New Year, No Resolutions
It’s January 2 of what’s going to be a year of big changes for this family and while I’m excited for this new year I’m also scared out of my mind at the same time. So I figured I have two choices, I can curl up in bed under the covers and binge on stupid tv while ignoring the coming year (don’t think I haven’t considered it) or face it head on like a a big girl. So I’ve just ordered my new planner (I’m late this year usually I schedule it to arrive in December). I’ve started following all the money saving, home organization and exercise motivating Instagram accounts and am ready to start this new decade with a renewed sense of motivation. What I’m NOT doing is making any New Year Resolutions; however, as I was doing all of this “planning for the new year” I started questioning if what I’m actually doing IS making resolutions without calling them resolutions?
If you look up resolution in the dictionary it states
Resolution
NOUN
a firm decision to do or not to do something.
So I guess yes, I’m making resolutions, I’ve made a firm decision to get my house in order to get it ready to sell. I’ve made a firm decision to turn 47 with good health and a better butt. I’ve made a firm decision to get my finances in better shape. So in essence I’ve made resolutions but calling them resolutions automatically makes me feel like I’m going to fail miserably and maybe I will but do I want to start out feeling like I’m failing or do I want to start positive?
One of my sons started out the new year sick and my other son started out the new year being thrown into a mud hole by a sick, distressed calf (I’d show you the photo he sent but the image of his once Silverbelly cowboy hat being covered completely in mud so much as he’s now calling it a chocolate swirl is enough to make a grown man cry). While my boys are having no good rotten starts to this new year I’m trying to find the positives for them because lets face it, it’s always easier to find the negatives in life. The negatives hit us the way an angry momma cow does whilst protecting her calf and we aren’t likely to soon forget that feeling. It’s the good and positive feelings that somehow don’t seem to last quite as long and are easier to forget so we start out each new year with positive affirmations and resolutions to do better than last year and that’s just a whole lot of pressure in my opinion. I mean, focusing on a whole year to be better…I’m not sure I’m up for the challenge y’all!
When my kids were little and they’d have a bad day I’d pick them up let’s be honest, I’d fuss at them first, then I’d pick them up and set them in my lap and tell them that it was just a bad day and tomorrow would be better which always seemed to work with them. Knowing they they’d get a fresh start in the morning to make better choices or have a better attitude allowed them to relax and start over right then. I use it on myself to this day…it’s not a bad life it’s just a bad day.
So why do we, at the start of the year, think we have to make the whole year better…why can’t we just start small and see how it goes. Like, ‘January is gonna be the coolest yet’. Ok, again being honest, sometimes a month is too long also, maybe we just have to focus on the coming week or even day.
What I want is to take away the connotation that “2020 will be the best year yet!” and instead start with “tomorrow will be the best Friday yet!”. “This weekend will be the best weekend yet”. We’re about to enter major show season in this house and since our youngest is graduating and this is the year of lasts I’m focusing on that. I’m trying to ignore the amount of money it costs, the lack of sleep, the utter exhaustion, the annoying things that go into it and instead focus on the fun times, the #qualityfamilytimedadgumnit, and the copious amounts of fair food and cattle watching and make a “firm decision” that “This show season will be the best season yet!”
Going forward I’m officially banning New Years Resolutions from my life and instead adding a “firm decision…” to do all the things better, more efficiently and more positively. I’ll try to keep y’all posted on my “firm decisions” as I make them and how they pan out, but while I work on mine, I want to know, how do you feel about resolutions? What’s your “firm decision” for the coming days, weeks, months, year? Drop me a comment below and let me know.
Oh and one more thing, like I said above I’m a planner girl and am always on the hunt for the “perfect one” (clearly I haven’t found it yet since I continue to look even though whenever I get one it’s “the best one yet” until I go to reorder and start searching again…never satisfied I guess). So if you have THE PERFECT PLANNER drop me a message and let me know which one. Maybe I need to make a “firm decision” to be satisfied with last years planner…