New Year, New You - Making Goals

We're almost a week into 2013, but if I've always been a firm believer in setting goals no matter what day it happens to be - not just January the 1st. It would make more sense to call these resolutions, but I always feel negativity towards setting resolutions because I feel like many people associate it with failure. "I'm going to exercise everyday and not spend a single dime on fast food!" And before you know it... it's your third day of laying on your couch ordering takeout... or is that just me? Either way, I have some goals to share today! These goals were inspired by a youtube video I watched [here]. Nikki focuses on resolutions on making her happier in January. I think it's evident that most resolutions are made to reach one goal - happiness. I found myself in a rut towards the second half of 2012, and there really is no way out unless you're committed to changing yourself and the way you see the world and yourself. Remember, you can't control your circumstances, but you can control how you react to them.

To be a little bit more organized, I split my goals up into categories, and broke those categories down into smaller goals, eventually leading up to the big goal. This way, you start small and you aren't immediately setting yourself up for failure.   

"The reason that eating well can make you feel happy, is because when your body's nutritional needs are met, you're not as likely to feel as down. A lot of times people can feel sad, or moody or groggy because of the food their ingesting" - Your body is a true reflection of your health, and I've definitely been noticing how true that statement is as I've seen how my body has grown over the past few years. 

• Register for one run this year
• Drink fresh juice at least 5x/week, eventually every morning
• Start doing workout videos again (10 min. daily for January)
• Get my abs back by developing a steady ab routine and working on my posture
• Get back to my comfortable weight pre-holiday season with healthier choices

Keep your environment clean and happy.

• Take 10 minutes each night to clean/organize anything in my room
• Hang up my clothes immediately after they're washed (this is a tough one)
• Makeover my bedroom (this might have to wait until summertime)
• Massive sweep/organization/clean up of my room (in progress!!)

• BLOG MORE! I always put this one on the side. I'm starting with 2 blog posts each week (I made a schedule!!) and the occasional Friday post
• Find a blog layout that I actually like and want to stick with
• *Possibly* find a new job in the summer - possibly because I like my job, I'm just a bit bored after working there for 2.5 years
• School - stay on top of things. I have 5 classes and I need to get my GPA up. I also need to figure out if I want to stay in my program after this semester - there is a lot to think about
• Start doing artistic things again - painting, drawing, sketching - you name it
• BAKE MORE! guys, I love baking, I just always put it aside and do other unproductive things instead. I'm taking a cake decorating class in March, so that should be fun!
• Film youtube videos!! I've wanted to start this for a few years.. after I deleted my last channel a few years ago. If I kept that channel, I know I would have reached a huge subscriber base by now (I'm not saying that in a conceited way - youtube has grown so much). First step.. buy a video camera, because my DSLR doesn't film very well (it stops filming after too much movement)

• Read the bible from start to finish, reading each night before bed, and reflect on it each night
• Stop sweating the small stuff and stop thinking/analyzing everything SO much 

So there we have it. Quite a work heavy post, but I'm glad I broke everything down into categories so I can start by focusing on the smaller stuff, eventually achieving the 'bigger picture' goals. Kudos to you if you read to this point!

Food for thought:

"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” - Benjamin Franklin

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.” - Roy Goodman

"It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” - Vince Lombardi

Q: What are your thoughts on resolutions/goals? Did you make any this year?