I got an email newsletter around New Year's Day that really got me to thinking. It said:
Dear Readers,
I've been told it takes four to six weeks for any action to
become a habit. So, keeping that in mind, one way I'm
going to insure my success at keeping my New Year's
resolutions this year is by working on only one new habit
at a time each month. Then, every time I turn to a new
calendar page, I'll work on developing a different good habit.
At the end of the year, I could easily have twelve new positive
habits in my life. Once something's become a habit, it's
simply a part of my life and not something I'll even have to
think about anymore.
What's the area of life you're most concerned about? Exercise?
Weight loss? Healthy eating? Getting organized? Saving money?
Spending more time with your kids? Break your goal down into
simple steps that you can easily manage, and then start working
your way to your goal, one small step -- or small habit -- at a time.
As the old cliche' says: "How do you eat an elephant? ... One bite
at a time."
By making small and consistent changes, it's possible to change
your health, your body, and your life.
Happy New Year!
Simply Yours,
Debi
(Deborah Taylor-Hough)
Me again. For the past week, I've been mulling over that idea -- having "habits" instead of "resolutions". Here's my list of ideas:
- Daily exercise
- Get homeschooling tweeked and schedule routines
- Fruits & Veggies daily
- Nature time, including beach days scheduled
- Storytelling and Reading Aloud with the children every day
- Learn the guitar
- Stick with work hours
- Be consistent in journaling & God time
At first, I tried to think of 12 things for the 12 months, but then, I remembered that I'm a bit flighty and never know what's going to suit my fancy next month, let alone several months from now, so instead, I decided on January and February, which are:
January: Daily exercise except on Sundays (grumble. mumble. may as well get the beast out of the way). This includes a little strength training in the mornings, a la 8 Minutes in the Morning, and just getting out with the kids each afternoon and doing something-anything, kayaking, walking, soccer, gardening...whatever fits our fancy! (I know, I really should wrestle that fancy of mine).
February: Eat more fruits and veggies. We do not do this well enough!
What are your goals/resolutions/new habits? I wanna know I'm not the only gal who has things to work on!
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