I've been thinking some about whether or not to make any New Year's resolutions. It's not been a habit of mine. For one, it seems artificial to me to just make a lot of promises to myself just because the earth happened to drift to the same place along its orbit as the last time we made a big list of promises. There are other times during the year that seem more appropriate to make changes or improvements in my life - back to school time, birthdays, etc. And also, I'm not all that great about keeping up with promises to change the way I do things. Turns out my habits have been formed and it's hard to change that.
But maybe there's something to be said for being more intentional, concentrating on a few key ideas that will get some extra attention this year. I like that. Being more on purpose about what I do, how I choose to spend my time and energy, and making sure that I actually follow through on those intentions. That's kind of the same thing as making a resolution... sort of. I could pick out a few things about which I'd like to be more intentional in the coming year. Hmm. I like that.
Ok, so what will my intentions be for 2011? What parts of my life need a little nudge of encouragement, a little zap of energy? Not wholesale changes, but a little tender loving care and attention?
First, my relationships with my loved ones. My husband, my children, my parents, my siblings. I'd like to put a little bit of extra strength into the bonds with my family members this year, to make sure that all these people know how much I love them and make sure they know I'm here for them. Some of these are really strong already, but some of these can use a little bit of extra TLC.
And second, my care for myself. I'm pretty good at making sure that I learn, get mental challenges, and get creative outlets and "fun" in my life. But I'm not so good at taking care of my physical self, and sometimes I leave my spiritual self a little bit out in the cold. I want to be more intentional this year about caring for not only my mind, but also my body and spirit, to be well-rounded and fully nurtured.
I think that's all I'm going to focus on for now. I think if I can do these two things this year, then I'll be pretty well set for a healthy and happy life, don't you?
What about you? Are you making resolutions? Do you have intentions for change in the new year? What's your approach?
Linking to Southern In My Heart's Inspiration Friday party.
I agree with you on a lot of this - especially back to school time. I'm big on fresh starts! ;) Last year was the first time I committed in writing, and I followed through on some of them, all to my benefit, so I am trying it again. A lot of my resolutions will look the same as last year though. I really like yours. My friend says we have to take care of ourselves because who is going to take care of our families if something happens to us? Happy New Year, and all the best for 2011!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny, During the year I write down things I would like to accomplish and their priority. I can say most of them do get done. I like your intentions...taking care of your self and your family should be the most important thing. I hope you have a wonderful 2011.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny! What a great idea to call them "intentions" instead of "resolutions". I'm totally stealing that from you! :-) I think it makes it so much more realistic and practical to our lives to be intentional about the areas where we want to focus our energy and it sounds like you are off to a great start! Thanks so much for linking up to Inspiration Friday and I hope you have a very Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteVanessa
Oh my word. Get out of my head. I'm visiting from SIMH and we almost wrote the exact same thing. FUNNY. Great post - i feel ya sistah!
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