I Resolve...

I have had a hard time making resolutions this year.

I am really good at making resolutions. I am a professional at setting specific goals, outlining measurable steps to follow to reach those goals, setting incremental self-checks to measure my progress toward my goals.

I am not so good at actually reaching those goals, following the steps, holding myself accountable at the self-checks, or keeping the big picture in mind.

I am not a big picture person. I am a "get bogged down in the details" person. One who gets stuck thinking "If I can't get the whole house clean today, I am not even going to bother vacuuming the living room" or spends three hours making charts and checklists only to never use them, because who wants to have a visual reminder that I only got around to two of my thirteen steps today?

I have tried really specific goals such as "I will eat six servings of fruits and veggies daily", "I will read two chapters of scripture every day", or "I will engage in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise including jump rope, jogging, step aerobics, and cycling, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," or "I will clean my house from top to bottom every week". How did that work out? Big fat failure after just two weeks because I couldn't keep up with charts that included eating, exercising, reading, cleaning and more.

I have tried general goals such as "I will eat more fruits and veggies", "I will read my scriptures more often", or "I will exercise more and lose some weight" or "I am going to clean my house better this year." How did that work out? No idea- how much is more and better? And since I couldn't turn it into a chart or checklist and grade myself, I really had no interest in keeping track of how much more I was doing of anything.

What to do? I have no idea.

I guess I will go with a mix of general and specific and not make a chart and hold myself accountable to cyber-space. My biggest problem: narrowing down the long list to just a few.

1. Build a better body. Eat more veggies, eat less sugar, exercise more. Fit in old clothes again.
2. Wake up my brain. Read more books, take a class, complete projects, find a hobby. Take GRE.
3. Strengthen my spirit. Go to the temple, pay tithes and offerings, be a better visiting teacher, read Sunday lessons. Share my testimony.
4. Hug my heart. Take my medicine, connect with a friend or relative daily, date my husband, find alone time, be grateful. Be happy.
5. Hold a hand. Be a better mom by laughing more, worrying less, and having more fun. Serve others. Create order in chaos.

I suppose my last resolution should be to be on time. I am already behind on posting!