A New Year, A New Me?

I’ve always loved the concept of a new year and a new start.  It’s cliche, I know, to set a bunch of new year’s resolutions but I don’t care–I love it!  As some of you know, I’ve been wrestling with some of the changes in my life and what direction I want/should head and frankly, I’m a bit flummoxed.  My whole adult life has been spent caring for a house full of kids and those kids are flying the coop at lightning speed.

The bottom line is this:  I don’t know what in the heck the future holds or what I’m supposed to be doing.  It’s pretty annoying,slightly frightening and results in a lot of late night worrying, but I figure that until I receive a lighting bolt from heaven (or even a gentle nudge) that I can work on some goals that will make me a better person.  That’s the theory anyway…

So for 2018 I’m conquering one goal a month and I hope to blog more frequently about it.  Feel free to follow along as I document my successes, failures and life lessons I learn along the way.

JANUARY GOAL:  BECOME A MORNING PERSON

I am a night owl.  At least I used to be a night owl.  I found that I was most productive in the hours after my house was quiet and it was nothing to be up until 2 or 3 am plodding away on some project.  But as I get older I find that 8:00 pm rolls around and I’m ready to be done for the day.  Which wouldn’t be so terrible if I could get myself going at an earlier hour.  My husband is a morning person and I’ve always been so jealous of the fact that he wakes up without an alarm and can get more done in his first 3 hours of the day than I seem to accomplish in 8 of mine.

This goal isn’t going to be easy because let’s be frank, I wake up thinking about how I can get back in bed.  Is 9:00 am too early for a nap?  But I really think that if I can make progress in this one area it’s going to help me in the other 11 goals I have planned for the year.  I think…

Step 1:  Purchase a “Happy Light”.  I’d heard good things about these little lights and even if it’s a bunch of mumbo jumbo, as long as I believe it there has got to be some placebo effect right?  I have to say, that so far, so good.  It could all be in my head but I think it’s helping–when I remember to turn it on.

Step 2:  Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking.  I’m reading a book that talks about the importance of this for maintaining a healthy weight but I figure if I can get myself downstairs and noshing on my toast and protein shake from the start, it will be much harder to get back into bed.  That’s the idea anyway…

Step 3:  Hit the gym.  I know for myself that if I don’t get my exercise in first thing in the morning it is highly unlikely to happen.  And once I put on the track to “The Greatest Showman” and start beating the heck out of my punching bag, it gets the juices flowing.

So there it is–my January goal.  So far I’d say I’m about 50% successful.  I’ve got work to do so I’m gonna turn on that Happy Light and suck down my shake.  Wish me luck!