Resolved

Posted by Meg January 02, 2015

Resolved

Found this fabulous picture of my grandparents partying on NYE.
They are the cuties sitting next to the front most couple on the left.
Grandpa has a curly thing shadowing his face.

Happy 2015 folks! New Year's Eve is by far one of my favorite days of the year. I certainly don't belong to the camp of people who think resolutions are all bunk and it is just another day. I love the feeling of getting a fresh start and 12 brand new months of opportunity. I sorta feel like this on my birthday too. So usually I get some resolutions in January and again in April.

Last year was the first year I did not ever meet my resolution. Even though I am slightly disappointed I think that is a pretty good track record. But I'm ready to get back to it with 2015. It's funny, I've never made a book related resolution despite my world being surrounded by books. I guess this year's resolution could involve books.

I strongly believe that a good resolution, or any goal for that matter, has to be motivating while also achievable. (This would be a big reason why I failed last year.) I cringe when I hear people say they are going to give up everything, learn a new language, lose 45 pounds, and write a best-selling novel...all in one year. There is no point in making a goal that you can't work on. To feel successful you need to be a little reasonable. Could someone achieve all those things? Yep. But not this girl. I know what I can do. I try to push myself just a little beyond comfort to make the success feel good but never too much to guarantee failure. (Side note: In education we call this the "zone of proximal development." It makes so much sense.)

My resolution? To do things better. I am sort of copying this from my school. I work in a school that is constantly trying new programs and new ways of teaching. However, at the beginning of this year we decided not to try any new initiatives, just to get better at the ones we already have. A few years ago I resolved to do 60 new things. I've moved a whole, whole bunch. This year, I want to take what I already have started in my life and just do it better. This is open-ended enough to get a lot of things done or just a few, either way I will be successful! I also think this will help my mindset for the year. One of my favorite side effects of the 60 new things was that when I was presented with an option to try something new I just did it. I became more open to doing more things. I am hoping that this resolution has a similar effect. That even if it isn't on the list below, when I do something I try and do it better than I would have before.

Here are some ideas. I probably won't do them all but I think I might try a couple.
1. Get better at the guitar. (I have owned a guitar for 15 years and my repertoire includes Froggy Went A Courtin' and angsty Jewel songs.)
2. Get better at languages. (I have taken enough Spanish to get me started but not enough to hold a conversation.)
3. Get better at knitting. (Maybe I will actually push myself to try something more complicated than stuff for babies.)
4. Get better at yoga. (This is so good for me. But I always do it in fits and bursts. Working on it would be sooooo good for me.)
5. Get better at writing. (Seriously, my dream has always been to be a writer. Maybe I'll start writing every day.)
6. Get better at drawing. (Yikes! Took my first art class this past summer and it was heart wrenching. But maybe it is time to push myself!)

So there you have it. I'm going to get better at stuff in 2015. What about you? Do you have resolutions or do you scoff at them? Did you make a bookish resolution??

Either way, I hope your 2015 has started out fantastically!