a habit of resolving
if there’s one habit that is firmly implanted in my soul, it’s that of making resolutions every single year — although of course, they are carried out with variable success. i love spending some of december reflecting on what worked / what didn’t from the prior year’s resolutions list, and more of that is to come! but i think that my format needs to change a little bit. maybe it’s the influence of leo babauta, but i’m beginning to believe that one change at a time is the way to go.
so: i’m thinking about focusing on one thing [small or large!] each month in the coming year. this leaves more room for flexibility [i’m having a hard time predicting what i will want to focus on post-baby!] and perhaps the increased focus might lead to more success with some of my goals.
of course, the little blue notebook has some ideas in it already! i will definitely share more in the coming weeks.
DOING vs NOT-DOING
i have noticed that i tend to struggle a lot more with negative resolutions compared to positive ones. this makes sense; all it takes is a moment of weakness and a negative resolution is ‘broken’, whereas a positive one just requires one moment [well, sometimes several] of strength.
examples of negative resolutions
✔ only use internet for XYZ minutes/day [this one is SO HARD FOR ME!]
✔ stop overeating at parties or restaurants
✔ avoid gossipping at work
examples of positive resolutions
✔ work on spanish for 15 minutes daily [this one i’ve done pretty well with!]
✔ drink XYZ ounces of water/day
✔ have at least one date night with significant other / week
sometimes the same goal can even be framed in two different ways, one positive and one negative. ie: “stop getting take-out on weeknights” vs. “plan for and cook dinner at home on weeknights”; “stop rushing in the morning” vs. “cultivate and follow a relaxed morning routine”.
just because a resolution is positive doesn’t make it a good one — at one point, i ‘resolved’ to get pregnant in 2010, and COME ON NOW. that’s just a setup for disappointment and pain. and there is certainly a place for negative resolutions — i am not sure how to frame some of the ‘negative things i’d like to accomplish in positive terms. but i definitely think that the negatives are harder!
yep, struggling a little here . . .
thoughts/experiences with resolutions — and which kinds of goals do you tend to make? one thing i like about the 10/100 [or 100/1000] style of goal-setting is that this exercise tends to generate positive [and often fun-to-fulfill] goals.
ps
don’t forget to enter the dove spa-finder gift card giveaway — your chances are still pretty fantastic! and i selfishly want someone who reads regularly to win 🙂
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12.8.11
workout: 3.06 mi, 10:15/mi pace. funny, it didn’t feel much slower than tuesday’s run which was just under 10:00/mi. but really i am just happy to be running! i anticipate that at some point as i grow bigger, i will move towards a run/walk pattern, but it definitely feels good to still be out there.
from wednedsay night: last night we celebrated josh’s birthday at his absolute favorite durham restaurant, rue cler. it was a lovely meal [as always], but no photos were taken. but: here’s wednesday night’s stir-fry . . .
soy-sesame marinated tofu with vegetables and shiitake mushrooms
the actual recipe called for the tofu to be left in large slabs and grilled like “steaks”, but who are they kidding? tofu is not steak and i’d rather it just be . . . tofu. so instead of getting the grill pan dirty, i just marinated it, cubed it, and threw it in with the veg at the end of cooking. it worked fine.
spanish: agh, after all that talk above? i actually missed yesterday! but i’m getting back on the wagon immediately.
reading: as previously, i consider myself somewhat exempt from this on call weeks. the pager hasn’t been TOO bad, though!
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