My Hopes for the New Year

I don't make New Year's resolutions. I think new habits take a while to form. When people make resolutions it seems to be an all or nothing proposition. So, if there is a slip up, they feel like they failed and resort back to the old behavior. There are some things I would like to work on this year, but I am hoping these things become behaviors over time. I will fail occasionally, but I will not be a failure. Here are some new habits I would like to form:

1) I would like to be a more patient mom and wife. I tend to react emotionally to situations instead of taking a deep breath and thinking through the situation rationally. (Remember the toilet tank lid?!)
2) I would like to become closer to some new friends I have made this year. This will require me to step outside my comfort zone. I am not one to just pick up the phone and call someone just to talk. I am always afraid I am interferring with whomever I am calling. I also am self-conscious about asking people over just to "hang out." I am not that exciting and don't know why someone would want to just "hang out" with me! I will try to get over that! :0)
3) I would like to become more involved with my church. I, again, need to step out of my little box and realize that I have to give up some of my precious time in order to grow spiritually and in personal relationships
4) I already exercise 5 days a week. I just want to increase my intensity and up my fitness level. I am going to add some variety into my workouts. I started this a couple of months ago and started seeing results. I want to continue this behavior and not be afraid to try new things. Another thing that goes along with this is the fact that I am constantly beating myself up for not looking as good as I want to look. I really want to try to look for the positives in my appearance instead of always focusing on the parts of my that I hate. This is the body God gave me and my job is to keep it as healthy as possible. Whatever size that is, I am going to work on being happy with my healthy body.
5) I want to try stay away from buying "things" just to buy things. We have had to live a little more minimally these past two years because of a new house and third child and, you know what, the world hasn't stopped spinning just because I have stopped spending so much money. I realize that I use "things" to cover up feelings. Maybe I will learn to deal with my feelings if there aren't so many "things" distracting me.

I know some of the things in my list are pretty vague, but that is how I want them to be. I don't think that if you fail to do something you are a failure. I think we should be proud of our journey and not the destination. I have always been my own worst critic, as most of us are. I am going to try to accept who I am at this moment and only do things that help me be a better me. Not for the approval of those around me, but for my own sense of self.

Anyway, these are just some things that are going on in my head today! Right now Drew is taking the boys to a movie, Addie is down for a nap and I am going to try to relax and enjoy some quiet time!

Happy New Year!