orienting life

Last time, when I said "later this week" I really meant "next week".

So, here it is, next week, and I think this is a good time to introduce everyone to my new commitment. A year of self-improvement. I imagine that sounds either corny or forced to some people, but hear me out.

I won't dwell on why I decided that now was the time to start making changes. It will suffice to say that I noticed a trend, a repeating cycle of bad moods and down thoughts that weren't/aren't going to stop themselves.

Here is the plan. Each month (or thereabouts) I take on a new aspect of my life or myself and make a change. Something small, a bite-sized, manageable shift in my behavior patterns or living situation.

You already know about life changing mini-goal #1: go to the gym regularly. Technically my gym membership started at the end of June, but I committed in earnest to this new habit at the end of July, so I've been going at it for a little over a month. Have I been successful? Sure. I haven't gone as often as I would like to say, but I'm there, sweating profusely, two days a week, and that's two more days a week than I had been before. Four days a week would be better, but maybe that will be the goal for another month. For now, I have established the habit of going to the gym twice a week, burning some extra calories, lifting some weights, and generally improving my health, self-esteem, and mood in the process.

Life changing mini-goal #2: Bring my lunch to work more often instead of buying crappy food there. I've been working on this one for the last two weeks, and so far I've gone from buying lunch every day to buying lunch once a week. Hopefully over the next two weeks I will consolidate this habit, which involves some minor planning ahead that I didn't bother with up until now. It should be easy to keep in practice if I cook a little more frequently at home - making dishes that have leftovers - and buy a few extra items at the grocery store every week, like sandwich meat, for example. Overall, I think this change will help me save money, improve my eating habits, and make me more healthy.

So, based on these first two mini-goals I think the pattern is pretty clear. I'd like to be a healthier person, in physical, emotional, and financial senses. My goals over the next few months will hopefully get me there, incrementally, slowly, but inevitably. Each month I will tackle one specific mini-goal and - most importantly - not worry about other aspects of my behavior or life that bother me. Those things will have their own month and can wait. One thing at a time. The trick will be maintaining changes from one month to the next, throughout the rest of the year, and then beyond as my focus shifts to different mini-goals. That's why I've generously decided to devote an entire month to each change. Habits take a long time to form. I am notoriously horrible at forming new ones, but I hope to improve my record over the next year.

What other mini-goals will I tackle in the coming months? you may be asking.

Quit smoking (for real - not that I am a heavy smoker - 1-4 cigarettes a week is not heavy - but it's also not doing me any good)

Declutter/reorganize my living spaces

More reading and writing/less watching TV at night

Who knows?

I will post updates here at the beginning/end of each month to let you know how I'm doing and feeling.

Oh, I suppose I should announce the big "mini-goal" that will wrap up my year-long project. See, I believe it is good to have small, short-term goals that are manageable, help improve confidence, and the like. But it is also good to have long-term goals to keep in mind as well. By increasing my health - physically, emotionally, and financially - I am also getting myself ready for something else. Life changing mini-goal #12: have a baby (which incidentally I realize will be much more than a month-long endeavor). Funny to call that a mini-goal, I suppose, but I trust you know what I mean. My husband has been ready for a baby for years, and I've been somewhat resistant - we're not ready, how will we afford it, will I be a good mother, will I have the energy, we're not grown up enough, etc. Lots of excuses, not a lot of movement toward being ready or easing any of those fears. So, now that 30 is right around the corner, I think it's time to quit with the excuses, to move myself toward being who I envision myself capable of being.