Resolutions

It's nearly a month into the new year of 2014 and it's likely many of you have already started your resolutions of saving more, going to the gym, or eating healthier- to name but a few popular resolutions. On the other hand, there are others -you know who you are- that started the new year with gusto: new gym membership and tons of fitness apps to keep you motivated, but somehow find yourself to be more acquainted with  the cast of your favorite television program than your gym trainer. In previous years I'd choose a resolution, usually to save money, and at the end of the year realize I'd not made much progress from the year before. I mean, if I had been adept at "saving money" over the past 5 years, I'd probably have my student loans payed off already. So this year, I decided to try something new- and so far it's too early to say if it's worked, but I figure ,"why stick with something I know doesn't work"? If you' found that you've already fallen off of your resolution bandwagon or are beginning to slip perhaps you can join in my "resolve not to resolve" experiment.

On New Years day I woke up early and convinced myself that although I hadn't decided on an "official" new year resolution yet, staying active and fit was probably good idea. And I rationalized that although I'd rather stay in bed under the cover,  if I couldn't muster the motivation to get up and get out on the first day of the new year, there was no way I was going to make the commitment last all year. As  it turned out, I was one of many who stepped out into the "practically sub-tropical temperatures"and flocked to the running trails surrounding suburban Seattle hoping to get a head start on living a healthier 2014- or, as I joked to my mother, "we were going to run feet first into the new year". Each time I met a fellow runner, cyclist or walker we would exchange smiles or words of encouragement, the mixture of physical exertion and consistent salutations meant that about 1 mile into my jog I was already reeling from a slight deficiency in oxygen. New years day is probably the only time of the year that the I-90 bridge is more congested with foot (and bike) traffic than automobiles. Because of course, just as I have been slacking and finding reasons to postpone exercising post-new year's day, so too have many of the other families that crowded the running paths early on January 1st.

Quitting or shall I say forgetting -none of us are really quitters at heart -a  resolution has become just as much, if not more so, of a tradition within our society as the act of picking and making a New Year resolution. In part, this is why I haven't really decided on what I want to resolve to do this year. If I can't stick to a resolution, is there really any reason to make one?  Instead, I've identified areas in my life that I'd like to improve on, which don't necessarily require building a new habit or breaking an old habit, because I believe that these are impediments to maintaining a sustainable new year's  resolution.

1. Become more in touch with my interests:  Like many other twenty-somethings I've found myself facing a "quarter life crisis" because I thought I'd be doing xyz career, be at xyz point in my life,  xyz etc., and I'm not. I'm not even too sure exactly what I want to pursue as a career. So I decided instead of resolving to do something in particular, I'm really just going to figure out what I like doing, and do it.
Steps I've taken: I've set aside time (about 1 hour a day) to pursue my interests and made a "hobby list" of sorts I don't have to do all every day/week/month but I make sure that I do at least one of them 1 hour a day (or more, if I'm enjoying what I'm doing). Some of the "hobbies" I've been pursuing include: exercising, writing, improving my french, reading, and attempting to master Indesign and Photoshop.

2. Identifying Excess and Trimming the Fat: This started as my tried and not so true "save money" resolution, but I wanted to think about how I could make spendings and savings observable and I've actually started applying this to other segments of my life: i.e., use of time, food habits, etc. Note: if you're not into micro-management, then this probably isn't something you will enjoy.
Steps I've taken: In order to observe my spending I started by actually utilizing the checkbook that my credit union gave me when I opened my new bank account. *At the end of the day I update my check book an identify what was frivolous spending and aim to reduce or cut needless costs. I also evaluate purchases on a need vs. want, usually comparing it to my student loans. (I have 3 coats, do I really need to get another one...or do I need to make that student loan payment this month. hint :student loan payment always wins). I've also used this method as a way to attempt to utilize my time better. It seems like everyone complains there isn't enough time in the day, so at the end of the day I think about what I've accomplished for the day and look for where I've wasted time. Commutes (via train) to/from work are now used to listen to french lessons, staying in touch with friends, read a book or watching an episode of SVU (vs. marathoning episodes when I get home).

3. Get out of my comfort zone, but only to the point that it's still fairly comfortable: I want to feel more comfortable networking/having small talk/ and just feeling confident talking to other people. I'm a natural introvert and having spent the past 2 years living in the Japanese countryside has exaggerated this trait. Instead of ploughing head first into speaking in front of crowds, rushing out to make new friends, etc. which would likely fail, because for me that's as natural as walking around backwards, I'm working on small transitions. I'm learning to share my random thoughts and  opinions with my co-workers instead of keeping them to myself. A lot of the time I sound a little disjointed- because I'm not used to vocalizing weird tidbits, but I'm slowly getting better at small talk. Wether you're goal is to eat healthier or be more social, remember that you need to start within your comfort zone. Not ready to give up eating cookies or treats or bacon, that's fine. Just aim to moderate (Identify excess and trim the fat).

4. And my one solid goal: Get a job that is more challenging/meaningful than I'm already doing.
So far this hasn't been going so well. I've sent out tonnes of resumes from Dec-now and so far no substantial leads...my non concrete resolutions are definitely seeing more progress than this concrete resolution. (another reason I'm currently a believer in non conventional resolutions).

Alright. I'm hoping to that with this post I will somewhat manage to revive this blog. Hopefully I'll be posting some of my not yet posted photos from Japan, and just start exploring my interests in writing.

We'll see how this goes. Let's resolve to not resolve!

Keri