Why I Never Make New Year’s Resolutions, Except for 2019
First, let me start off by wishing you the absolute best, and juiciest, for 2019. May you uncover the best of who you are every year, every day, and every second. Now… about New Year’s resolutions…
Maybe you, like many fellow humans, like to start off the new year with a resolution. Self-improvement initiatives–such as weight loss or drinking more water–figure high on the lists of many.
But, I admit, I am so not into resolutions. I feel like this: If there’s something I need to do (exercise more, be a better human being, breathe deeply more often, etc), it shouldn’t wait until the first day of the next year. I just woman-up and do it right away.
So, why New Year’s resolutions in 2019?
The things that I’ve been wanting to do more of are still on my radar (where they’ve been for the past 6 months), and it just happens to be the new year. So for the first time in forever, I find myself with two resolutions on New Year’s day. They are — ahem, drumroll, please…
- New Years Resolution #1 – Salsa dance at least once a month. I shock myself when I think about the fact that it’s been two friggin years since I salsa danced. Like, seriously. Whhhaaaaat??? Dancing in general is something I need to do, and for years salsa has been (or at least was) the way to get my dance fix on. There will be no excuses. I must get my salsa on starting this month, or I will IMPLODE.
- New Years Resolution #2 – Take a yoga class once a week. At one point in my life (before marriage and pregnancy), I took a power yoga class at least 3 times a week. Now, I’m lucky if I follow a 30-minute yoga video once a month. But I really want to–would love to–experience the delicious immersion of a good, sweaty yoga class. Again, there will be no more excuses. I WILL make the time.
And there it is. Making the time. That’s really what my resolution is.
This year, I am going to expand on what I started in 2018 — making time to pursue the passions that I used to take for granted, the passions that power my internal engine, and bring energy and joy into my daily life.
In 2018, I started painting again after having not picked up a paint brush in over a decade. It felt awesome to explore color and texture in oil, one of my favorite things to do. But it was also something I’d stopped making time for. Here’s a picture of me, in November 2018, painting in the studio:
I made a resolution to take a day out of my week every day for 8 weeks to focus on painting. At times it was super difficult because there was a lot going on with work and responsibilities, and there were a couple of times when I relented and let the responsibilities (aka making money) encroach on the allotted painting time.
But, I kept reminding myself that painting was a responsibility, too. Taking time to do something I love, regardless of whether it generated income or not, is a responsibility I have to myself. It was part of my resolution to make time to do things I enjoy — more often.
Along with painting, there were some other things I started doing in 2018:
- 30+ pushups a day
- Isolation and toning exercises twice a day (first thing in the morning and last thing before zonking out).
- 20 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week
Yep, you guessed it: My focus has expanded to include making time to get back to my ideal level of physical fitness. I’m proud of sticking to that commitment to myself–especially when I don’t feel like it (which is often).
So salsa and yoga class, like painting, will be things I purposely make time for. I’ve been putting it out into the Universe for months now, and it’s going down in January.
At the end of the day (and whether the day is in 2019, 2018, or whenever) making time for my joy is crucial to the most important resolution of all — staying in a state of bliss. Feeling good is the goal, taking time for myself without guilt, breathing deeply along the way, smiling on the inside as well as the outside, and loving life with all the eagerness I can muster is the M.O. So let it be, and so it is!
Live your dreams, and make time for your passions!
