It's on, 2014!

Here I am.  I’m ready.  I’m showing up for 2014. 

It’s January, dearies … JANUARY!  2013 snuck out the back door real quiet and quick-like. 

I threw a handful of seeds into the air late last year.  Now, I suppose, it’s time to start cultivating and propagating.  I am feeling a great sense of possibility on the chilly January winds.  Do you sense it, too?

Okay, so I know I owe you some reporting on my Spanish adventure, and I do still plan to get to that before too long.  But, right now, I’m feeling like I need to take a few moments to clear my head and get a little organized.  And it being January and all, I’m going to participate, once again, in the age-old tradition of resolution setting.  Just as last year, I plan to use these resolutions as motivations for living a more fulfilling life.  I do not see resolutions as immutable commands.  It is not my intention to set up a minefield of self-shaming opportunities.  Rather, I am using my resolutions as inspirational guideposts – cheerleaders, if you will – to remind me that I am awesome and I deserve to be living an awesome life. 

First, let’s take a moment to revisit last year’s resolutions.  And while I was a little unconventional last year and tried a few different avenues for expressing some resolution-type growth, these were the most concrete resolutions that emerged:

1.  Meditate daily (minimum of 5 minutes)

2.  Yoga practice daily (minimum of 15 minutes)

3.  Eat clean.  (No emotional feeding.  Real planned meals.)

4.  Do something creative every week

5.  Drink 4 liters water daily

So, how’d I do?  Well, not too badly, I’m pleased to report.  No, I didn’t follow these perfectly.  Yes, there is still a great deal of room for improvement.  But am I happy with my progress?  Absolutely!

In fact, my current resolutions will reflect a very similar (and in some instances, identical) ideology.  What are my resolutions for 2014, you ask?  Well, here’s what they look like at present:

1.  Organize home and life.

2.  Treat myself to an elimination diet during the month of February.  Then adjust everyday diet accordingly to eat for optimal health and not for emotional reasons. 

3. Get moving!  Exercise regularly and joyously.

4. Do something creative every week.  Make actual artist dates a la The Artist’s Way.  Have some kind of finished project to show for your efforts at least once a month.

5. Cultivate a meditation practice.

6.  Give myself days off of work and don’t work on those days!

7.  Save some money.  (Yes, I have more specific parameters set out for this one, but I’m keeping them private.  A girl’s gotta have some mystery.)

8.  Be more social.

9.  Make room for some kind of Self care every week.

10. Volunteer at least once a month.

11.  Try something new at least once a month.

12.  Cultivate spiritual practice and attune to Nature by observing Wheel of the Year, Esbats (full moons) and Astors (dark/new moons).

Savvy readers may have noticed that there are twelve resolutions to represent the twelve months of the year.  I suspect I will be working on many of these simultaneously throughout the year.  (In fact, I’m already working with several of them!)  However, I’m setting it up this way so that if things become a little overwhelming during any part of the year, I can choose to simply focus on the one resolution that corresponds to that month until I feel it is mastered and then can move on to the next.  I’m really looking forward to making these resolutions actualities.  I will try to start each month by writing a little about my intentions surrounding that month’s resolution – a little introduction of sorts.  Then as the month progresses, I hope to check in with progress reports and notes.  Should life get hectic, I will at least try to sum up my experiences of the previous month’s work as I introduce the new month’s intentions.  (It’s good to be realistic sometimes, right?)

And since January is (gasp!) nearly spent, let me introduce and update Resolution no. 1.

RESOLUTION no. 1:  ORGANIZE HOME AND LIFE.

This resolution was as much a side effect of my recent move as it was a conscious decision.  And, as unpleasant as the act of moving was – especially during the holiday season, I feel like the change in location and perspective has allowed me somehow to regain control over my life in a way that has been eluding me for years.  Yay and hooray!  So I moved from a vintage little duplex apartment (that’s the polite phrasing) into a shiny spacious loft apartment on the edge of downtown.  Needless to say, most of my sweet vintage shabby chic furnishings and decor were completely unsuited to my new living space.  What’s a girl to do when that happens except, well, get new furnishings and décor, and get creative so it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  Thank goodness for IKEA!  Redecorating my home as I unpack it has almost forced me to consider new avenues of organization.  The Virgo in me, of course, LOVES doing this.  The house is coming along nicely, if a little slowly, but I have always been a big believer in the “slow and steady wins the race” philosophy, so I feel like it’s all good in the new ‘hood. 

So, that’s home covered, but what about life?  Well, I should confess that I am very sensitive to my environment.  And when my home environment is chaos, my life is chaos.  When home is organized, life is much more organized.  So, I’m already halfway there.  Taking the time to actually construct my resolutions list gets me even more organized by giving me some concrete ways to start working on lifestyle changes.  And I’ve been updating my calendars to reflect these resolutions so I don’t accidentally (or subconsciously) manage to overbook myself.  (As many of you know, over-scheduling is a constant struggle for me.)   Et voila!  My life’s getting more organized already.  By implementing a structure for positive change, I feel like it will be easier to enact that change and hold myself accountable. 

How do you get organized?  Or do you?  If you have any good organizational tips, suggestions, or things to say about organization, resolutions, or life, in general, please leave a comment.  I’d love to know I’m not in this alone!

Happy 2014 everyone!

xoxo,

Melanie

NEWS:  I was just asked to rejoin the Resolution Revamp blog, so that is where I will be writing about my resolution progress.  I will link from here for those who are interested, but it's a great read headed by my friend, Erin, who is one of the most interesting and inspirational people I know, so I highly recommend spending some time over there.