Life Shifts

Wow, another year come and gone. Well, almost.

I always feel very reflective on New Year's Eve and today hasn't been much different. I can't really explain the feeling, though. I'm not sure if it's sadness (maybe for no particular reason) or uncertainty about the future. I think a little bit of both. But I have also been feeling very goal-oriented. And while I know this is the time of year to make resolutions, I'm calling them "life shifts" instead. Resolutions get broken and to make the changes that I need to make, several things in my life need to shift to new habits, practices, etc. I don't think the word "resolutions" has the importance of the lifestyle shifts and changes that I need to make.

Life shifts for 2010:

1. Health: Eating healthier and working out. Period. Those two are definitely shifts from the habits I have now.

2. Sleep: More, more, more. I'm a champ at going on 4-5 hours of sleep per night during the week. But over break I've been getting 8+ hours of sleep per night. I think my body was shocked at first but thankful.

3. Connections: With friends, with family, with Justin. That doesn't imply that I have problems with any of those relationships now, but connections can always grow stronger and it takes effort from both ends...which means that I could improve my end.

4. Spending: My goal is to be credit card free in 2010. This will be hard for me. I mean no spending on any credit cards...Visa, store credit cards...you name it. If it's not in my bank account (and trust me, that's usually pretty bare) then I'm not spending it. Wow, that's scary for me.

5. Saying no: Justin is laughing as he reads this right now. But he knows that I want to work on this. I need to say "no" more to some questions posed to me. Here's an example:

Important person: "Hey Jenn, can you attend a faculty meeting after school on Tuesday?"
Me: "Sure."

Important person: "Hey Jenn, can you head up twelve new projects even though you are already drowning in teaching, cheerleading, yearbook, and Relay for Life?"
Me: "NO!"

6. Jenn: Yes, myself. I know that all of these involve me, but this shift is a little different. My goal is to spend more time on myself which means not grading a paper or doing something for cheerleading or Relay or even doing a load of laundry. I mean sitting down from time to time and doing something that I truly enjoy from reading to crafts to writing to a few special projects that have been in the back of my head for awhile.

I'm sure there are more little goals here and there but they probably fit into one the previous shifts. I have an awesome feeling about the upcoming year. I think it will be great for me, great for us, and great for those around us. Here we go, 2010, I'm ready.