So for this week's Wednesday Wish List I've decided to make a goal list in honor of resolution season. Frank and I were talking about resolutions the other day and decided there are 3 different groups of people: those who make resolutions but do not set themselves up to succeed, those who don't make resolutions since they "know" they won't keep them anyway, and those who make resolutions with reasonable expectations and a plan to reach them. This year, I want to be the latter of these.
This year, instead of just listing goals or resolutions, Frank and I picked 3 main things we want to work on or accomplish and 2-3 ways or steps we plan to reach those goals. This weekend we are going to set a reasonable schedule so we can keep track of how we are doing though out the year and we plan to post our plans on our bulletin board above our desk within plain sight.
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Each month when we do our financial budget, we will evaluate how we are making progress and remind ourselves what we want to work toward.
Here's what we hope to accomplish:
1. Overall Better Health
We plan to get healthy in 3 ways: regular exercise, healthier eating habits and a better routine that allows us to be prepared to eat and live a more healthy lifestyle.
- Work it out! For Christmas to each other and to ourselves, Frank and I bought a membership to a local gym. Instead of just saying we are going to work out, we created a weekly schedule of days/times we will show up. We plan to hold each other accountable daily. But, to make sure we had a goal we could work toward, we are choosing a 5K to sign up for in the spring and hope to sign up for another one in the fall. I've found that when it comes to fitness, it helps to have deadlines and a goal that you can be held accountable for. So, we asked some friend and family to join us in signing up for the 5K. That way, if we don't keep up with our training, we're not only letting ourselves down, but our friends and family will be affected as well.
Below is a pin I found with beginner's workouts for non-runners. I hope this helps, because I've never been able to keep up with a running routine.
- As far as eating healthier, Frank and I plan to gradually remove the following from our diet (1 thing at a time): fast food, soda, white/refined grains and processed foods. We also will work towards decreasing our intake of: dairy, animal products (increase seafood), and sugary foods. Basically we are working towards eating a "clean" diet. Both of us have histories of digestive disorders and the stressful past few years we have experienced have not helped us at all. Overall, eating whole, raw foods makes us feel more energetic and helps us to be happier as well. Both are important, so we will work towards this goal with high hopes!
Below is a link to a website that explains more about eating a "clean" diet. It's worth a peek.
- Food Prep- In order to eat "clean" or live a healthy lifestyle in general takes time and preparation. I find that I tend to stop for fast-food or crave sweets and salty foods most when I am not packing healthy lunches or waiting too long between meals. The more I drink soda or processed foods, the more I crave them. So, in order to stop the cycle, I have to make more time for preparing to prevent unhealthy eating habits. Sunday will be grocery shopping day, but this won't only mean we take ourselves over to Shoprite and stock our fridge with healthy items (although choosing healthy, fresh foods is the 1st step to success!), it also means rinsing off fresh fruits and veggies and chopping up those that can be ahead of time to make them more accessible for snacks and on-the-go meals. Prepping may also mean boiling eggs, making up some tuna salad, or canning salads for the week's lunches ahead of time. It will take more time initially, but I am hoping the results will be convenient healthy options during the week.
This pin has some great ideas for prepping on Sunday for the week. I got my ideas from this as well as from reading some books on clean eating you can find here & here.
2. Daily time with God.
This is extremely important. When I am spending daily time praying or reading the Bible, life just seems more clear and more full of purpose. When I allow God to direct my day and pray first for Him help me to speak words and live out actions that reflect Him, I seem better able to conquer the daily tasks, struggles, and see the joy in situations I cannot see joy in on my own.
- Our church is encouraging us to read through all 4 gospels from January through March. They actually printed out a schedule for those who would like to participate assigning a chapter to each day of every month. Frank and I decided we both want to read and understand the Bible more and we are going to both go through these chapters daily holding each other accountable and talking through what challenges or interests us as we go along.
- One of the things I can say I personally struggle with is complaining. When I encounter a struggle, I tend to tell everyone I know about how much I am struggling with whatever issue has come across my path and the last thing I think to do is pray. Seems silly as I reflect on it, but in the moment that is what I have been choosing to do. One way I think I will be better able to live my life more fully and more joyfully will be to remember to pray before I speak. Maybe I'll be able to both increase the amount of time I pray and increase the joy I allow myself to experience becoming a more positive person to be around. I just love this quote I pinned on Pinterest. Maybe I'll print it out and post it places as I work on this.
3. Making the apartment a home.
Frank and I have enjoyed the first few months living in our new apartment and we just love the town and area we chose to live. In 2012 we were able to begin to decorate and Frank gave our coffee table and our end table make-overs! (he did a great job too!) As we begin a new year, we hope to work together to make our little apartment feel less like a rented space and more like a home. In the apartment tour I talked about some of the things we would like to work on in 2013, but here's a quick recap:
- create a drop zone
- fill our walls with art
- put up curtains in the living room and bedroom and maybe the kitchen
- work on making a new table top for our kitchen table and re-painting the chairs
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What resolutions or goals did you make for 2013? I'd love to hear them!
Happy Wednesday!
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