How's That Working for Ya?

Happy New Year everyone!  I can't believe it is 2018!  Wow!  The older I get the faster time moves!  Does anyone else feel this way?  

So it's a new year!  How many of you have set your resolutions?  How's that working for ya? I don't set those things!  I hate those things!  I mean seriously!  Did you know that 80 percent of the population who set resolutions have already failed by this point!  80 percent!  That is really sad considering all the negativity in the world today.  Why add another layer? 

Why do people set them?  All they are doing is setting themselves up for failure in my opinion.  I use to beat myself up when I failed on mine.   So I decided a while back, "NO RESOLUTIONS!"  Do you know what happened?  It was freeing!  It left me room to breathe and grow!   

For example, I use to say, "Amy, this year you will go on a healthy diet.  You will eat little to no carbs and you will take out sugar."   I don't know about you, but the minute I say I want to go on a diet I EAT! EAT! EAT!  I eat anything and everything I can put or find to put into my mouth!  The word diet I swear triggers some chemical in my brain that says, "Amy, you are STARVING!" And when I throw in words like, little to no carbs, no sugar, healthy eating, what do you think happens?  I run straight to Sonic and get a vanilla cream coke and a hamburger!  I swear!  It's the craziest thing!  So I stopped dieting!  Now my approach is eat what you are craving when you are craving it, but don't over do it.  For me, it gives me permission to be bad IF I want.  Want to know something even crazier.  Now that I allow myself this freedom I don't want the bad stuff!  Swear!

Exercise is another example.  When I would set this as a resolution anything and everything that could be a roadblock would happen.  I would get to the gym with the rest of the world and there would be no equipment available because it was  all being used, classes would be jam packed, parking would be a beast,  or I would work out like a bangee and be so sore the next day I could not walk!  What did that leave room for?  You know.  It left room for me to say, "Screw it! I tried!"  Want to know a crazy thing that happened when I took exercise resolutions out of my life?  I became a dance fitness instructor!  Crazy!  

Spend less money and save more.  This was a big one for me in the past and every time I set it, something big would happen that required money!  NO LIE!

Hello, World!

The list as you see goes on an on.  I don't know if it is because we set these resolutions and it is so set in stone that it makes it impossible to stick to because LIFE HAPPENS or if I am just lazy.  But, what I do know is they did not work for me so I took them out of my vocabulary.  

Did you know that the definition of resolution literally is a firm decision to do or not to do something?  So what happens to our psyche when we go against it?  For me it is not pretty and I realize this so I just don't do resolutions anymore. 

Now every January, I sit down and really think about the past year.  I write down my wins. NOT my failures or what I can improve on!  We all have enough of that!  For example my big win this year is I have stayed pretty solid with  my 5:45 am wake up call.  Monday thru Friday I get up at 5:45 and spend some time in the word.  From this other wins have happened.  I am more grounded.  I feel more at peace with myself and my life.  My children have witnessed my time with the Lord and I found my love for writing.  I would say this is huge!  With these wins in front of me I feel good about myself and I feel good about a new year!  I feel like I can enter it with a purpose.  I know life will happen and I know I will get knocked down, but it won't be because I set my mind to do something and I failed.  So from now on it's about Wins in the past!  Wins  that I can improve on!  Wins I will share with you and wins that I might even have a guest blogger or two to expand on and motivate you to add some wins in your life!  

So Who is with me?  No Resolutions Anymore!  Only Wins!  Try it for a year and see what happens!  You might just open yourself up to a whole new you!  

Happy New Year!

xo,

Amy