Resolutions

Until coming to write this post I hadn't thought much about my new years resolutions. Now that I do though I realize making resolutions at the start of a new year doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean yes, it's a new year, a new chapter, a fresh start, and all that, but I think there's too much emphasis placed on making resolutions at the start of a new year. That people make resolutions because that's what you do at the start of the year. It's more of an obligation, and that's why so many resolutions fall apart after only a few weeks or a month.

That being said, I've always kept a journal where I write down my new years resolutions. So I can remember them throughout the year and look back upon them at the end of the year to see how I've done. And it's looking at it now that I see how little writing it down has helped. I achieved none of the resolutions I set at the start of 2011. Yet I do not feel it was a wasted year.

I did so much over 2011 and so much changed in my life. From graduating high school, starting university, getting my first actual job (other than some temporary stuff and babysitting, etc.), and figuring out what I want to do for a career and what to do to get there. Throughout the year I made decisions and I made changes in my life that I felt helped me along the way. Trying to be more active, drinking more water, trying to be healthier, trying to be more organized, and so on.

I've carried on with those decisions not because I decided to start them at the beginning of the year but because I started them when I was ready to make the commitment to those lifestyle choices.

So yes, the new year is always a good time for reflection, but do it throughout the year as well, and make the changes when you feel they are needed. You'll be a lot more successful that way.

My new year resolution is to keep doing what I've been starting over the past few months, trying to live healthier and happier.

DFTBA,

-Kim