Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Focusing on Not Resolving.

For years I made resolutions with clear goals that I promptly failed at.  The primary reason for my failure was simple in all cases:  The goals were ridiculous.  One cannot expect to lose fifty pounds with no plan and especially not a plan that includes twice-weekly pizza.  One cannot expect to eliminate all processed foods from a household where the child refuses to eat homemade food.  One cannot expect to cook every single meal from scratch if one also has a job and aspirations in addition to the one to cook every single night from scratch.

So for 2012, I tried a different approach.  You can read last year's notes to self in lieu of resolutions here.  I think it's fair to say that I accomplished some of this, but not all.

For 2013, I'm going to try a new different approach.  Recently I made a Forty Things To Do Before I Turn Forty list.  Over the course of the next year, I'm going to work hard on this list.  I'm going to focus on adding the rest of the items to the list, because you'll notice that it's only up to 32.  Also, if you're really paying attention I made a slight change to one of the items.

They aren't resolutions or goals to be completed this year.  But I'm going to focus on working on these things because they will all bring me closer to the person I want to be. I have 3 years, 4 months and 23 days to accomplish these goals.  My intention is to post updates on the 24th of each month, since my birthday is on the 24th.  That's pretty clever, no?

So happy new year to all of you.  Thank you for all the love and support and friendship in 2012 and I'm looking forward to another year of The Journey.

In case you aren't interested in linking back to the old post, here's the 40 By 40 list so far.


1.  Run a 5k.
2.  Run a 10k.
3.  Run a half marathon.
4.  Lose 40 pounds.
5.  Make significant steps toward reducing animal products in my diet.
6.  Finish my memoir.
7.  Publish my memoir.
8.  Buy Long Term Care insurance.
9.  Visit with a financial planner and map out a goal for retirement.
10.  Create and utilize a budget.
11.  Read 50 books.
12.  Redesign my blog under my own domain name.
13.  Sort and organize my mother's belongings.
14.  Live a more minimalist lifestyle.
15.  Save enough money to purchase our next vehicle in cash.
16.  Attend another blogging conference.
17.  Eliminate my dependence on caffeine.
18.  Unplug for one full week.
19.  Get a paid writing job.
20.  Create a usable space in the home office.
21.  Bag, Board and Catalog comic/magazine collection.
22.  Organize CD collection.
23.  Organize DVD collection.
24.  Create usable living space in attic.
25.  Create usable living space in basement.
26.  Organize (digitize?) all old writings.
27.  Make go-bags for all family members.
28.  Create an emergency bin with supplies.
29.  Buy a really awesome, unnecessarily expensive pair of jeans that make my ass look amazing.
30.  Buy a killer dress - cocktail? ball gown?  I don't know.
31.  Go to some event that requires me to wear the aforementioned dress.
32.  Go zip-lining.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

8 comments:

  1. I totally need to do 21 & 26. I would like to do 29 - 32. Happy New Year!

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  2. Zip-lining is amazing! You will love it.

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    1. I feel like it's probably as close to flying as I'll ever get!

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  3. Don't just go zip-lining for the sake of it... make sure it's somewhere cool that is worth zip lining through. It was only okay where I went in Hawaii, since parts of the course were nothing special from a scenery standpoint. But it was amazing in the cloud forests in Costa Rica.

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    1. I don't see myself getting to Hawaii or Costa Rica any time soon though unfortunately.

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