Are you sick of reading blog posts full of resolutions for 2012? If so, you're in luck, because this isn't one.
Last year I set 6 goals for myself, and I did pretty well with them for the most part. They're all things that I'll continue to be mindful of in a general sense, but nothing's getting added to the list for 2012. Does anyone else feel like 2012 is going to be infinitely better than 2011, but in a challenging, exciting way that just might sneak up on you if you're not careful?
So, instead of listing new items to tackle, new things to improve, new brass rings to reach for, I'm going to take a deep breath and let some stuff go. These are the things I've given myself permission not to worry about. They're admirable goals for many, and I'm sure they would be rewarding and wonderful and bring much joy to my life, but I have to be realistic about what I can and can't fit into my life. Here's what just doesn't make the cut:
- I'm not a voracious reader. There, I said it. I can't remember the last time I read a novel. Slowly chipping away at about one work of nonfiction per month, on a topic that will help me in other areas of my life, is all I can do these days.
- I don't volunteer my time anywhere. If I didn't need sleep and thusly had an extra eight hours a day, sure, this is where some of that time would probably go. But I do need my sleep, and I have barely enough time for the things I want to accomplish in my own household. Whatever good karma I pick up from being friendly and holding doors open for strangers will have to be enough.
- I will not open an adorable etsy shop to sell handmade items. This one was a close call -- while I was churning out christmas tree ornaments (miniature mittens!) last month to give to family members, my mind started to wander to that very dangerous place where I weigh the value of my time against how long it takes to knit a mitten the size of a tablespoon. No. Knitting is fun, not a chore. Let's keep it that way, self.
- I don't do yoga. For the past three years I've had the opportunity to try yoga classes for free (thanks to one of the vouchers in this awesome local publication) and still it hasn't happened. If that isn't a sign, I don't know what is. Give me a treadmill and angry music in my headphones, thank you very much.
- ... That being said, I will never run a road race of a distance longer than a 10k. It would be great to be able to say I've run a marathon or a half-marathon, but it's not in the cards. Yes, this means I won't get to put a 26.2 or a 13.1 sticker on my car. It's ok.
I think by focusing on what's realistic and not letting myself be dragged down by guilt about what's not, I'll be able to accomplish a lot more overall. Right? Right. Either way, my shoulders feel so much better with less weight on them.
Showing posts with label confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label confidence. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Two
Yes, Part Two. For more on what the Copycat Project is all about, read Part One here.
A Practical Wedding has plenty of readers, so the paltry handful I might steer their way is sure to be a drop in the proverbial bucket in terms of a benefit to Meg, the driving force behind APW. But to the paltry handful themselves, I suspect the benefit will be substantial. I mean really, when has reading intelligent, confident (and witty!) posts that remind you that you're awesome and that anyone saying otherwise is insignificant -- when has that not been beneficial for you? Never? Ok then, go read.
I was prompted to use A Practical Wedding as my second Copycat blog when one of the anchors of the morning news (yes, I know, calling it "news" is a bit of a stretch) said this about the upcoming nuptials of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton:
"... he'll have no input on the dress, of course."
*record scratch*
What's this, now? If the bride- and groom-to-be have decided that she'll be choosing her dress independent of all opinions he may have, that's fine. More power to 'em. That's totally their call. The assumptions, though -- and forgive me, but I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that Ann Curry hasn't popped in for tea and chatted with the happy couple about their wedding planning philosophy -- are what get under my skin: that of course the groom has no interest in what the dress will look like, and everyone knows that men are useless when it comes to weddings, and obviously, even if he did have some thoughts on elaborate dress vs. simple dress, his opinion doesn't matter because hers is the one that counts. Because she's the briiide.
Even with all the sarcasm, it still sort of gave me the heebie-jeebies just typing that. Who's with me?
A Practical Wedding has plenty of readers, so the paltry handful I might steer their way is sure to be a drop in the proverbial bucket in terms of a benefit to Meg, the driving force behind APW. But to the paltry handful themselves, I suspect the benefit will be substantial. I mean really, when has reading intelligent, confident (and witty!) posts that remind you that you're awesome and that anyone saying otherwise is insignificant -- when has that not been beneficial for you? Never? Ok then, go read.
I was prompted to use A Practical Wedding as my second Copycat blog when one of the anchors of the morning news (yes, I know, calling it "news" is a bit of a stretch) said this about the upcoming nuptials of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton:
"... he'll have no input on the dress, of course."
*record scratch*
What's this, now? If the bride- and groom-to-be have decided that she'll be choosing her dress independent of all opinions he may have, that's fine. More power to 'em. That's totally their call. The assumptions, though -- and forgive me, but I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that Ann Curry hasn't popped in for tea and chatted with the happy couple about their wedding planning philosophy -- are what get under my skin: that of course the groom has no interest in what the dress will look like, and everyone knows that men are useless when it comes to weddings, and obviously, even if he did have some thoughts on elaborate dress vs. simple dress, his opinion doesn't matter because hers is the one that counts. Because she's the briiide.
Even with all the sarcasm, it still sort of gave me the heebie-jeebies just typing that. Who's with me?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I AM A COOL GIRL
Meg over at A Practical Wedding says so.
(Or said so, back in November, if you want to be particular about it. I've been holding off on sharing this so as not to be all-wedding-all-the-time. You're welcome.)
Anyway, even though it's presented in the context of weddings, everyone should go and read Meg's awesome diatribe on confidence and authenticity. It's a great reminder around here as we get into the real planning stage of the process (stumbling across the perfect dress and saying that we'll compile our own music at some point between now and September are not necessarily what I'd call "real planning") that whatever decisions we make will be the right ones simply by virtue of the fact that we made them.
And, to take it a step further, it's a great reminder to take pride in all aspects of your life that have been arrived at with joy and purpose. I'm not making any Resolutions-with-a-capital-R for this new year, but if you are and you'd like to use that one, go right ahead.
But yeah, Meg's more articulate than I am on the subject, so click on over there and read and get all fired up and empowered. (She's also a little more, shall we say, edgy with the language, so if you've got shy and retiring sensibilities -- or literate kiddos near the computer -- be careful.)
(Or said so, back in November, if you want to be particular about it. I've been holding off on sharing this so as not to be all-wedding-all-the-time. You're welcome.)
Anyway, even though it's presented in the context of weddings, everyone should go and read Meg's awesome diatribe on confidence and authenticity. It's a great reminder around here as we get into the real planning stage of the process (stumbling across the perfect dress and saying that we'll compile our own music at some point between now and September are not necessarily what I'd call "real planning") that whatever decisions we make will be the right ones simply by virtue of the fact that we made them.
And, to take it a step further, it's a great reminder to take pride in all aspects of your life that have been arrived at with joy and purpose. I'm not making any Resolutions-with-a-capital-R for this new year, but if you are and you'd like to use that one, go right ahead.
But yeah, Meg's more articulate than I am on the subject, so click on over there and read and get all fired up and empowered. (She's also a little more, shall we say, edgy with the language, so if you've got shy and retiring sensibilities -- or literate kiddos near the computer -- be careful.)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
30 Rock is Dead to Me Now
I've never been a big fan, actually. Its lead-in, The Office, is a favorite for sure, but I've never gotten into the 30 Rock thing. Today, I will stop trying to appreciate the quirkiness and instead accept the fact that perhaps I'm not trendy-nerdy enough to *get* it. The writers crossed a line that's near and dear to my heart, and thusly I have given up on them entirely.
One of the characters, with not nearly enough -- or any, really -- sarcasm, just slung at Tina Fey's character a scathing insult: "big-hipped." We're talking about Tina Fey here, who is my height and who used to weigh what I weigh, then "hit it big" and proceeded to lose thirty pounds. The woman is not, by any definition, "big-hipped." Thanks, 30 Rock writers, for contributing to the ridiculousness that is our culture's body type expectation. And for making it acceptable to use disparaging body image comments in nonchalant banter. I am not impressed.
Roar.
One of the characters, with not nearly enough -- or any, really -- sarcasm, just slung at Tina Fey's character a scathing insult: "big-hipped." We're talking about Tina Fey here, who is my height and who used to weigh what I weigh, then "hit it big" and proceeded to lose thirty pounds. The woman is not, by any definition, "big-hipped." Thanks, 30 Rock writers, for contributing to the ridiculousness that is our culture's body type expectation. And for making it acceptable to use disparaging body image comments in nonchalant banter. I am not impressed.
Roar.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
On Nutrition and Mindfulness
I've been mulling and contemplating and gearing up to try to begin to modify the way I think about food. Hmm, tentative much?
As a caveat, I'd like to state up front that this is not a lose-weight-before-the-wedding endeavor. I could gain ten pounds in the next year-and-a-bit, and The Future Mister would still find me gorgeous, I'd still have a fantastic dress and awesome hair, and enough beautifying happiness radiating out of my very pores to knock you over from twenty paces, thank you very much. If I happen to be ten pounds lighter on my wedding day, it'll be a byproduct of a healthier approach to life overall, not some specific effort to fit in a dress or an internal, theoretical idea of what a bride "should" look like.
With that rant out of the way, I'll add that what this is about is a realization that I've been commenting way too often lately that my stomach is "wonky" or "feeling 'off'" or just "meh." I suspect I'd have more energy and motivation to do the myriad of things I need to do every week if I wasn't unconsciously spending part of my energy on tummy woes. And, hey, who wouldn't love to have less discomfort of any variety if that's an option?
Obviously, there are a whole bunch of ways to start rethinking about nutrition, and I think for now I've narrowed it down using a process of elimination. A friend was talking recently about juice fasting, and I'm a little (or a lot) wary of that. I'm unsure how beneficial or harmful it might be to limit one's food intake to broth and juice for three (or however many) days. I've just got a gut feeling (heh, cue the rimshot) that this isn't what I should do.
I'm less concerned about the advisability of avoiding certain types of possible culprit foods. Dairy, gluten, that sort of thing. I don't think this would be unhealthy -- as long as I take some "fake" calcium, for instance -- but I'm ruling this one out too because, honestly, I just plain like those foods, and I'm choosing to be stubborn and keep eating them for now. Why take the overzealous step of banishing bread and cheese from my diet on pure speculation? That would border on tragic, methinks.
So. What I've decided to do in the meantime is to pay attention to what I consume in established nutrition categories. Namely: sodium, sugar, and saturated fat. I've never paid much attention to them in the past; I avoid them as a matter of general mindset, and I don't eat a lot of processed foods as it is, but I'm sure there's some of each lurking where I wouldn't expect it. There's no question that less of each is preferable, so I figure now is the time to start paying attention, assessing what I consume as a matter of habit, and making improvements moving forward. I'm guessing (or hoping? speculating?) that in making those changes, my overall food intake will be higher quality nutrition. If that, the path of least resistance, happens to resolve my low-level but relatively constant stomach wonkiness, so much the better.
And in a few weeks, I should be able to incorporate some uber-healthy sustenance straight from the garden!
As a caveat, I'd like to state up front that this is not a lose-weight-before-the-wedding endeavor. I could gain ten pounds in the next year-and-a-bit, and The Future Mister would still find me gorgeous, I'd still have a fantastic dress and awesome hair, and enough beautifying happiness radiating out of my very pores to knock you over from twenty paces, thank you very much. If I happen to be ten pounds lighter on my wedding day, it'll be a byproduct of a healthier approach to life overall, not some specific effort to fit in a dress or an internal, theoretical idea of what a bride "should" look like.
With that rant out of the way, I'll add that what this is about is a realization that I've been commenting way too often lately that my stomach is "wonky" or "feeling 'off'" or just "meh." I suspect I'd have more energy and motivation to do the myriad of things I need to do every week if I wasn't unconsciously spending part of my energy on tummy woes. And, hey, who wouldn't love to have less discomfort of any variety if that's an option?
Obviously, there are a whole bunch of ways to start rethinking about nutrition, and I think for now I've narrowed it down using a process of elimination. A friend was talking recently about juice fasting, and I'm a little (or a lot) wary of that. I'm unsure how beneficial or harmful it might be to limit one's food intake to broth and juice for three (or however many) days. I've just got a gut feeling (heh, cue the rimshot) that this isn't what I should do.
I'm less concerned about the advisability of avoiding certain types of possible culprit foods. Dairy, gluten, that sort of thing. I don't think this would be unhealthy -- as long as I take some "fake" calcium, for instance -- but I'm ruling this one out too because, honestly, I just plain like those foods, and I'm choosing to be stubborn and keep eating them for now. Why take the overzealous step of banishing bread and cheese from my diet on pure speculation? That would border on tragic, methinks.
So. What I've decided to do in the meantime is to pay attention to what I consume in established nutrition categories. Namely: sodium, sugar, and saturated fat. I've never paid much attention to them in the past; I avoid them as a matter of general mindset, and I don't eat a lot of processed foods as it is, but I'm sure there's some of each lurking where I wouldn't expect it. There's no question that less of each is preferable, so I figure now is the time to start paying attention, assessing what I consume as a matter of habit, and making improvements moving forward. I'm guessing (or hoping? speculating?) that in making those changes, my overall food intake will be higher quality nutrition. If that, the path of least resistance, happens to resolve my low-level but relatively constant stomach wonkiness, so much the better.
And in a few weeks, I should be able to incorporate some uber-healthy sustenance straight from the garden!
Hello, lettuce!
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