Be Resolute in 2017 !

It's the first week of 2017.  So you know what that means...it's your annual goal pep talk!  Don't groan!  If you have followed my blog for over a year, you know that I am not a believer in New Year's resolutions.  To me, a resolution is just you deciding you are or aren't going to do something.  People, if we could just decide something and do it, we would all be some skinny, non-smoking, gym going to, water drinking, thoughtful people.  Well.  Anyway.  Will power alone ain't gonna cut it.  It never does.

That being said, while I am not a believer in resolutions, I am a huge fan of goal setting.  I like to sit down at the beginning of the year and think of all the things I would like to accomplish.  A new year is so energizing to me.  At the same time, I find this overwhelming, so I have to make categories.  I am not a dork, it's just how my brain works.  OK.  Maybe I am a dork a little bit.  Here's where I go:

Home:  Projects I want to do around my house.  These come in all shapes and sizes and are generally dictated, like the rest of my life, by my budget.
Health:  Usually my shortest list.  Just keeping it real.  I did a good job with this category in 2016 so...go me.
Social:  I love my people.  Want to have more date nights?  Want to spend more time with friends doing fun things?  Insert ideas here.
Finances:  Do you want to do something in particular with your money?  Just wish you had some?  Yeah friend, me too.  Here is where we start figuring out how to make that happen.
Me:  This should be the best, most funnest category!  How come it is the hardest? What do you want to do for YOURSELF?  Be your best friend this year.
Things I'd Like to Do - These are a few of my bucket list items that are once again, dictated by my budget, but I feel might be doable.  Yes, doable is a real word.

You don't have to figure out how to make all these things happen right now.  Just start by writing things down you would like to change, add or remove from your life.  It starts that simple.

If you do write down goals (and if you are going to set them, you have got to write them), review your goals from last year at this time.  Be kind to yourself.  Some goals didn't get accomplished because they just weren't important to you.  Maybe you felt like you should say you were going to stop cussing.  But then you were like, geez. I just enjoy it so damn much.  That's just for example.  I'm not saying that's me or anything.  If you aren't really vested in it, it's not going to happen.  So keep it off your list.

I love making a goal frame with some of the things I want to be most focused on.  I saw this idea several years ago on My Craftily Ever After and I loved it.  This is not the place for your plan, but a place for your focus.  Put this somewhere you will see it every day.  One of my focus items is "Stop:  Being frustrated."  Obviously this is not a step by step plan on how to accomplish that.  I just want to look at this every day and remember that I am trying to be less frustrated with my life.  My goal notebook has several things that are supposed to take me in that direction.  In the frame, my focus items are:

Start:
Stop:
Learn How To:
Try:
Project:
Trip:
Bucket List:




Don't make resolutions.  Be resolute.  Be admirably purposeful, determined and unwavering in your pursuits.  How powerful is that?

Now, go kick 2017's butt.

Happy New Year!
~K