...and I say hello (to 2011)!

The new year is always a reflective time for me....as it is for most people who base their year on the Gregorian calendar.  It's a time where we review the past, let go of what we did or should have done, and try to look forward to a new year of opportunities.  It's exciting and uncertain, a blank page full of possibilities.  For me, energies are usually high in the first part of the year.  I am full of good intentions and I have my thorough and lengthy list of goals posted in more than one spot.  But, like many, I often lose some of that initial excitement that accompanies a New Year as I get bogged down in the daily routine of life...or if I find that my new or revolving list of goals is a little too lengthy.

It's now near the end of February and I can't say that I have been stellar at following my resolutions but I can't say that I have been horrible at them either.  I think that over this last year I have come to realize that change is a process.  It's not just letting go of something one day and completely adopting a new habit the next.  Much of life's progress happens a little at a time--baby steps, if you will.  More than likely, you will take your first step and then fall, but the trick is to get back up and take another step without beating yourself up for falling down in the first place.  Don't get me wrong, I am still pretty good about criticizing myself, but I have also become better at recognizing progress in its smallest of forms.

My list of goals is still lengthy and perhaps a bit ambitious, but I am working towards them still the same.  Without divulging my biggest weaknesses, here are three that I think are appropriate to share with the universe.  It's also a great way to ensure that I will be held accountable for the completion of them.  So make sure to check up on me!

1.  Get healthy--this is all encompassing.  I want to eat better, exercise regularly, learn about health and nutrition, and of course, the classic and never changing goal of...lose weight.

2.  Travel--since moving to New York, I haven't really traveled much.  Sure, I have taken some really great road trips (and yes, that does count as traveling) and I have traveled a bit for work (that was fun too) but I haven't taken a vacation that didn't include the SLC International airport for quite some time.  Despite not having the money, I have always been torn about how to use my vacation days.  I love my family.  I miss them.  Naturally, I want to use my time off to spend it with them.  But I won't lie, my heart has missed some of that adventure that comes with friends in other places outside of your hometown.  So this year, I am going to take at LEAST one trip.  There are talks of a cruise and perhaps one other destination.  Very excited!  And of course, I will still make it home a couple of times as well.

3.  Learn Me Something Good--I think that within each of us we have some sort of a desire to learn, to improve our minds in some way--whether it be through books, school, or by simply learning through the world around us.  I have a few topics of study and plans in mind.  I just need to muster the discipline to set a schedule and put those plans into action.  I'm looking forward to giving my brain a little exercise outside of the doldrums of work and articles posted in my Facebook newsfeed.