Yes, I, like millions of other social networkers, am about to jump on the resolutions bandwagon, albeit rather tardily. I am a self-professed bandwagon sceptic, but I think coming up with achievable resolutions is actually a very healthy activity. I still maintain that it is never to late for a new start, so I might be amending these in April, June and even December! Nevertheless I have waded through my wishy-washy aspirations for 2012 and come up with a simple, rather skeletal plan of action. Firstly, I identified my concerns for the year, which were: my spiritual health, my physical health and, in a sense, my academic health. I find the success of these three aspects of my life determine my mood and comfort, I then thought of 4 attainable targets to make life a little easier and more focused.
1. Tithe. I can be REALLY lazy with this and it's time I stepped it up. I believe that regular giving will change my heart attitude and make me more generous with and thankful for what I have. It will also force me to regularly assess my financial situation and help me save for my year abroad and other little adventures.
2. Drink less caffeine (notice I didn't specify!) I have recognised in myself a rather anxious disposition and a little shaky monster that starts jamming in my veins after a couple of cups of coffee. So I have decided to limit my intake to 2-3 cups a day. That might be 3 cups of caff tea and 1 cup of decaff coffee, or 1 cup of coffee and two cups of tea. I'll, of course, let myself off for special occasions like essay deadlines and late night chats, when caffeine is naturally required. I hope this will make me less shaky and less annoying to everyone.
3. Keep the Sabbath. It's one of the 10 commandments and yet I ignore it completely. I have decided that I will no longer do any uni work on a Sunday. This eradicates the last minute panic before a Monday morning, enables me to go for lunch with church people and allows me the chance to enjoy rehearsing without the nagging pressure of academic work. It means I'm going to have to sacrifice certain things and be a little more organised, but it will help me feel a lot more rested before the crazy working week ensues.
4. Learn 20 new words a week. I am DETERMINED. The 5 words a day rule I made in September was a bit too much to ask, but I think I could definitely commit to learning 20 new words in German and Italian a week. I find that when I get into learning vocab I just want to learn more and more, so hopefully by starting small and manageable I might be able to eventually increase my intake without having to make a new rule. Wooopah! This will inevitably help me improve my fluency and knowledge of the languages I love so much. It will make things A LOT easier.
Another thing, which isn't much of a resolution because it's hard to measure; I want to change my attitude towards life in general. I don't want to wish this year away, I don't want to store up all my hope and excitement on holidays, reading weeks and weekends, I want to enjoy and appreciate every working day. I want to relish every second, but at the same time not heap unnecessary expectation on to each and every single moment. Basically, I need to stop being so highly strung and realise that not everything has to be in routine. MUST EMBRACE SPONTANEITY. I guess this year is all about finding the balance, God willing.
No comments:
Post a Comment