I believe that it was October when I decided to make Pre New Year Resolutions in order to avoid overwhelming myself with a bunch of "impossible" resolutions. Everything was going well and then I got a job. Not just any job, one way out of my comfort zone that is proving to be more difficult than I ever thought possible: Kindergarten Teacher. Yup, I taught high school English for four and half years; this is my degree, this is where I feel most comfortable, this is the content where I get so excited I can't contain myself...this is where I am meant to be. Since the high school is no where near here, I must take what is offered to me and thank God for blessing me with new opportunities. I also believe that God needed a good laugh every now and then. I now have a ton of respect for elementary teachers; they deserve a raise and a bottle of Moscato. My husband pointed out the other day that I used to be obsessed with having babies and wanting to get pregnant right away, and now, I never even mention having children. This job opportunity shook up my schedule and my nerves, so it's time to do what everyone else in the world has done and make some resolutions.
The key to making resolutions, however, is to add little things on there that can actually happen. For instance, sometimes at night I fall asleep reading the Kindle without having washed off my daily makeup, leaving me all sorts of icky in the morning. My little resolution would be to wash my face before I pick up the Kindle...something that easy is possible. I have spoken with people who make these huge goals that intimidate the pants off SNL's Pat...and that's a difficult task because Pat does not go without pants. I am a believer in making short term goals in order to complete long term goals. I am also a believer that some people are all work and no play when they are making their resolutions. The most common thing I see on resolution lists is the idea of losing weight or working out or something of that nature. They, including myself, want a healthier lifestyle. You won't meet anyone who is more of a fan for that than me. But it takes a lot more than those two things (exercise and diet) to be healthy through and through.
I have learned that if I am not mentally healthy, I'll never be physically healthy, and that works on both spectrums. If I lay around on the couch while stuffing myself with Kit Kats and ice cream (that was my Christmas break) because I believe that I can't look any worse than I do right now but say it with a smile, I am accepting defeat and hurting myself more. If I run twelve miles everyday, lose 30 lbs, and eat only organic because I am too scared of looking in the mirror to see "fat Abigail," then I am being driven with negativity to reach my goals...not mentally healthy. The way we talk to ourselves when we look our best or our worst shows exactly how mentally healthy we really are. Again, baby steps, short term goals need to be made in order to reach that true level of happiness and personal acceptance. So you've been going to the gym all this past week; good for you! Are you rewarding yourself properly? Are you patting yourself on the back? Are you bragging about your accomplishments? Or are you staring at everything else you still have to do? Are you telling yourself that you could have tried harder? Are you beating yourself up because you missed a day or had too many calories? Again, you can look the part of being healthy without really being healthy. Do not cheat yourself out of these accomplishments.
I, too, have made resolutions to be a healthier me, but I have been a gym rat before and have still hated me to the core, so I want to be proactive and avoid that personal abuse. These are my resolutions to a happy, healthy brain:
I'm Fat
NO MORE SAYING I'M FAT. My husband and I have both decided to alleviate this from our vernacular. True, there are moments where I feel bloated and pudgy, but I don't need to announce it to the world. It doesn't help me, or those who are around me.
Gossip
This might seem unrelated, but negative comments and slurs can bring down your moral and hurt any chance of having a positive outlook. I am removing myself from conversation, only adding positive remarks, or totally switching subjects. It's not nice, and I won't have anything to do with it.
Write It Down
I just read recently that it is bad facebook manners to post your workouts, that it looks like you're bragging. Well, duh!!!! I am bragging! Even the fittest of fit persons has a right to be proud of a workout. If I do it, I'm going to tell someone. In fact, when I see on facebook that people are working out or making healthy decisions, I feel more apt to do it. So yeah, I will write down and document my journey. Take that facebook posting bullies.
Blessings
There is not a day that goes by that I don't count my blessings. I have so much on my plate that God has given me that I have no reason to be upset ever again in my life. I do get the teary eyes and the trembling chin when I get homesick, and on more than one thousand occasions do I miss teaching high school, but at the end of the day, I am blessed. God has provided me with so much that I will not ruin my days with complaining about stuff that I don't have or things that have gone wrong.
Smiling
I have started smiling in public all of the time. If I am walking down the hall, down the side walk, or I'm going down the elevator, I am smiling. If someone sees it, they smile back, and how can that not make your day?
Share the Love
I have started giving compliments to people even if I don't know them. I'm not doing it because I'm lying or just trying to be nice, but these are things I really think about, so that person should hear it. It usually makes them smile, and then it starts the whole domino effect of positivity.
Listening
I am a chronic interrupter, and it's usually because I get really excited that I know what the other person is talking about, but now I'm putting forth the effort to listen and just nod. I'm learning more about people, and this helps me to understand different concerns and frustrations that others may have, making me more sensitive to certain subjects.
I am a big fan of making 2012 the year of healthy decisions, but I am going to make sure that I cover every area. Life is too short, time is measured, and it's just too easy to get lost in the negativity that is around us. Embrace what you have, celebrate you, and smile...keep the dominos falling.
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