Being Resolute

I don’t overall enjoy the concept of resolutions. For me, the idea seems too cliché. It somehow makes it seem like there should be this one, single time of the year where you analyze your life and decide to make changes. At my age, I call those birthdays.

But whatever day you choose to do it, I am in agreement with the general concept. I just don’t like to be told when and how I should do it.

Instead, I think everyone should take many chance in a year to take a look at themselves in a mirror and decide what they do and do not like about how their life is going. And, yes, I mean that in a figurative way. It isn’t just about weight loss, people.

But since it seems to be the "in" thing to do this time of year, I decided to list the things I want to resolve to work on more closely in the coming months. Given I have a March birthday, it will give me a chance to look back in three months and see if I have made any progress.

I think I’ve narrowed my goals into five main categories for the year. I think if you look at it, they are things most any mom may aim for, so I’ll share them here with you.

Down there in the comments, why don’t you share some of yours with me, too. Maybe I missed a few, and I always appreciate the extra input.

Melissa’s 2012 Resolutions

1. Spend quality time with my kids.

I see them every single waking day of my life, but how much of that time is schlepping them off to school, running errands, working and homework? I’d like to vow to take more time for the fun day’s in life, where we bake until the kitchen explodes, we hike out and explore nature or we even just build forts in the living room.

There are few things in my life I value more than fun days with my kids. So, I think I’ll try to have more of those.

2. Work smarter, not harder.

Working for a 24/7 news site means you always have to work hard. But the key to survival is more about working SMARTER each day and not burning yourself out. I need to continue to find ways to get my job done and still have time for my “real” life.

With my rockstar staff, I am sure we will keep finding ways to make that happen. But, in the ever-changing online world of news, its is a good resolution to have no matter what.

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. (Yes, as the book implies, it is ALL small stuff.)

As those around me well know, I spend 99.9% of my time in rather a “high alert” kind of mode. I am always aiming to do my best and give it my all and focus, but sometimes that’s probably a bit of overkill.

I aim this year to try to take more deep breaths, realize that some of what I do really is not a matter of life and death and thusly adjust my approach. I vow to remember it is not all entirely crucial and to start to carve out altogether some of that “small stuff” as I go.

4. Value what I’ve got.

Maybe the most crucial resolution here – I promise this year to take more time to be thankful for what I’ve got, instead of thinking about what I don’t. Maybe it was attending way too many funerals this year for friends or friends’ families. Most likely it was finding out a very good friend has cancer. It doesn’t matter why, but I know for sure that I want to spend more time soaking it all in.

I’ve worked hard for the life I have and far too often I forget to look around me. I have two, beautiful, healthy kids that have great schools, friends and activities. I have a loving husband that would move heaven and earth for his wife just because she didn’t like the arrangement of them. I have a great job with amazing co-workers. I live in the best neighborhood in America! I have my own health. I have an amazing family that loves me.

There is nothing there I shouldn’t be thankful for each day, and, just like I don’t being told one day to make a resolution or one day to celebrate “love” because Hallmark says so, I also should remember Thanksgiving isn’t one day either. It should be all year round.

5. OK, I’m not really at a goal weight.

Yeah, yeah, this sneaky little resolution manages to hang in there year after year (clearly because I have not put it to rest). I do not vow to go on a binge diet and plunge into some low weight. This year, there are no weddings (well at least ones I have to walk in), no huge dates to achieve the goal weight.

Instead of dropping to a number, I resolve to find a healthy lifestyle I can live with all year-round. I hope to eat a little better, but still leave room for a beer or two. I aspire to hit the gym so I have more energy, not so I burn 10,0000 calories trying to squeeze into a special dress. I just want to feel healthy. I want my body to last, so I have more time for number four.