Monday, December 28, 2009

The Promise of A New Year

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but last year hubby and I wrote down some goals for 2009. At the time, I actually didn't feel like writing down goals, and hubby sort of made me. But I'm glad he did. I hadn't looked at these goals since almost a year ago, and it actually took me a while to find them buried somewhere on hubby's laptop. Here is what I wrote down on January 2, 2009.
  • Enjoy, cherish, and value my family every day
  • Find a good work-life balance
  • Be open to making changes/adjustments
  • Be physically active every day
  • Eat "right" yet enjoy life
  • Go on a "date" or do "a date thing" at least once a week - I was VERY optimistic with this one!
  • Be more organized - Still working on this one!
  • Care about how I look (but don't obsess) - I had "let myself go" a bit too much...
  • Be kind to myself and others
  • Keep writing blog entries (for a family blog I was writing at the time)
  • Document the toddler's every changing life
  • Back to #1 - enjoy the toddler, the teenager, & hubby
It was interesting for me to read this list, and looking at it, I realize that it really reflects my values. I don't necessarily think that it's a good idea to have "extreme" New Year's resolutions as I believe that lasting change most likely happens when it happens slowly. For example, in January 2009, we hadn't gone on a "date" or done "a date thing" since the toddler was born in the fall of 2007. It truly wasn't realistic to go on a date once per week. In fact, we went on our first date in July or August! However, the other goals were doable, and I'm really happy because I think that I did a pretty good job working on them every day. Did I accomplish all of them perfectly all the time? No. But I truly made an effort.

I believe it can be helpful to have goals to focus us and to make us think about what's important in life. It is also very helpful to assess the goals on a regular basis and to see what we need to adjust. Writing goals down and then not looking at them for almost a year like I did is not the best way to do it though. I think I'll try to have monthly goals for 2010 and will try to assess them at the end of every month. We'll see how it goes...

Questions: What are some of your big and small goals? Or do you not believe in setting goals at the beginning of a new year? If so, why not? If you do have goals, how often do you plan to assess/adjust them?

Be well,
Andrea