I think I’m getting old for new year’s resolution but here we are! Nothing wrong with writing what you want to change for the new year and try your best to follow through. It’s okay if you don’t do them all—they are there as a guide for you to be a better person.
I won’t keep mine long but here’s a few of them:
Let go of the things I have no control of.
Recently, I noticed that I have been thinking of scenarios or better actions I could’ve done in the past. This always lead me to obsess over it, which then takes a lot of my mental space. And I always end up staying up at night with my mind full of thoughts—the could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. I made it a goal this year to write on my journal daily or more regularly to help me regulate these uninvited thoughts and to empty my mind before going to bed. So I could sleep peacefully-ish.
The thing is, these things, aka imaginary scenarios, are actually out of my control. I couldn’t really magically transport myself to the past and make some changes you know. These imaginations can’t really become a reality. Even some conversations in my head that I hoped I had with some of my friends (LOL crazy I know) just so I could voice out my idea/s. This is where this blog comes in. I should utilize this blog more often. I should use it to voice out my ideas and thoughts that has been taking space in my head.
I just want to say, to myself, that there are really things that are out of my control. And if I cannot control it, I should let it go. It’s for my own sake anyway. Besides, nobody cares—it’s just me obsessing over it and making a big deal out of it. Let bygones be bygones.
I should also work on how I react to things that may or may not concern me as this is the one thing I could control. My emotions and my thoughts. I should always take a moment and breathe first before I decide to talk and let my emotions get the better of me.
Prioritize myself more.
This year is my era.
Last year after I’ve given birth, I let myself go—in a good way. I prioritized eating anything and everything I want and not thinking about portions at all so that I could produce breastmilk for my baby.
I always take her right away after waking up in the morning (or any time of the day during our newborn stage) without brushing my teeth or washing my face first. I always wait for my parents or for my husband to come home so I could take a shower and do my business.
I would also skip breakfast or lunch so I could sleep in more. And the only physical activity I had done last year was taking a walk from bed to the dining area onto the living room. Oh and whenever we do grocery, I just walk aimlessly in Walmart LOL
This year, I am prioritizing myself more. Of course my baby is still my top priority—her health, needs and wellbeing trumps over anything else. What I mean is: drinking more water, being more active, pampering myself more with either a new hair colour/cut, or getting mani-pedi, and being more mindful in terms of what I eat—portion wise.
I have to have at least one thing done for myself everyday. My default goal is: getting my morning skin care routine done. Washing my face and brushing my teeth before I take my little one to start our day. This is the one small achievement I will do for myself everyday.
I also started using the treadmill and elliptical last January 1st (I used the elliptical more often). I don’t work out every day, but I make sure that whenever my husband is at home, I’ll go down the basement to work out for at least half an hour. I kind of make sure that I do this at least 3 times a week. The goal is to do 40minutes work out in elliptical for 3 days in a week.
I used to hate using these machines, and working out in general is not for me. I’d rather stay in bed or be a couch potato all day than be active. However, I’m not getting any younger and the food I’ve been eating since last year were starting to show on my beautiful body LOL Besides, I realized that whenever I feel down and sluggish and tired, working out and getting sweaty actually makes me feel good.
Spend more time with family.
This year, my goal is to go out with my mom more often. To take her out for dates with Amari whenever it’s her day off. So far, I haven’t done it yet because it’s still winter and there are days when the roads are terrible. The husband will not let me drive with our daughter if the weather is like that so I guess, this can wait until spring time. Or whenever we plan to go out, we could take her out too, as long as she’s not busy.
And of course, planning more quality time with my little family. It kinda sucks to plan any outdoor activity this season because it’s winter. I actually want to go tobogganing with our little one but there was no snow back in December when the weather was perfect. And now that the snow’s here, we’re actually hitting a -40 to -50 windchill. Anyway, this year the goal is to travel more with my little family.
Take more picture or videos and enjoy every moment.
They say that you knew you enjoyed the moment with your friends or family when you forgot to take a picture or video to post on your social media. I don’t know for how long, but my husband and I, whenever we travel or just out—we rarely post on Instagram story. It’s the same with friends, I always forgot to take a video, a boomerang, a picture—of what we are up to. And for me, that’s because we enjoy the time spent together and we were too focused at the present moment that we actually forgot to “document” it.
This year, I still want to enjoy and be present every moment—but I also want to take more pictures and/or videos to document and preserve the memory. I actually find it fun to watch or look at my phone at the end of the year to check what have I been up to. I don’t know but that’s just me.
Be more productive.
Lately, I’ve been inspired to do more chores and do something productive everyday. Well, not all the household chores, but things that I could do while tending to our daughter when she’s in the mood to play by herself.
I have been doing laundry, folding the clothes and putting them away. Not all together, but at least all three of the task is done in a week. This actually makes me feel better. Being able to go back to what I’ve been doing before pre-baby—slowly.
I’ve also started to read again. And—I made a Bookstagram account last October (or was it November), to give this renewed hobby of mine a platform. The only catch is, I can only read whenever she’s napping or at night when she’s sleeping. I couldn’t read during the day when I have to actually watch her and interact with her. Though at times, just like as I am typing/editing this post, I leave her on her activity centre or playpen to play by herself. Reading while she’s napping means I have to give up my nap too, LOL. However, if I feel that I need a nap to get me through the day, I won’t read.
Journaling every night is a habit that is a kind of hit or miss. However, I’ve been doing it more regularly compared to before. I have 3 separate journals for different things—I know, an overkill. One is for daily journal; it’s where I write my reflection, my frustration—basically my emotions and recordings of what had happened that day. I try to write on it daily but I also don’t give myself a hard time if I only write once a week. The second is my gratitude journal—and for this journal, my goal is to write on it daily. I know some of the things I wrote in there are repetitive, but it’s the small things that we are so used to do are the things we forgot to be grateful for. The third one is my faith journal which I only write on maybe once or twice a month. But this year, I want it to be more frequent, at least once a week. I don’t really read the bible, which I guess defeat the purpose of this journal because what am I reflecting at, right? Basically, I just write my prayers here—this is where I often apologized for my non-christian action/behaviour and where I go into details about what I am thankful for.
I’ve also discovered the joy of making a to-do-list and the satisfaction of crossing out the tasks I have done for the day. I wasn’t a fan before and writing out a to-do-list was basically a chore for me. The tasks I write are simple enough and are doable and realistic. Here’s an example of what I write:
- Do morning skin care routine
- Give the bubba her vit d
- Journal
- Read a book
- Put away laundry
- Load dishwasher
Sometimes my to-do list are pretty much repetitive and there are times I don’t do them all. But this actually helps me keep track of my habit and form a routine for me.
So that concludes this year’s resolution. I should re-visit my previous NY resolution that I made and see if I followed through any of them. It’d be an interesting read.
Happy New Year! Ciao!
QOTD: What are your or some of your New Year’s Resolution?
