2016 Resolutions

I have been giving my 2016 Resolutions a lot of thought. My 2014 goals were very concrete, and at times overwhelming. My 2015 goals were very loose and harder to quantify. A week into 2016 and I don't know what I want to make as my goals.

Ashley decided to repeat "don't be mean in 2015," but with this year. Don is being even less firm in his goals.

I would like 2016 to be a year of change for me. Unfortunately I have no idea what that means. I have started meeting with a Spiritual Adviser (a Presbyterian minister) to help discern God's will for my life instead of my will or the will of the secular world. The sessions have been very enlightening and encouraging.

This will be a year of change for Ashley. She will graduate from her K-8 school and go to an as of yet undetermined high school. Scary. This is practice for college applications.

I am making baby steps towards creating a memoir writing business. This is the spark I keep returning to in my life. The one idea that makes me excited about working.

In the meantime, I want to cut things from my life that are energy drains. The two that come to mind immediately are ending my Ava Anderson Non-Toxic business and ceasing meeting with the librarian group. If life takes me back in either of those directions again I can go return, but for now they are not bringing me joy. Not to say that everything you do in life must bring you joy, but when volunteering, the activity should give you more joy than stress or grief.

Some goals for the year:

1) Use our china more often. Since I don't think I used it once last year, that

should be a fairly easy goal. We already used it last weekend to celebrate Don and my Dad's birthdays.

2) Keep off of medicine, or rather stay healthy. Sad how that used to be a given in life and now it has to be a stated goal.

3) Have monthly "Workers Without Offices" lunches, and more frequent Ladies Nights Outs with the former playgroup moms. I need to connect more with others in order to grow and thrive.

4) Make my bed every day. So far I'm up to week two being successful with this goal, even though no one in my life has noticed. This started when I read an article about 50 Ways Happier, Healthier, and More Successful People Live. I don't personally agree with all of the ideas, but that is a simple one to add into my life.

5) Do what it takes to legally set up my memoir business and seek clients. 
5a) Name this business. I'm thinking about "Everyone Has a Story." 

6) Find a way to give back to the community that speaks to me. I recently interviewed a woman for the local paper who reminded me about the importance of giving back. A couple of years ago I took a step back from volunteering to focus on finding paid work. I was tired of volunteering for free only when jobs became available they went to someone else. Perhaps it is time to return to volunteering.

7) Spend more time with friends and family.

8) Make a major change, even if it is scary.

9) Run races only between 5 and 10 miles (8ks are close enough to count). 

10) Leave my comfort zone on a regular basis. This is based on Lu Ann Cahn's book and blog "I Dare Me."

11) Have one car-free day a week, or at least a month. I might need to ride my bicycle more often, rather than becoming a hermit, to make this happen since there are not any stores walking distance from our home. A more realistic goal might be once a month.

12) Have one day a week (again, maybe once a month is more realistic) where I do not spend any money. This includes on-line shopping, cash, credit cards, etc. This, too, is harder than it sounds. I had a day last November I almost succeeded in not spending any money, then I went into Trenton for a quick errand and put a quarter in the meter. I try to consolidate my errands to Mondays, but there are many other ways to spend money.

Goals I am contemplating, even though I feel they are setting me up for failure:
a) Wash dishes after each meal

b) Honoring Sundays as the Sabbath by taking Sundays off from Social Media (i.e., Facebook) and work, and moving towards staying off of email and electronics on Sunday. As I finish typing this on a Sunday, you can tell I have a ways to go with this goal.