New Year's Theme 2007

It's taken me some time to wrap my thoughts around this theme. I knew there were some things I wanted to accomplish this upcoming year, but if I didn't have a guiding principle to fall back on, I'd only forget about them.

This year's theme is Embracing Discipline. A bunch of my behavior is tied to psychological issues, childhood blocks...blah, blah, blah. Then there are the things I don't do simply because I am lazy. I need to change that. I'm not getting any younger and my life is only becoming more in my control, not less.

To this end, I'm making little changes that will hopefully produce big results. Will power will have nothing to do with this...it is WAY too flighty to depend on. Discipline only requires practice. Some of these things may be hard, but I've never understood not doing something simply because it was hard. So I will practice having discipline through practice!

Some of these tasks include:

1. Getting Ella more socialized to other dogs. It isn't brain surgery. I just need to get her to the park more often and make more doggy dates. The more she's around them, the more she'll be used to being around them. I've already joined the Cocker Spaniel group on Meetup.com and I have a standing tea date with a neighbor who has two pit bulls.

2. Brushing my teeth and washing my face every night. Don't worry, I do them every morning! But this only take 5 minutes combined. There's no reason not to do them.

3. Meditating at least once a day. I have created my altar with my sitting cushions and I have pledged to meditate at least 15 minutes once a day. Boy oh boy...this is Definitely something that requires practice...clearing the mind and focusing only on the breath is Hard! I'm going to post about how Nichiren Buddhism is SO Buddhism for Dummies.

4. Living on a budget. This is the one task that is connected to my issues. However, that can no longer be an excuse. I just have to suck it up, create a budget and live within it. I've done it before and it felt good. I can totally do it again.

5. Running every other day. Something that takes less than 45 minutes and has profound effects on my body and mind. I have the body of my mom when she was my age, and if I don't take care of it, I will end up with her body at her age. She's a wonderful woman, but I don't want her body. Sh*t, neither does she! She's on a serious walking kick, with weights and everything.

6. Creatively writing more. When I was going through my PTSD and anxiety, I picked up creative writing as both an outlet and an escape. I didn't share what I wrote and most of it was only two-page profiles I made up of people I saw on the subway. I think I would like to continue/expand on what I've done. It was just fun...and it beats watching TV.

7. Getting to work on time. Like Angela, I too have a problem with this. I think it's because I don't want to be there anymore. Regardless, I can't let them know that. So I need to go to bed earlier so that I won't press the snooze button in the morning.

With that said...I gotta go to bed. Tomorrow is a running day. Happy New Year!