New Habits for 2014
~ LOVE SONG ~
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am home again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am whole again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am fun again.
However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am free again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am clean again.
However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
~ The Cure ~
happy new year! once again, everyone reflects on the past year and beyond, and we try to choose goals (rarely attainable or serious) to strive toward in the new stretch ahead. i'm going to simplify, i think. yes, sure, i'll consider some lofty efforts, but i think i'll include new HABITS to enact as well. we'll see which list comes to pass 364 days from now.
resolutions:
1. lose weight - you had to know that was coming. it's the biggest lie told on january 1 every year.
2. save money - retirement is closer than anyone ever believes
3. forgive others - who wants to be pissed off all year long? humans are flawed, hurt feelings are inevitable
4. work hard - i think i've got this one down pat, but there's always room for improvement, right?
5. read more - i've drifted away from my favorite pastime, and it's showing in my grammar and vocabulary. also
my thought processes are slower and i can't seem to find alternate solutions as easily as before
6. be stronger - recognize fears, but face them head on anyway. never depend on others to be the solution; they
have challenges of their own to deal with every day.
habits:
1. WRITE MORE - i stopped doing this a few years back. i'm not silly enough to believe that i'll do it every
single day, but i should. whether it's a blog entry or just a flow-of-consciousness-free-writing, i
need to do this regularly.
2. get healthier - no, this is not the same as the first resolution. losing weight is a great part of it, but
i need to change my eating habits, both WHAT i eat and how/when i eat. i SHOULD work out. i won't. i
CAN, however, be a little more active. set a "standing walking date" to go for a 30 minute stroll
around the neighborhood or some newly discovered park or something at least 2 times a week. also,
mental health comes in with this, so shifting perspective to be more optimistic than pessimistic is
a big factor in being happy in 2014.
3. forgive myself - it's a bit unrealistic to hold myself to one standard, but expect less from others. if they
are allowed to be human, shouldn't i be allowed the same? that's not to say that relaxing individual
expectations should go so far as to compromise integrity or anything like that, but sometimes it's ok
to be 2 minutes late to a function or to allow for some flexibility in the amount of chaos i manage
everyday.
4. work smart, play hard - hi, my name is x, and i'm a workaholic. my priorities have almost always been on
being a dedicated, valuable part of my work team. part of that is job security, part of it is just my
own need to be needed, but at the heart of it, it's a drive to ensure that everything i have a part
in is in order. i've not been very good at counting on others to do things right. (arrogant, i know)
i've been told this is the very reason i'm labeled a control freak. (i beg to differ) over the last
few years, though, i've found that being so focused at work makes me feel obligated to do it all, and
the desire to get a little more play into my life has been harder to achieve because of it. it has
made me reconsider the balance of things in my life, and i find that i'd like some shift. i've been a
good worker bee for decades, and i feel that maybe i'm finally established enough to keep things on
track without over-managing, loosening up some "me" time. more to the point, making some play time to
my kids, my family, and especially my relationship. life is too short to have climbed this hard and
this far to not enjoy some of the rewards of it.
5. read new - while i still want to get caught up in some of the storylines i've followed for years, it's also
time to get out of the fiction world and take in the wisdom of some real life experience from others.
we all get pretty caught up in our own lives, and i've often thought i should write down some of my
own experiences, but who would read any of it? there are already a ton of non-fiction books out there
that some publishing house experts found interesting enough to release to the masses, so why not see
what they have to say?
6. embrace vulnerability - anyone who knows me knows i've fought my entire life. i've pushed past problems,
pain, ridicule, challenges, fears, disbelief, and any number of other annoying life happenings. push,
push, push...and never, ever expect someone else to shoulder my burdens, never be a burden to others.
unfortunately, that means the walls i have put up are strong and not easily let down, even to those
who love me, those who want to love me. there are people who want to be there for me, and i have to
wonder how much of the distance i keep everyone at is not wanting to burden them and how much of it
is fear of the pain that would result if the ones i let close really don't care, really aren't the
ones to trust, to believe in, to count on. as they say, though, if you never let yourself be in a
position to be hurt, you never let yourself be in a position to be loved, either.
so...write more, open up, learn the lessons that are meant to be passed along in the relationships and experiences on my path. laugh, cry, love, let go, look for the opportunities instead of the hurdles.
i'm ready for 2014!
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am home again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am whole again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am fun again.
However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am free again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am clean again.
However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
~ The Cure ~
happy new year! once again, everyone reflects on the past year and beyond, and we try to choose goals (rarely attainable or serious) to strive toward in the new stretch ahead. i'm going to simplify, i think. yes, sure, i'll consider some lofty efforts, but i think i'll include new HABITS to enact as well. we'll see which list comes to pass 364 days from now.
resolutions:
1. lose weight - you had to know that was coming. it's the biggest lie told on january 1 every year.
2. save money - retirement is closer than anyone ever believes
3. forgive others - who wants to be pissed off all year long? humans are flawed, hurt feelings are inevitable
4. work hard - i think i've got this one down pat, but there's always room for improvement, right?
5. read more - i've drifted away from my favorite pastime, and it's showing in my grammar and vocabulary. also
my thought processes are slower and i can't seem to find alternate solutions as easily as before
6. be stronger - recognize fears, but face them head on anyway. never depend on others to be the solution; they
have challenges of their own to deal with every day.
habits:
1. WRITE MORE - i stopped doing this a few years back. i'm not silly enough to believe that i'll do it every
single day, but i should. whether it's a blog entry or just a flow-of-consciousness-free-writing, i
need to do this regularly.
2. get healthier - no, this is not the same as the first resolution. losing weight is a great part of it, but
i need to change my eating habits, both WHAT i eat and how/when i eat. i SHOULD work out. i won't. i
CAN, however, be a little more active. set a "standing walking date" to go for a 30 minute stroll
around the neighborhood or some newly discovered park or something at least 2 times a week. also,
mental health comes in with this, so shifting perspective to be more optimistic than pessimistic is
a big factor in being happy in 2014.
3. forgive myself - it's a bit unrealistic to hold myself to one standard, but expect less from others. if they
are allowed to be human, shouldn't i be allowed the same? that's not to say that relaxing individual
expectations should go so far as to compromise integrity or anything like that, but sometimes it's ok
to be 2 minutes late to a function or to allow for some flexibility in the amount of chaos i manage
everyday.
4. work smart, play hard - hi, my name is x, and i'm a workaholic. my priorities have almost always been on
being a dedicated, valuable part of my work team. part of that is job security, part of it is just my
own need to be needed, but at the heart of it, it's a drive to ensure that everything i have a part
in is in order. i've not been very good at counting on others to do things right. (arrogant, i know)
i've been told this is the very reason i'm labeled a control freak. (i beg to differ) over the last
few years, though, i've found that being so focused at work makes me feel obligated to do it all, and
the desire to get a little more play into my life has been harder to achieve because of it. it has
made me reconsider the balance of things in my life, and i find that i'd like some shift. i've been a
good worker bee for decades, and i feel that maybe i'm finally established enough to keep things on
track without over-managing, loosening up some "me" time. more to the point, making some play time to
my kids, my family, and especially my relationship. life is too short to have climbed this hard and
this far to not enjoy some of the rewards of it.
5. read new - while i still want to get caught up in some of the storylines i've followed for years, it's also
time to get out of the fiction world and take in the wisdom of some real life experience from others.
we all get pretty caught up in our own lives, and i've often thought i should write down some of my
own experiences, but who would read any of it? there are already a ton of non-fiction books out there
that some publishing house experts found interesting enough to release to the masses, so why not see
what they have to say?
6. embrace vulnerability - anyone who knows me knows i've fought my entire life. i've pushed past problems,
pain, ridicule, challenges, fears, disbelief, and any number of other annoying life happenings. push,
push, push...and never, ever expect someone else to shoulder my burdens, never be a burden to others.
unfortunately, that means the walls i have put up are strong and not easily let down, even to those
who love me, those who want to love me. there are people who want to be there for me, and i have to
wonder how much of the distance i keep everyone at is not wanting to burden them and how much of it
is fear of the pain that would result if the ones i let close really don't care, really aren't the
ones to trust, to believe in, to count on. as they say, though, if you never let yourself be in a
position to be hurt, you never let yourself be in a position to be loved, either.
so...write more, open up, learn the lessons that are meant to be passed along in the relationships and experiences on my path. laugh, cry, love, let go, look for the opportunities instead of the hurdles.
i'm ready for 2014!