Quote:
Originally Posted by Jillian Price
What's everyone's resolutions.
One of mine is to get in shape and start eating healthier.
How about you?
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At the risk of being called out for being a long-winded bastard...
New Years resolutions are great and all, but rarely are they effective. I do like to review where my life is and work on strategies for improving problem areas and maintaining others.
First some review of things from the recent past...
I've consistently dropped around 30lbs this last year and still tracking well on my fitness goals. I've managed to make some major lifestyle changes in the nutrition arena and overall I'm 56lbs from where I peaked. My body fat % has dropped dramatically, and I've converted somewhere around 20+ lbs of fat into muscle. I think I'm mostly in maintenance mode here, but I do need to tweak my exercise routine and deal with some lingering tennis elbow.
I've finally terminated the last truly toxic relationship and quickly terminated or simply declined to get to far into a few others. This year, social needs are a focus and it is time to let a few things play out and spend some more introspection on defining what exactly will meet my needs and continuing to refine my approach to meeting those needs. Traditional hobbying has taken a large nosedive in favor of other venues and there are some lessons that need to be considered and applied across the board.
A good time to re-read, Boundaries. While there is a religion bent to it, the value of the points it brings up about owning what is yours is very pertinent.
http://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Whe...rds=boundaries
Another that ties in very well with the theme: Codependent No more
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...nt%20no%20more
The emphasis on owning your stuff and letting others own what is there is very valuable.
Both were helpful while dealing with some toxic relationships and I think there may be additional value gleaned from the information and views from the perspective of not being in that mode now. It's not just enough to make it through something, but learning how to avoid it in the future is crucial.
I suspect I'll either get into writing a journal again, or continue the catharsis I've started on this board. The thread about hobby perspective has been both a relief and given me new fodder for introspection.
Smoking remains an issue and I'll have to turn serious attention to removing that vice. Both smoking and hobbying have formed my escapes from stress and boredom and neither are truly getting the job done, let alone the negative effects on other areas of my life. It is the classic trap of a mechanism that had some use initially becoming more a habit and it's time to find other things.
Recent forays into both sugar and civilian dating have not yielded the results I've been seeking. There is obviously still more work to be done after some introspection. I do have one likely situation that I'm hopeful will work out well and provide at least a good holding point so I can let go and achieve some other goals, and a few other things in the pipeline that I'll let play out as needed, but should things not be lined up as needed by the end of this month, it will be time to pull in the horns and absorb the lessons learned before making another large effort in this area.
There are some definite financial goals that simply must have progress, regardless of other issues. While the overall financial picture is good and stable, the lack of return on investment for my efforts in meeting other needs has simply convinced me that in the end, it is better to get at least these needs met rather than trying to chase after something that just isn't there yet and expend resources I can use better in efforts that are not getting the job done.
The professional picture is good. Though I have to place a better emphasis on vacation and down time. The last quarter of the year, and the year in general was littered with too much stress and it's time to refocus and stop beating my head against certain brick walls.
The following books have been very instrumental in helping to understand on a higher level how people make decisions in life and will eventually warrant a re-read. IMO, everyone should read them:
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psyc...ords=influence
Thinking Fast and Slow
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Kahne...+fast+and+slow
2014 New Years resolutions!
