Resolutions vs. Goals

I've said in the past that I don't like resolutions, and that's true, to a point.  I think that to bring about healthy changes in our lives, we need to set goals and make plans to achieve those goals.  I believe that to make these changes, we need to commit to them and commit to making good choices, year-round.  Resolutions always seem to be BIG things that we struggle to stick to.  I resolve to lose weight.  I resolve to quit (bad habit).  I think it's easier to make that your goal, and map out some smaller steps to get there.  If you want to lose weight, then you resolve to work out several times a week.  Or you resolve to make better food choices.

But despite my wariness of big new year's resolutions, I do like the idea of starting fresh each year-- of setting goals and working toward them.  I like the idea of a clean slate.

Tom and I talked about our goals for the upcoming year, so here are a few:

Tom's goal is to run a full marathon.  I don't think there's a timeline attached, so let's say maybe April of 2013 (the Country Music Marathon is each year in April).  Tom will work on adding mileage and building to a full 26.2.

He also wants to "de-clutter."  We have a house full of stuff, and we'd like to whittle it down a bit.  Now that we both have kindles, and devices with access to the "cloud," we should both be able to reduce our paper.  We also have lots of toys and clothes that aren't getting much use anymore-- and would probably make other households very happy.

I have lots of goals (more of a five-year plan, really).  I want to become a runner, so I resolve to run three times a week.  Mileage doesn't really matter to me, so long as I am actually running every week.  I want to complete a writing project.  I've realized that although getting a master's degree is important to me in the long run, it's not particularly high on the list at the moment, so (although I have not definitely decided) I plan to take this semester off from school and use the time I would be spending on schoolwork to work on writing.  I like my job, so I'm not pushing to make a big change any time soon.  I'd love to be making more money, but I'm content to sit still for a little while.  I can re-assess in a year or two.

So, those are my goals.  I've mapped out some steps that I can take to make some progress towards them.

But this year, I do have a resolution.  This is not a goal, because it is not something with an identifiable end-goal.  I don't know that I can map out steps.

I resolve to be happier.  I resolve to live in the moment-- to stop worrying and planning for the future, to stop thinking ahead-- and enjoy my amazing little girl and my wonderful husband.

I'm a planner- and a worrier.  I'm usually several steps ahead of myself, planning how to get to where I want to be.  But, if I'm not careful, I'm going to worry myself to an early grave.  And that is not a place I'm looking forward to getting to.

So, my resolution this year is to enjoy where I'm at.  No, I'm not where I want to be in the long term.  But for a 28 year old?  I'm in a pretty great place.  And now, I'm going to (TRY to) slow down and enjoy it.  In fact, every day, I'm going to tweet one thing that I am happy about/grateful for.  So, at the end of the year, I should have 365 things to demonstrate how happy I am to be where I am.  (I'll tweet three things today to catch up).  You can follow me on twitter: @hamco