Happy New Year!

There is something empowering about New Year's Day, like anything is possible if I just start today. I'm still the same person I was yesterday. My socioeconomic status has not changed. My environment is pretty much the same, except our good neighbor used his new tractor to clear the knee-deep snow from our parking area and deposit it in a 5-foot pile on the lawn.

Everyone seems skeptical lately about New Year's resolutions, probably with good reason. But every year I have the feeling that THIS time, I will stick with the goals I make. I usually feel the thrill of success for a while. I make charts and graphs and detail my progress in my journal, which I vow to write in daily. Then somehow my real life intrudes on my ideal life and I abandon my grandiose ambitions and end up in the same old rut.

This year I am starting over again, but more realistically, I hope. For instance, I have set only three goals, instead of 15 or 20. I will record my progress, but not to the point that updating my charts and graphs consumes all my free time. A simple check mark on a calendar (or maybe a cute sticker) should be enough.

So to take it public, here are my goals for 2009 (so far).

I will read from the scriptures daily, probably each night before bed. But if the opportunity presents itself, I will read them in the morning or on my lunch break. I've done this before, sometimes for months without fail, but the habit is too easy to break. Life just seems to go better when I take the time to read God's word.

I will write every day, preferably for my current WIP, but I will give myself credit for journalling and blog posts. I have thought about recording word counts for the day, but that seems too close to the chart and graph territory.

I will record (honestly) what I eat every day. Notice I did not use the D word. I hate dieting. I've done at least three rounds with Weight Watchers, two with Diet Center. It all works, until I reach the screaming-with-frustration point. I don't like someone else telling me what I can and cannot do, and diet programs are no exception. And sometimes I just can't face another green leafy vegetable and I need a vacation. However, I have learned from WW and DC that simply paying attention to what I am eating and how much I am eating works for me. It circumvents mindless eating. I can go through half a bag of white corn tortilla chips in one sitting if I'm not paying attention. My real goal here is to take eating off autopilot and see what happens.

That's it so far. I've already earned two stickers today and I'm closing in on the third. I think I'll make it. Wish me luck.