- maintain my grades for honours (so stressful...groans)

- obtain some basic research experience (paid/unpaid, I'm not fussed- I just want in on it)

- broaden my work experience in MH and NFP sectors.

- take shorter showers (I'm more wasteful than I would like to admit). I'm thinking of using a timer as that would help ha, ha. I'm actually serious though...

- save to travel overseas (not sure if it's realistic as I'm almost always broke and rent, bills, food, etc is always a higher priority) but hey, it's still a goal.

- to be there for my friends (this one is ongoing so not just limited to NY).

- this is probably the big and overarching resolution, and also isn't limited to the NY. Maybe it sounds a bit idealistic and naive but it's very important to me: to live in accordance with my personal principles and beliefs. I feel if I try my hardest to use this mentality in my daily life that I'll be on track 😊

Dottie x

[girl_interrupted]

Thanks Mrs D. Your input is always valued and appreciated. Definitely a good idea to motivate each other. As Elizabeth has said, it's probably a good idea to break down the goals and be specific. I read somewhere (when Googling) about goal setting:

SMART: The acronym SMART has several slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition of goal
setting:

S - specific, significant, stretching.

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational.

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented.

R - Realistic, Relevant

T - Timely

So I will try to stick to this. No point writing a goal if you aren't specific and dedicated to achieving that goal. I tend be like "oh yeah, really want to do that" but it's very vague and so I rarely achieve it. Hopefully I can come up with some realistic goals to add soon. Best of luck with yours. 🙂

[girl_interrupted]

Hi Gruffudd,

Paris sounds wonderful! Did you live there or just visit? I wish that I'd done Europe in my 20s. It's one of those things that you really benefit from when you're young - having no ties etc and being able to explore everything at your own pace, not having to worry about a mortgage, pets, partner etc. You'll have to upload some pics - if allowed, we'd love to see some of the places you visited.

[girl_interrupted]

Hi Elizabeth,

I like your idea of "writing it in the sand" and you're right - gotta be more specific with goals, but allow for corrections and changes. Haha - if it wasn't so dam hot I'd go to the beach and deliberately write some "unwanted stuff" in the sand, just to "wipe the slate clean" so to speak lol. Thank you for your post. I'll try to follow your example and do the headings, then write specific stuff underneath. I usually get all muddled and sidetracked lol so let's see how I go (I'm really disorganized and un-co). Best of luck and keep us updated with yours. 🙂

[girl_interrupted]

It's so hard to accept our bodies when there's so much pressure to be the perfect, thin, attractive, sexy woman. For me, I still struggle with my body and accepting who I am. Well done to you on overcoming that obstacle, it must've taken great courage and strength, perseverance, and determination. We all have set backs but you've accomplished a great deal so be proud of yourself for that. I like your goal about strength. We all have it, it's just a matter of how we tap into it. Gym is a great idea! If only it weren't so bloody expensive. Maybe you could ask for a couple of PT sessions? I'm petrified of weights lol. Being so socially withdrawn I really struggled with approaching anyone for this and would usually go when hardly anyone was around lol.

As a new member, they often provide 1 free lesson or maybe get friendly with a male body builder hahah. Not criticizing self in the mirror - whoa that's a tough one. But look at you - you're doing it! Scales are evil! Go by how you feel and eventually, your dress size/cloths will drop a size etc. You have some great goals! Especially - self acceptance. It's not the figures (kg etc) but how it makes you feel that counts. 🙂