At New Year’s Eve dinner, Audra and I explained to Big E how every year I post my resolutions for the new year and post the result of last year’s resolutions. Audra giggled and said, “It’s pretty funny since 90% of them are failures!”
Truth is, I spend most of my time listing them out but I rarely revisit them until the end of the year. I should spend more time creating plans on how to meet the goals and charting my progress as I attempt to reach them. Perhaps then there wouldn’t be so much failure.
I have great hopes for 2012!
My Resolutions for 2012
1. Go ‘Poo Free
I have decided to forsake shampoo for other, more natural, approaches to cleaning hair. This article on going ‘poo free was my inspiration. Someone recently posted a link to it on Facebook and I found it fascinating. I always wondered how people from years ago kept their hair clean, especially knowing that they didn’t bathe as regularly as we do. Heck, I have to wash my hair EVERY DAY and sometimes TWICE a day to keep the oil at bay.
I am now at day 6 of going ‘poo free. I am using baking soda and vinegar rinses to wash my hair. So far my hair is fine immediately after the shower but it’s still pretty oily 12 hours later. The article said there is a transitional period which I am apparently experiencing. Eventually my scalp will stop excreting so much oil and my hair will suddenly transform into gorgeous, bouncy, awesome hair! I can’t wait!
2. Write More, Create More, Productize Knowledge
Looking at my life, I am most happy when I am writing and creating. I am also tired of selling myself one hour at a time. I want to write and create more… blogs, ebooks, articles, books, videos, webinars, etc… I want to then SELL these “products” so I don’t have to sell myself one hour at a time.
3. Join Toastmasters OR find other ways to improve public speaking
I love speaking to an audience. I think it has to do with not acting anymore and using the public speaking as a way to get before an audience and emote. I feel really good about my presentation skills but I also know that I could be better. I want to make sure that I do SOMETHING to improve my skills this year.
4. Stop eating shit sandwiches
I keep finding myself accepting crap without question. I keep thinking of PB. I kept that relationship going despite the fact I wasn’t happy. It wasn’t like I was married with kids and had a reason to stick in it. I just stuck in it because I apparently like the taste of shit sandwiches. I need to start realizing when I am not happy and then become proactive to change things. I need to be more egotistical and selfish. I need to stop caring about other people. Uhhh, this is getting weird.
5. Keep house clean & simplify possessions
I say this every year. Keep house clean. Divest! Blah blah blah. So let’s do this…
- Hang up, fold or put clothes in hamper before going to sleep at night.
- Put dishes in the dishwasher immediately after using them.
- Empty dishwasher the same day it has run.
- Spend 1 day a month getting rid of things that I don’t use, need, or want.
6. Travel More
I have over than 100,000 Holiday Inn Priority Points. It’s time to put them to some use. I want to get out of Dodge more. I want to TRAVEL! Here’s the thing, I would be happy if I could just get myself over to the Jersey Shore or Baltimore or NYC! But ultimately I want to go even further. I’d like to visit:
- Sedona
- Portland, Seattle, Vancouver
- Grand Canyon
- Somewhere in Florida
7. Live more, work less
My life is spent feeling like I am on a treadmill. I feel like I have blinders on. I want to experience my life. I want to live. I am tired of feeling like I am always working. Always preparing for calamity. I am unable to read a book or watch a movie or call my friends because I feel like I should be WORKING! WORK WORK WORK! When I am not working, I feel guilty. I feel like I am wasting time and that something terrible will happen. The funny part is, I am not all that productive. I spend a lot of time just sitting at my desk because I feel like I am working. Look, I realize this is insane. I don’t know how this happened to me. I want to work smart and I want to play. I want to be able to say, “Work is over for the day, you can now read a book or watch a movie or do laundry or exercise…” and not feel guilty for doing it.
I often think if I could just find a partner everything would be okay. I would have someone to share the responsibilities and it wouldn’t just be me doing… everything. As it is, I think it’s best to just get my head around doing it myself.
So let’s do this…
- Get better understanding of finances. Somehow I have lost track of my cashflow. Once I better understand exactly what I need, I may be able to realize that I am okay and I can breath. Once I do that, I can then relax and read a book or exercise but mainly LIVE!
8. Become an early riser
I don’t sleep in. I rarely if ever sleep past 9. Heck, I don’t sleep past 8. I am usually up between 7 and 7:30. I want to get up earlier. My dad woke up at 6am almost every day of his life. I want to get up at 6am and put those early hours to good use.
9. Amplify my business message online
- Grow my LinkedIn network by over 7,000 1st degree connections.
- Increase my LinkedIn Group to over 1,000 members.
- Increase my Twitter followers to over 5,000.
- Start using G+ more effectively.
10. I want to better understand how I want the story of my life to turn out
I need to better understand what I am ultimately aiming for in my life. I want to have a very clear idea of what I want and how I am going to obtain it. This is also important because it will help me to realize when I achieve it. Wouldn’t it be funny if all I really want is to have my own place, a boyfriend and a cat? All I’d need to do is get a cat and everything would be pretty much good to go. But I know I want more. I am just not 100% set on what I want. I can’t visualize and attract if I don’t know what I want.
In the immortal words of Yul Bryner:
So let it be written, so let it be done!
Sayonara 2011! Hello 2012!
Have I come a long way, baby?
2010
2009
2008 and Results
2007 and results
2006
2006 and results I love how my one resolution is to buy a big girl bed!
2005 results
2004
2003