New Life, New Goals
Hey guys! I continue to be extremely busy but am trying to find time to blog where I can. The good news is my cold is already almost gone and I hope it won’t turn into a month-long cough, which is how most of my colds end up. Now I haven’t done a check-in for awhile now on the goals that I set for myself back in January (also, searching for that post made me realize I’ve made a lot of goal–related posts, but am bad about following up on them). I’ve been having a stressful week so far, putting a lot of pressure on myself, doing a lot of future-tripping, and not getting enough sleep (not on purpose). So I think it’s time to re-visit the goals I need to focus on because to be honest, some have changed due to my recent move/job change, some are still out there, and some can take a back-seat for now.
1. My New Year’s Resolution: I’m still keeping this one and have definitely been slacking on it lately. Up until this past Sunday’s event my nails had been bare for a couple of weeks, I’d been wearing lots of sweatpants (actually the same pair, over and over…), and not making much effort to look very human. And it totally had an effect on my mood and body image. I’ve been spending time feeling bad about myself and not doing anything about it. It’s time to change that. My practically non-existent commute means I have plenty of time to get ready in the morning. Just because I’m going out for a quick walking errand doesn’t mean I can’t try to look semi-presentable. I will never ban sweatpants and Uggs completely, but they need to see less use!
2. Accept that my plate now may be smaller: No, not my food plate (more on that later). Despite the fact that I’ve gained back almost two hours of my life in commuting time, living on my own means I now have more to do for myself. I’m not going to walk in the door and find dinner waiting for me. I don’t have a dishwasher, so I need to do dishes. I’m responsible for keeping my apartment clean. I need to make sure I stick around the building on the weekends when I do laundry – no more throwing it in the dryer and heading out for several hours of errands. I am working longer hours now, have more to do at work, and sometimes have events I need to work/attend in the evenings. I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that I may not have enough time now to do all I did back in CT. I used to go out one or two weeknights a week, but I think that needs to change to one or NONE. I keep beating myself up for workouts that aren’t as long, aren’t as “good”, aren’t as high-intensity.
But maybe I don’t have as much time to work out as I used to. Maybe I’m going to be more tired at the end of the day and I need to be kind to myself and just let myself come home and put my feet up and grab takeout from a place down the street. Every weekday I don’t work out, eat a home-cooked healthy meal, and keep a clean home I feel like a failure. I need to show myself more love and less pressure. I need to figure out a healthy amount I can take on, and accept that it may be less than previously. I know this is an adjustment period, but right now it’s been consisting of insomnia, stress-induced stomach problems, and popping-up of ED symptoms/thoughts (my go-to coping mechanism). I’m very much so over it and will try to be patient as I continue to work toward this goal.
3. Fuel properly – that means eating enough during the day: Yesterday I had yet another under-fueled, bad workout. Clearly I need to add an extra snack or eat a bigger lunch, but I’m used to eating a certain amount during the day and it’s hard for me to eat more than that without fearing that weight gain will sneak up on me. My body isn’t trying to trick me though and rationally I know if it feels underfueled, then I just gotta eat more. Shouldn’t be a bad thing, right? So I already ate a bigger lunch today and also packed an extra snack just in case. I hope I am rewarded with an excellent workout today!
4. GET OFF MY PHONE: I previously had set a goal to leave my phone in my room when I’m eating dinner, or leave it in my bag while I’m at work, and that has almost completely fallen by the wayside. I need to work on this again because I honestly feel a sense of stress when I get a text or an email that I’m just not up to answering, but I don’t answer it right away. I am aware that it’s not the end of the world for someone who texted me if I don’t respond right away, but in my mind it is at the time, and I can’t stop thinking about it until I respond. So I’ve got to work on that but also just hide the responses by putting my phone AWAY and keeping it there. Thankfully I have a vacation to Mexico coming up this month and given astronomical international texting rates, I will be forced to do just that. A REAL vacation, with less technology!
Let’s go to the beach-each, let’s go get away..
These are the top four goals that I know, if I work on, will decrease my overall stress level and increase my happiness. And how well I am adjusting to life here in Boston!
Can you relate to any of my goals? Any tips or stories to share?
What kind of self-improvement goals do you have going on right now?
