Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Resolutions and Goals


New Year Resolutions

Okay, we’ve had over a month now, a whole freaking month to get ourselves in gear. Count ‘em--six weeks to kick ol’ habits and to become buds with the new habits. Six weeks to set out to accomplish what we said we were going to do.

How’s it going?

Are you following your new diet? Have you gone to the gym three times a week? Done that tummy trimming video you promised to do every day? Or is the thigh master what you need? Are you doing the back exercises that the physical therapist said you need to do daily? Have you stayed true to your oath of never inviting a whole half gallon of Blue Bell Chocolate Fudge ice cream to take up residence on your hips? Are your bedroom drawers cleaned out with panties you don’t wear anymore for fear you’ll be in accident? Have you gone through your stack of books and given away the ones you’ve read or won’t read? Have you used the new cookbook your daughter gave you for Christmas? Have you started the knitting project, started writing a new book, or signed up for that class in photography that you said you were going to start?

Or, are you cringing and thinking, “You know CC, I really don’t have to read your blog if you’re gonna make me feel bad about myself!”

I don’t blame you for thinking that. Believe me, right now there’s this little voice inside my head saying, “You know, CC, you could choose another blog topic--one that didn’t remind you that you’ve failed or one that didn’t tell everyone in Blogsville that you haven’t met your goals. Couldn’t you just blog about the guy whose New Year Resolution was to be able to burp the National Anthem. Or what about the guy whose goal was to learn to make armpit noises. It’s funny, people will laugh, you will laugh. And everybody will be happy. Why do you have to go get all serious and shit?”

Why? Because in addition to being a smartass and loving to laugh, I’m also a person who believes we play a big part in making things happen in our lives. The good things and the not-so-good things. Yes, I know that luck, both good and bad, can fall from the sky like bird poo. But I also believe in synchronicity, in fear of failure, in fear of change. I know all about comfort zones, about finding yourself stalled in this thing called life. About wrong turns and just plain ol’ bad decisions. And believe it or not, my goal isn’t to make you or myself feel bad. My goal is to help me and maybe help you reconnect with our values. To stop letting little things, and even the big things, get in the way of accomplishing the goals that we tell ourselves are little issues, but in truth, they are somehow connected to our overall happiness and well being.

Now, I have a lot of excuses, and a part of me wants to stand up and yell at myself, “But look what you have accomplished!” Hell, yes. I’ve done a lot. I took care of the things I had to do. Deadlines did NOT go unmet. Wait, that’s a boldfaced lie. The deadlines that were set by others, my editors, deadlines where other peoplewere counting on me, they didn’t go unmet. But what about my personal deadlines? What about the promises I made to myself? Isn’t it amazing, and a little bit sad, that the person we are most likely to let down is ourselves?

So, here’s what I am doing and what I encourage you to do. Spend some time reviewing your New Year Resolutions/goals. I already know there are a few I need to either kick to the curb or revamp. I mean, how important is it to make arm pit noises? LOL There are a few I just need to do—for example, that underwear drawer that needs going through and the books I need to find homes for. When done, these things will make me feel so good because these are things that poke at me everyday and make me feel bad when I face them. And seriously, it would only take me a couple of hours. The back exercises that I HAVE to do will either become a habit or I will find myself in therapy again. Telling myself I don’t have time is like calling the bird and making an appointment to get crapped on.

So . . . what is it that you are not doing that needs to be done? Or you setting yourself up to deal with crap because you haven’t met a goal? And if you, unlike myself, and probably a lot of people, have managed to meet your goals, please share a little about how you’ve stayed on track. Hey, we’re all in this together. Life is a journey and if we share a little and help the people around us, not only are we more likely to accomplish more, but we’ll have more fun doing it.


19 comments:

Edie Ramer said...

I finished the first draft of my book, and I hope to finish the first revision today. So I'm on track there. My other goal is to eat healthier, and I'm doing well with that. I simply haven't bought snack food. I have nothing like that in the house. Not even -- whimper -- chocolate.

Those are the only goals I've set for the year, so the bar is low.

Becky LeJeune said...

I need to get back into the diet/exercise routine. I'd started and done really well and then fell off the bandwagon. I don't handle change in routine very well and find it very hard to get back on track when things stray from the routine I've set myself.

And now it's winter and I just want to hibernate. And eat.

Terri Osburn said...

You just had to go there. And it's like you're talking directly to me. I haven't written as much as I should. I haven't exercised or eaten better (as my tight jeans can attest to.) But I'm like Becky, when it's winter and dark before I leave work and cold outside, I just want to hibernate and eat.

The voice in my head reminds me daily I'm not doing what I said I'd do. That the fitness room is just across the parking lot. That the pilates DVD is right the hell there in the tv cabinet. *sigh*

I need a candy bar.

Stacey Joy Netzel said...

Well, I've got mixed results. For the first time ever I've managed to stay on my exercise goals of 4x a week and I've lost about 5lbs.

Edie--the just not buying junk food works well, doesn't it? Funny it took me awhile to figure out. LOL (not that the kids appreciate that very much)

My current WIP is where I'm struggling some, but thanks to my goals group (GIAMx2) I've managed to write almost 9k in the last two weeks, and I'm almost done!

Now I better use my quiet time while the kids are in school to get more done!

Hellie Sinclair said...

Welll...my goals were:

1.) exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 4x a week
2.) think of something happy to be grateful for
3.) write at least 2 pages a day

With monthly outcomes of: if I exercise 16 times a month; think of something happy/grateful at least 22 times a month; and write 50 pages, I could order something off Amazon.

The exercise worked out fine. And I could think of things to be happy about. Writing was more difficult. So I had to recalibrate my goal of 50 pages a month (which I've only done ONCE ever) to 30 pages a month, which like the exercise, I can do more regularly. (So I still ordered something at the end of January as a reward; and so far this month, I've done pretty good. I should have both my exercise and page count by the end of the month.)

I did not make a "health/eating" promise because I knew I wouldn't keep it and I'd feel worse. I thought I'd up the exercise first. I want to add: drink 8 glasses of water and stick to the WW plan, eventually this year.

I've added "go to bed by 10 pm"--and I've managed to do that most nights as well and that's been really great.

Refhater said...

I've actually stuck to my new years resolution this year. I've limited myself to 1200 calories a day, exercise 30 minutes a day 5 times a week, and keep a food journal. I'm down 8 lbs since Jan. 4th. Only 32 lbs left to lose to reach my goal weight! (If only I were taller than 5'3, then I could weigh more!)

I came to the horrific realization that I am hosting a pool party with my friends, family, and coworkers the first Saturday in August. (I won a contest and that was the prize.) I'd rather not look like Shamu the whale in front of everyone while in my bathing suit.

Anonymous said...

I truly believe that we have reached the point where technology has become one with our world, and I am fairly confident when I say that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.

I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside... I just hope that as the price of memory drops, the possibility of downloading our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's a fantasy that I daydream about every once in a while.

(Posted by Nintendo DS running [url=http://kwstar88.insanejournal.com/397.html]R4i[/url] SeKu)

Unknown said...

Sigh.
I had a gazillion resolutions. Something about a round numbered year like 2010 made me ambitious. Happened in 2000 as well with much the same results. Gym attendance 4x a week? *SNORT* yeah. That's happened. Eat better? Ummm--not so much. Write more? Well, yes!
Okay, so you have had your straighten up and fly right blog, and I'm reaffirming my resolutions. I'll do better--at least for another week. Thanks Christie!

Donna Marie Rogers said...

I've actually done better this year than I have in a looong time. :-) My New Year's Resolution was to quit eating candy, which I've stuck to...yay! LOL I've also been dieting & exercising (not the last 3 days because I pulled my back, but today I'm back on track). I also managed to write over 10K on my WIP, so I'm pretty happy with myself this year...so far...knock on wood...LOL

Christie Craig said...

Hi guys!

Sorry to be so late responding. I had a friend whose hubby became very ill and I spend time holding hands.

But I'm here now and let's get busy.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Edie,

NO CHOCOLATE? Are you crazy?

But seriously, not buying your trigger foods is the best way to eatting better. There are somethings I know if I buy, I'll not eat in small portions. I love cheetos. So I buy the baked kind in the individual packages. I seldom will go back for a second pack, but if they were in just one bag, I'm bad, really, really bad.

Good luck Edie. I hope you finished that draft.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Becky,

I know what you mean, something cold weather just makes me want food, lots of comfort food, like mashed potatoes and creamy soups.

Okay, I have to stop writing about them. Good luck getting back on target again.

Thanks for sharing.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Terri,

I hear you girl. Hang in there. I'm trying to listen a little harder to that voice and stay the hell away from the candy bar!!!

Thanks for posting and good luck girl. Get to writing! You can do it. I'm cheering you on!

CC

Christie Craig said...

Stacey,

Good for you girl!!! I really haven't been bad with the eating, but I haven't exercised enough. I blame the weather, deadlines, and I just have to quit playing the blaming game and go walk!!

And goal groups and critique groups are wonderful to help you stay on track.

Thanks for stopping in.

CC

Christie Craig said...

MsHellion,

Wow, love those goals. And congrats on making them. Oh, yes, sometimes we need to rethink out goals to make sure they are realistic.

And working up to the goals is another thing that's really good. We can't eat an elephant in one bite.

Thanks for sharing.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Refhater,

Love it, girl. Nothing like the thought of being in bathing suit to whip you in shape. You are doing so great. Congrats.

Thanks for dropping by.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Merissa,

You go girl. I know how you feel about realizing you haven't done so well on a few of them. But keep at it. I'm here cheering you on.

Christie Craig said...

Donna,

Congrats girl!!! You've done great. Sorry about your back! Get better soon. I know all about back pain!

Thanks for stopping in.

Oh, one questions. Chocolate is vegetable, right? Not candy.

CC

Morganne said...

Sometimes I think there is a tendancy to set ourselves up for failure with resolutions. To nip this in the bud this year I keep a separate daily journal where I write down my broad goals for the year and my specific goals. Every morning I write down what specific action I took the day before to achieve each goal.

I'm focused more on what I did, no matter how small, instead of beating myself up for not doing more. It's pretty simple and so far it's worked. I'll let you know in July if it still is working!

Writing: I keep track of what I do daily and give myself credit for every word.
Eating: All of us can eat at least one piece of organic produce daily. I'm choosing to focus on what I put into my body that's healthy and increase the ratio of healthy to unhealthy as I progress.
Exercise: No matter what level of exercise each of us does daily, we can all add (or establish) ten minutes of some activity.

Edie ~ I'm still eating chocolate just darker and less than before ~ you are stronger than me, woman! :)

Taking pride in small steps and not feeling so damn guilty when the inevitable lapse into copious amounts of alfredo comes seems to be helping.

Just food for thought :)