Resolutions

In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm notorious for making resolutions.  And not just on New Year's Eve.  I make them all year long -- my goals, plans, decisions, etc. etc. etc.  They're all resolutions in one form or another.  So it should come as no surprise that I'm making more of them at the traditional time as well.

After much thought and debate, here are my 2011 resolutions:

• Stick to my budget plan: While I had a budget plan last year and things started off well, I don't know that I thought that plan through.  So when things changed on me, or expenses came up that I didn't expect which altered my budget that month, I got so frustrated that I just gave up.  This year, I have a more carefully thought out plan, and a more carefully thought out mindset.  I think I'm beginning to understand money a little more, and my relationship to it.  So while I have an overall budget plan for the entire year, I also recognize that I'll probably have to replan a few times.  And while a majority of my money is funneled into paying off credit cards, I've built in pockets of spending money and emergency money as well.
• Be more mindful of myself: I need to stop and listen to myself more.  I think I've been in this rut with this job for so long because for months I told myself to suck it up, or I worried about disappointing my boss or something.  Instead, I should have been worried about the fact that this job makes me unhappy and it began to get unhealthy for me.  So this year, I'm trying to be a little more aware of my thoughts and feelings and will hopefully find myself in a better place when 2012 rolls around.
• Take steps to get where I'm going: I began doing this earlier in December and I can already see how good the changes are making me feel.  I started 2010 with all of these plans to get started with and all I ended up doing was putting them on the backburner to deal with in 2011.  Well, 2011 is here...let's get going.
• Travel: Even if it's within the country.  Hawaii and traveling to weddings for a weekend does not count.

There are few smaller resolutions, which are more hopes than actual goals (i.e. build a better wardrobe, get back into my work out routine, write more, see more live music, get outdoors more, take a western national parks road trip, get my dog into a training class), but those are all sort of contingent on something or other.  That's not to say I won't work on accomplishing them, but the resolutions are the real focus here.

I hope you all had a very happy New Year!