2014 Resolutions

For the past 2 years, I have gone a bit overboard on Resolutions and that's ok. It made sense at the time. But this year, I want to cut back. Instead of 20 items, I'm only going to have 6. And very few are repeats. I have thought A LOT about them (as you'll soon see). With further ado, I give you my 2014 Resolutions.

2014 Resolutions

Project 365 (daily)

Background:

I plan on taking a photo every single day this year. This actually isn't a challenge. I took over 6,000 photos last year. However, I posted only a fraction of them. So part of the goal is to balance that out a bit. Plus, I have tried (and failed) for 2 years in a row to take a photography class, so I removed it from my Resolutions. Whether not I accomplish that this year or not, I hope there will be real improvement from the first photo to the last.

Challenge: First, I'm hoping to focus on ONE photo each day (instead of the hundreds I take of any one event). Second, my goal is to POST that photo. Every day, ideally. I may get behind from time to time, but hopefully not too far.

Thank You Cards (weekly)

Background:

I did this back in 2012, focusing on co-workers. It was amazing how my attitude changed at work. Every day, my thoughts were focused on finding somebody to be thankful for and then reminding myself of that person long enough to actually write the card. It really changed my heart. And it changed the hearts of my coworkers as they were being recognized. It felt special to get a card in their box. Sometimes it was for something that just happened ("thank you for helping me plan that lesson") and sometimes it was an overall appreciation ("thank you for all of the ways you make my life easier, including...") but I tried to be very specific. I left that job in the middle of the year and now I'm a substitute, which makes it hard to focus on coworkers since they change every day and I don't know any of their names. That's not to say I'm not thankful for the strangers who make subbing easier, but I thought it'd be good to expand the list. ALL people are now eligible - not just coworkers. Family, friends, church members, babysitters, mailmen, etc. It really shouldn't be hard to think of 52 people that I should be thankful for. It really helps me be less selfish, complain less and focus on the good. It also spreads joy, which is always a good idea.

Challenge: Write a thank you card (actual card, not text/fb msg, etc) to somebody - ANYBODY - every week with a specific thing I am thankful that they did.

Reach out to a friend (weekly)

Background:
When thinking of Resolutions, I try to focus on areas of my life that really need improvements. Areas where I say "Oh, I'm horrible at that" with regret and disappointment in my voice (as opposed to areas I suck in but couldn't care less about like backgammon). One of those areas that consumes my heart is being a friend. This is something I have struggled with for years. It used to be a self-esteem issue, where I thought I wasn't good enough to be somebody's friend. And that still plagues me a bit. But honestly, as with most things in life, the change I want to see must begin with me. I am the friend who moves away and stops talking to you. Because I only talk to people I see in person. And then I wonder why people don't keep in touch with me. And I don't have to live in a different city to not talk to people. There are plenty of "high-level" friends right here in my hometown that go through major life moments and I'm none-the-wiser. I have used social media as a crutch. "Oh yeah, I'm still friends with her. I read on her Facebook wall that she's now working here and they just went on vacation there" -- that's NOT real friendship or real contact.

Challenge: Making meaningful contact with a friend - whether in person through a "friend date" over coffee, or through a phone call or email - once a week. Unacceptable forms - texting, social media. (Basically, if it takes less than 30 minutes, it doesn't count.)

Goodwill Hunting (monthly)

Background:

I have been challenged to live minimally. This year, I have thought a lot about both gratitude and poverty. We have struggled A LOT financially and as soon as I start to complain, I realize just how selfish I sound: "Oh no, I've had to reduce my data plan on my iPhone" Basically any tweet that could have ended with #firstworldproblems was simply not tweeted. This helped me, especially as the year went on and ends really were hard to meet, to realize what was a true necessity and what wasn't. It also helped me realize how much I really had. It's hard to complain about not having money to buy work clothes and then complain about how messy and out of control my closet is. It just doesn't make sense. And I realize it was those very THINGS that made me broke in the first place. My materialism has gotten out of control and the people it effects the most are my babies who have SO many toys and clothes, that their closets and rooms are overflowing. I need to get rid of the things. I need to learn to live without them. What's more is that somebody else could benefit from them.

Challenge:

Once a month, go through my house and collect all the things - clothes, toys, whatever - that aren't absolutely necessary and give them to Goodwill. Don't just make a box that collects dust next to all the other things that collect dust, but actually drive to Goodwill and drop it off. 

20 Blog Posts

Background:

Alright, this one shows up over and over. And each year, I blog LESS. Here's the thing. It's not about the social-media of it. It's not for page-views and self-validation. It's because I'm a WRITER. All day long, I write. Except I don't. It starts in my head with this wonderfully written prose and then... ends there. When I write, actually put words down on the page, my heart comes out. That's why this blog isn't 140 characters. I am pouring out everything that's been burdening my head for far too long. And it hurts. The words build and build and build and it causes pain to keep them inside. But yet I do, and the words escape and I never find them again.  Thinking gives the words birth and a safe place to grow. But writing saves them, etches them in eternity.

Challenge:

Actually post. 20 times. It doesn't have to be daily, weekly, monthly. In fact, I could stay up all night and write 20 right now and be satisfied (except this one has already taken me like 2 hours... eek!). Because that's 20 blog entries that could stop trying to burrow themselves in my head before they're forgotten and find a permanent home elsewhere. 

10 Home Improvements 

Background:
I've lived in this house for a year and the only pictures on my wall is a photo collage I made 2 years ago. I'm still living out of boxes and the house looks just about every bit the same as it did when I moved in, despite my long, very specific list of all the things I wanted to do in EACH area of the house. Things as simple as "organize hall closet" or "hang wedding photos." There are big things on there like "paint living room" and "redo the walls downstairs." It can be big or small. Cheap or expensive (ok, realistically the majority will have to be very cheap while the expensive ones will be things forced on us, like "buy new dryer"). Whatever. It needs to get done.

Challenge:
I resolve to do at least 10 things to improve the overall look and/or livability of the house.