Many of us have certain goals for a new year. In previous years I never really thought much about it. The usual “do more sports”, “eat healthier”, that was it.
Last year, though, I learned a lot about myself. What it means to listen to myself and what I need most. From the times of greatest stress (that might not have ended yet) I come out more attentive to what is actually good for me. I will cherish this knowledge and try to incorporate it into my daily life even more in 2015.
Specifically, I want to
- Take better care of myself (This includes keeping up with regular medical checkups. Something I really neglected lately, which I’m not proud of. But it also includes knowing when I need a break from work and actually taking those breaks.)
- Keep running (Running is my number one stress release. I had to take a long break last year due to a knee injury and I could feel how this break was not good for me.)
- Keep in touch with friends that I feel are good for me (And minimize contact with people that are not, including facebook’s illusory world.)
- Reach out and ask for help (This is difficult for me. I’m a private person and don’t like to talk about my problems. Last year made it necessary to do so and I was overwhelmed by the sympathies, thoughtful words, encouragement, and advice I got back.)
- Be less busy (While I do have great friends and enjoy their company, I need to be less of a social butterfly and take more time for myself.)
- Bring more structure into daily life (At work I am a very structured person. At home not quite as much. I need to create a better habit of going to bed early and a balanced schedule for my weekends that includes both relaxing and being productive.)
- Clean up and complete tasks immediately (I never realized how uncompleted tasks or even just things lying around in the appartment occupy my mind. Putting things away helps me to focus, although it is hard sometimes when I’m just tired from work.)
- Read more (And switch the TV off. I love to read but I don’t do it often enough. I read a lot at work, so very often I rather do other things when I’m at home. Lately, though, I realized how much it can calm me down when I’m stressed.)
- Continue practicing Tai Chi (I started doing Tai Chi regularly about two years ago and I can feel how it improved my health and reduced stress. To my surprise my allergies got much better so that I no longer need cortisone treatments during the winter months.)
- Look into acupuncture for further allergy relief.
Happy New Year, my dear readers! Do you have any goals for the new year? Have a wonderful 2015 and may all your wishes for this year come true!
themiddleofthestreet 
Be less busy should be one of my intentions for 2015 as well. I am terrible at over-planning and then I don’t enjoy the things I plan which defeats the purpose of making plans… But what’s at the heart of the issue for me is learning how to say no and not feel bad…
I’ll be posting my goals on Monday but one of my goals is figuring out my sleep issues. I have not been sleeping well for awhile and even a prescription sleep aid doesn’t help so I need to figure out something else…
Learning not to feel bad when we say no is a good point! I realized though, that my friends really didn’t let me feel bad when I started saying no. (The same at work, btw.) And I wouldn’t want them to feel bad either when they did. So, it’s really us thinking about it too much. I guess? Sleep hygiene is an important thing for me to learn, too! I created a schedule for my nights and for going to bed. Will see how it works 😉 I’m curious to read about your goals for 2015!