This Little Word Of Mine

I have been working on establishing goals for the year 2012.  The goals I am working on affect three aspects of my life. Mind, body and soul. 

So far I have established the specific goals relating to my body. I am proud to say that I have been successful thus far. I have been training for the 10 km runs in my awesome new shoes.  Consuming much more water and less coffee. And incorporating more veggies and fruit into my day.

I look forward to writing about the goals that I have set relating to my mind and soul.  But for now, I want to write about “This Little Word of Mine”

If applied: It is this word that is going to help me succeed at living out my goals.  The word is… Discipline.

Discipline can be defined as the ability to motivate oneself in spite of a negative emotional state. Qualities associated with discipline include willpower, hard work, and persistence.

This is gonna be a great year!

Me Today

i was … just thinking about how I need to be better about journaling about all the cute things my kids say and do.

i am … exactly between 30 and 40.

i think … I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by amazing people in my real life.

i wonder … how much more I would do if I got out of bed earlier.

i wish … I spent more time praying.

i save … spaghetti jars and toilet paper tubes in case I ever get the ambition turn them into something cool.

i always … crave a little ‘alone’ time.

i can't imagine … life without my awesome husband and super cute kids.

i believe … everybody's story is worth recording.

i promise … I really got a D in High School sewing class.

i love … home.

I want… to spend more time creating beautiful things.

i scrap …but only a little. But have a growing desire to get involved in ‘Project Life’ with Becky Higgins.

A Runners “Tool Of Trade”

I do not boast of having a number of shoes like many women can.  Mostly I can be seen wearing a pair of running shoes.  Not because they make such a fantastic fashion statement, but I simply like to be confortable.

My ritual is to replace these at least once a year.  Not because I want to go and blow a bunch of money over at my favorite shoe store, The Running Room, but because I have to.  In well under a year I turn a very good looking running shoe into one that looks like it had been hauled out of the nearest dumpster. I manage to stretch my new purchase to as close to a year as possible simply because I am cheap.  Also known as frugal.

So off to The Running Room I went. To give my new goal of training to run a couple 10K runs a fresh start in a new pair of running shoes.

After at least six years of purchasing the exact same shoe, the Asics 2160, I wanted to break the cycle and try something new.  A brand new pair of Nike’s.

A couple of runs, indoors on a treadmill,  I came to a realization that these certainly were not the shoes for me!  My feet were in so much pain.  So, back in the box these Nike’s went, and back to The Running Room to test out their trade-in policy.

After a quick check-over by the saleslady, off we went to look for another new pair of shoes.  I tried a few different brands of shoes.  Found a few that seemed to fit my finicky feet well.  After a final decision, I spent even more than usual on a new pair of Asics.  My usual shoe but in top model.  Unfortunately these even cost more than the usual. 

Well, I haven’t gotten to try these out yet.  Tomorrow is the day for these babies to go for there first test drive.  I am really hoping that I come home with happy feet.  I don’t want to  have to take yet another trip to The Running Room. I really wish I could just throw on just any pair of runners.  Would be a pocketbook saver as well as a time saver.

First 2012 Resolution-Health

One stage of my personal transformation for the year 2012 involves many aspects of health.  From healthy eating,  more water, and an  increase in physical fitness.  With discipline, I will face and challenge myself in all my goals.

This is fairly broad I know. But I do have some pretty specific and attainable goals for the year.

The goal that appears the easiest is drinking more water.  Should be easy, but won’t be for me.  Drinking lots of coffee and almost no water is an everyday occurrence for me, so this goal will be challenging.

My new rule is that for every cup of coffee I want to drink.  I must drink two glasses of water.  Whew,  thinking that I may need to move my office nearer to the bathroom:)

Another goal involves healthy eating.  I am most certainly not the most unhealthy eater, but really could handle eating more fruits and veggies and a few less sweet treats.  So, I’m going to have my daily checklist include some extra portions of these.

I now start the day with an apple first thing in the morning.    My rule created for myself will be that in order to have my favorite lunch, toast topped with some heavenly jam, I will have had to eat my veggies.  Wow.  Now I know firsthand how my son feels with the rules I make for him. 

Physical fitness is probably one of the highest priorities for me.  I have been enjoying playing on some women's hockey and soccer teams this past year, but have been limited in my success in both by my fitness level.  I want to be able to run up and down the field with speed and finesse and without hacking and wheezing after a play.

In order to tackle this goal, I have entered the 10km run in the race “Run For Water” in May.  I figure that since I have to pay to register for the race, I’m going to want to get my money’s worth by actually competing in it.  I will also be kept motivated by my cousin who is also running the race. 

Though 2012 is very young, I have faced each day with discipline, but without perfection.  I am human, after all.

The Tree of 2012

The time honored tradition of every New Year is to start the year by making a goal or list of goals in an attempt to improve oneself. The time honored tradition of every New Year’s goal or resolution is to forget about it.

It was best said by Eric Zorn this way. “Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility.  Breaking them is part of the cycle.”

Why are New Years goals so difficult to keep?  My opinion is simply this: discipline. Specifically, a lack of discipline.  For certain the ‘goal-breaker’.

I am visualizing my goal setting for 2012 as the image of a tree.  The trunk of the tree is “Discipline”.  There are three broad areas of my personal goals, the branches which are each individually labeled   Heart, Body and Mind.  Each of these branches has a few specific twigs labeled with my goals for the year.

So why am I approaching this time-honored tradition of setting New Years goals with such seriousness?  Is it because I am unhappy?  Or maybe, dissatisfied with my life?

Most certainly not.  I have been blessed tremendously and have no desire to changed it.  Just improve it.  I have to admit that I have become very complacent in the past years.  I have not challenged myself and feel that I am simply going-with-the-flow.  The year 2011 was a wonderful year.  I am looking forward to the year 2012 being even better.