I Did It! I Kept My Resolution!

I posted this over at Segullah today, but thought it was pertinent to everyone. At least everyone who is celebrating a New Year. If you celebrate Chinese New Year instead then maybe you shoud skip this (and ni hou to you, by the way).

As a person who constantly fails at New Year’s Resolutions, I rarely make them anymore. Last year something clicked and not only did I make a couple of resolutions, but I actually kept them. One was to go all year without drinking Mt. Dew. This is a really big deal because I’m pretty much an addict. I can turn down other pop but not The Dew. So I drank an entire 2 liter bottle last New Years Eve and did not have another drop for 365 days.

The other goal I kept was to hang my clothes up every night. I always stay up too late (the house is so beautifully quiet!) and end up stumbling to bed ready to pass out. I drop my clothes on the floor and slide into bed. You would think that the 90 seconds it takes to hang up my clothes wouldn’t be such a big deal. But it has been. It wasn’t until I finally could say, “it’s not like I’m going to want to hang these up tomorrow either. I should just do it now,” that the light bulb turned on. And we all know how piles of clothes beget piles of clothes. Better to nip it in the bud.

This New Year’s Eve found me dreamily imagining the great things I would accomplish this year: meaningful scripture study? Never going to bed with a messy kitchen? Restricting the time I spend online? Not eating sugar all year? It wasn’t until yesterday that I thought of something I’d really like to accomplish: I want to be more creative.

I constantly see cute projects everywhere and think, “I’ll bet I could do that!” But I rarely do. I almost never try. Doing creative projects—whether artsy, craftsy or even writing—makes me feel selfish and indulgent. Creative acts make me feel vital and alive and really work out the stress in my life. However, that naggy, rotten voice in my head pipes up and tells me what a waste of time it all is. I should be sorting laundry and throwing out rotten leftovers. I haven’t earned the right to do something fun—which is how creativity feels to me.

But I’m telling that voice to shut up. I’m making Craft Hour from 9:30-10:30 every morning. There will not be appointments scheduled or sinks scrubbed. This is the time when I can let loose the creativity I keep shut away. For once I’m actually thrilled about a resolution. I already have today’s project laid out on my entry hall floor (new living room curtains!).

Are you telling that negative voice in your head to just shut up this year? Are you setting goals? Do you find the whole thing ridiculous? Is failure your middle name?

| Filed under Holidays, I'm Not So Great

6 thoughts on “I Did It! I Kept My Resolution!

  1. I didn’t realize you’d gone a whole year without the nectar! That IS impressive! I think “creativity hour” is a great idea! But I must say, what you already do has me beat on the creativity front. (Arabellas halloween costume, anyone?) I think my resolution might be to finally collect on last years bday present, and have you make me something 🙂

  2. Last year, my one resolution was to learn to work my manual settings on my fancy camera I’ve owned for years.

    I did a lot last year. I got married, started a new job, was productive on a regular basis, etc, but naturally, I did NOT learn how to work the manual settings on my camera. Doh.

  3. You know what I like about your resolutions, and what I think makes them do-able? They are small but make an impact on your daily life. The hanging up clothes may seem trivial, but it matters doesn’t it?

    I love, love, love your creativity one. I have done that myself for the past few years and it is huge. Instead of an hour a day, I set aside one day of the week (Thursdays) and it is the best. Creativity is so underrated these days. Go you!

Leave a Reply to B Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *