Revolution and Resolutions: What Will You Change in 2012?
Sorry for the radio silence everyone, but we’ve both been in serious nesting mode this sort-of holiday week. We hope you’ve been enjoying your time too, with friends and family or whoever else has tickled your fancy.
Are we getting excited for 2012 yet, or what?! No matter what one believes about this upcoming year—and there’s no shortage of theories—we think that 2012 will be full of movement. Elections, revolutions, new kinds of awareness… There does seem to be a shift underway, one that this natural beauty thing is all about.
While progress is slow, trust in big structures of all kinds has been on the wane, and we’re seeing people moving their money back to the little guys: whether they went to a credit union, started frequenting farmers’ markets, or are now supporting some of the small beauty and wellness companies (and the women who run them) we’ve talked about here.
As so much of our lives have moved online, it’s as though there’s also a pull back to our physical communities and knowing the people behind what we consume. We like that trend.
And then there are our personal goals! The decisions we all make for ourselves that also ripple out to the world.
We all have ways in which we want to improve, and new year or not, there’s nothing wrong with setting some intentions. We want to hear where you plan to effectuate change in your life this year. Here’s where we’d like to grow…
Alexandra:
—I’m going to listen more and react less.
—I’m going to keep working on having healthier energetic boundaries, so that I don’t feel drained unknowingly.
—I’m going to make a bigger effort to connect with people. I was a bit of a recluse in 2011 but now I’m ready to come out and play!
—I’m going to develop a gratitude practice.
—I’m going to balance my hormones! (OK, not entirely within my control but intention helps, right?)
—I’m going to take more timeouts.
—I’m going to take concrete steps to creating the present I want to live.
Siobhan:
—I’m going to pencil in at least two proper vacations and then actually take them.
—I’m going to drag myself from my warm bed and meditate whether I feel like it or not.
—I’m going to take a ballet class.
—I’m going to trust myself.
—I’m going to invite stressy feelings over for tea and let them hang out until they’re ready to leave on their own, instead of chasing them out the door with a broom.
—I’m also going to take concrete steps to create the life I want.
—But I’m still going to have a ball.
Alexandra:
—Just read Siobhan’s! Amen to having a ball, S. I’m in.
OK you guys, you’re up.
I only have one actual resolution for 2012: stop burning the oatmeal. Spin that how you like: paying attention, being mindful, single-tasking, self care. But I’m going to rack up non-burnt oatmeal days.
Last year I developed two new habits. I started making my bed every day and doing the dishes every morning while making coffee. I continue to be amazed at how much serenity such tiny little habits produces. This year I plan to develop two new habits. I think they’ll be (1) to drink a large glass of water first thing in the morning (I already do this many mornings, so it shouldn’t be too hard); and (2) to write every day, whether it is journal writing, blog writing, dissertation writing, etc.
I want to start getting up earlier every morning, but that won’t be an easy new habit. I want easy ones right now. My hope is that these new easy habits will, like last year’s easy habits did, lead to bigger and bolder changes.
huzzah!
- I’m going to reprioritize the commitments I make in my life to ensure my energy is directed to those pursuits that matter most to me.
- I’m going commit to weekly yoga practice and meditation to better manage my stress and tension.
- I’m going to give myself permission to not have to do everything perfectly and realize my own limits.
- And I’m going to plant a garden….who can’t use some more vitamin D and fresh veggies!
My goals for 2012:
- Find a permanent job (been working temp jobs ever since I graduated last May)
- Start a garden now that for the first time I have a yard!
- Learn to can (jam, veggies, etc)
- Take at least one weekend vacation with my boyfriend
- Finally reach the fitness level that I’ve been dreaming of
- Be better about supporting local businesses instead of chain stores. That includes going to the farmer’s market instead of the grocery store during the summer months.
- Start regularly saving a percent of each paycheck.
That’s a lot to accomplish, but I bet I can do most of it!
My main goal for 2012 is to get healthy. I want to eat healthier, more wholesome meals and to make the majority of our meals at home. I found out I am gluten-intolerant and have been struggling to find good gf AND vegan recipes, so I will renew my efforts to continue a vegetarian/vegan diet while entering the world of gluten-free. I also want to work out at least 4 days a week to get toned and strong. I want to better manage stress and to learn to stop putting so much energy into things I can’t change. I get stressed easily, which I know isn’t healthy (however, you girls’ tips of imagining the stressful thought getting smaller and smaller and deciding to refocus attention to positive things has been helping!).
Happy New Year to everyone!
I will go back to using Cetaphil and base my decisions on science rather than fearmongering and quackery. I will use fragrance-free clinically tested products rather than those full of nonsense essential oils and unproven extracts only available at exorbitant prices from online boutiques targeting the lululemon wealthy yoga princess set.
Great resolutions! Mine are to be as happy as I can be, in whatever form that takes. Also, to write everyday!
Thanks for sharing!
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This made me happy! This year my partner and I have resolved to eat healthier and get in shape. For me, this means getting strong enough to run a 5K for breast cancer research in October – my mom, sister, our partners, and I are all going to do it! My mom finished her breast cancer treatment a year ago and since then she has gotten so strong and fit, and she could totally kick my butt now. So I want to get in shape and keep up with her!
My other goal is to be more present. I worry a lot about the future and dwell a lot on the past, but I am trying to keep my worrying down to a minimum by giving myself worrying deadlines.. for instance, right now I am allowed worrying about things up until January 9th, when school starts again. After that, I can worry about things until March 30th, when classes are done!
I hope everyone has a great new year and I am hoping you all fulfill your resolutions!
My resolution for 2012 is to walk in the light. This means, if I know something is right for me, I will resolve to do it. If I know something is wrong for me, I will resolve to stay away from it. As soon as I know the difference, the decision will be made.
To be mindful that life is to be lived with gusto. That each day I’m given is a present and a privilege not to be wasted with unimportant things. Let’s see if I can keep it..
Happy 2012 everyone!!
I’m not one for the whole “resolution” thing, so I usually resist this…But I’m feeling like I really need to commit, or recommit, to some things to get my life fully on track.
- Get back to eating nearly 100% raw after a few cold months with too much cooked food
- Regularly use aromatherapy/flower essences (lovin’ Lotus Wei!)
- Meditate more, develop a regular practice
- Get as much exercise as possible, outdoors as much as possible
- Rely more on the exercise, meditation and aromatherapy (and less on shopping) for stress relief
- Get my house more organized and engage my family in helping with that
- Allow these positive steps to seep into everything I do at home and at work
happy 2012 everyone!
I’ll remind myself to live life with gusto. That each day I’m given is a gift and a privilege that should not be wasted in any way.
Happy 2012 to everyone!
I’ll try to handle becoming a mother (in May, if all goes to plan) with as much grace and patience and humor as I can possibly muster. I’ll worry less about dividing my attention and time between my new little guy, my stepson and my husband and pay more attention to the now – including my own now.
I always have all these vague resolutions floating around in my head – “more yoga”, “more fiber”, “I should probably meditate more…I can practically FEEL those telometers shrinking”, “did I get enough Vitamin B12 today?” and so on and so on…and they stress me out no end! I notice that my husband doesn’t suffer from this at all – he decides to do a few things, goes ahead and methodically does them and then staunchly refuses to stress about all the other noise. So my very concrete resolutions are to: drink more water (well, I AM often thirsty..) and stretch my hamstrings every day. Period.
I loathe the idea of a \resolution\ as, at least to me, it carries with it various negative connotations, perhaps because I’ve never made any meaningful resolutions (always to lose weight, get and maintain a fantastic hairstyle, find a boyfriend, yadda, yadda, yadda) and of course being so random / generic / floopy they always failed. So I prefer to think of myself as having a goal for 2012 and this goal is to detox myself. Generic? It would seem so, but my definition of this is to detoxify various aspects of my life which are all connected to each other in terms of my own happiness and satisfaction.
I want to detoxify my body by trying a juice cleanse – one that’s not too hard core, being realistic about my opportunity for success, but one that I can perform a few times throughout the year, perhaps replacing two meals a day with juices or maybe a three-day all-out juicefest. (I’m getting some professional advice on this so I do it properly.) I’ve joined a yoga studio and have started back at the gym which will take some time to really get back into properly, but I’ve taken the first steps and look forward to getting back to being addicted to running and feeling healthy and strong.
I want to detoxify my mind by keeping up some good habits I started last year, like booking time out in my calendar to be on my own to do whatever I want, whether it’s wander around the city, catch up on the endless pile of books I want to read or just flake out with some mindless reality TV. Also I’ve started writing in a journal randomly, I’d like to get this into a more regular habit as it has helped me let out a lot of the stress or pain I tend to internalise. I made huge strides in my quest for a true work-life balance last year and fully intend on maintaining the balance I managed to achieve, even having (today) moved into a new role at work with a very different set of responsibilities – I have vowed that I would own my calendar and make it work for me. All of these things will keep my stress levels much more manageable!
I want to detoxify my things. I have never been much of a hoarder but I still hang onto that pair of skinny jeans which, even if I ever did fit them again, I’m sure I would think the style totally ridiculous and more importantly, while they sit in my wardrobe they are (in my mind) a constant reminder of my failure / fat / not being perfect and it’s like I have some judgemental jerk scolding me every time I see them. So anything that is not useful / wonderful will be cleared out to make me live in the present, not in the past (when I fit those jeans) or in the future (when I finally drop some weight). This will extend past my clothing and I started last night when I was going through photographs and discovered I still had some of my ex-husband and his family. They were thrown in the bin immediately as they are not fond memories and have no place in my life!
And lastly, I want to detoxify my heart and soul. Since my divorce I have shut my heart up in a little padlocked box and have been completely resistant to the idea of opening up to anyone to trust and care for them. I fear it has left me with touches of paranoia at times, even! So I want to work on feeling safe again, with relationships both romantic and platonic, and I want to make room in my life for more love.
Good luck to you all for your resolutions / goals!
@Naomi – I totally get hate the resolution part. However, I started calling it new year new me :D and like the idea. This year I am going to call it new year, better me because I already started lot of initiatives end of last year and want to keep going.
I am adding new one – more physically active me. I hate gym so finding different ways – dance class (debating between Hip-hop and Ballet.. I know very different but too long a reason to explain here :) ), trekking and hiking – I love it and Seattle is full of them. Just want to plan once every quarter. And final ambitious one- half a marathon!
Excited for a new year!