January

January is a funny month don’t you think.  We stumble out of the haze of Christmas and New Year, armed with the good intentions of New Year’s resolutions.  The kids are still on holidays, but we return to work – but not everyone is back at work, so a lot of stuff just gets left until February.  Then before you can say “oi oi oi” it’s Australia day, the Country Music Festival is in full boot-scooting swing and we are playing host to a swag of visitors. 

So the way I see things, life at number 35 doesn’t return to normal until really the first week of February – school’s back, visitors have returned home, everyone is back at work.

Now is the time to start really thinking about what I want to achieve this year – not the usual “lose weight, be fitter” waffle that is trotted out every January 1 – things that will really make a change in my life for the better.  It’s easy to “resolve” to do something, but there is never any clear path or definite outcome.  Wouldn’t it be better to set some goals for each month with an end result that’s tangible?  I may still have a goal of losing weight, but what will I do each month to get there and what do I want to be at the end of the year.

But while I tend to concentrate on my weight and my fitness, I neglect other areas of my life that I would like to improve.  And maybe if I were able to get these other areas under control, then the constant battle with my weight wouldn’t be so...constant.

I’ve been reading Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project” and the monthly challenges she set for herself to find happiness.  She felt like life was racing by and the real things that mattered in that life were getting bogged down and neglected in the rush.  Each month she looked at particular area of her life – marriage, work, friendships – and worked on improving her focus on these things in order to be happier. 

In January, Gretchen turned to improving her vitality – she aimed to:

• Go to bed earlier
• Exercise better
• Toss, restore, organise
• Tackle a nagging task
• Act more energetic

The challenge for February was to focus on her marriage:

• Quit nagging
• Don’t expect praise or appreciation
• Fight right
• No dumping
• Give proofs of love

I have decided to follow Gretchen’s path to happiness – a year of really concentrating on the things that make up my life and the things that really matter.  Now that it is February, I’ll be playing catch up but stay tuned....