Mom New Years Goals, Not Resolutions
I usually don’t make a formal list of mom new years resolutions because I don’t want to deal with the guilt if/ when I break them. But this year I thought it would be fun to write down my mom new years goals for the next year (“goals” sounds more flexible than “resolutions”), in hopes that it will help me achieve them. Like most people, I’ve grown weary of November/ December overindulgence and am ready to eat better and exercise more. Other than that, here are a few things I’d like to accomplish in 2014:
1. Worry less and play more
2. Spend less and give more
3. Finally, finally organize the paper clutter in my office
4. Write at least twice a month (for Mumbling Mommy or just for myself)
5. Read more poetry
6. Stop feeling guilty about the aforementioned paper clutter (see #1)
I’m looking forward to reading everyone else’s resolutions, too. And let me know if you have any tips about the paper clutter…. Happy New Year!
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| My cleaned up workspace
2014 Theme: Consume Less, Move More
By Heather N.
I just hashed out my Mom New Years Resolution plan for 2014 with my pal Whitney. She knows me well and I knew if I babbled long enough about all the delicious ways I could improve myself in this sparkling new year, she could distill that babble into something useful.
I read an awesome article this week on scratching New Year’s Resolutions for a THEMED New Year. But what theme? My faith is strong so I didn’t feel I needed to actively work on that. I want to continue to simplify the stuff in our house. I want to lose my desire for acquiring new things like lipsticks and Target T-shirts. I want to read more books. Get to the gym and walk or bike rather than driving our car places. Could I swear off shopping for one month? For six months? Or vow to read 50 books in 2014, tracking them all on Good Reads? After unloading all of these ideas and talking with my friend, my theme for 2014 emerged: “Consume Less, Move More.”
I will check in with myself weekly over the year to decide how successful I had been on those two themes. In order to keep them at the front of my mind, I’ll do a weekly calendar reminder on my cozi.com app. Check back next year to see how this year’s theme is going…or tweet/email to ask me yourself in a few weeks. .jpg)
Finding Personal Purpose By Alyssa Here we are again, it’s the time of the year for Mom New Years Resolutions. Every year I sit down to evaluate the year. My husband and I talk about the good, bad, and changes we need to make. We rank our year together and talk about the next year ahead and set goals.
This year I started to think about my life and what I want my goals to be. It really hit me this year. Of course there is the usual:
· Eat healthier (not the thousands of cookies and candies I’ve been cramming down my throat the last month)
· Start exercising more (since for the first time my body has lost shape and I feel more my age!)
· Try to have more patience with my family
· Turn off the electronics more and have more family time one on one
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Clean out the clutter!
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Volunteer more
But one thing really hit me. One goal I really want to work on this year — to find my purpose. It’s pretty big and I realize it’s not going to happen all at once but I am yearning for that purpose for my life. I am 31, and have been a part time working/part time stay at home mom and I have been this way for the last 4 years. I have a degree in elementary education and was happy teaching for a few years before my kids came along. But is that where I want to return in my career?It’s nice to be able to be home with my kids and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have 3 more years until my youngest is in school full time but I just feel this need to figure out what I am supposed to do with my life. My husband is nearing his mid 30s and I figured by this point we would start feeling pretty solid in our life. But instead I feel stuck in the middle with not much of a purpose. Do I stay home still? Do I work? Do I go back to school? I know this answer might not come right away but I am ready to seek God’s purpose for me more fully. I was thinking of going back to school but I am just not sure what to do. I feel like a 20 year old, not a 30 year old, with this huge life goal sitting in front of me. But this time going to school won’t be so easy with three kids, a husband, and part time jobs. So this year my biggest resolution is to start searching for God’s plan in my life. And don’t get me wrong, being a mom is a goal of mine and I love it, but I am one of those moms that is a bit better of a mom when I can get out of the house a little and work. I like to have that feeling that someone needs me to do something besides change diapers, clean faces, and clean my house. It’s probably the biggest resolution I’ve had yet but I am pretty hopeful to find my place and direction, even if it takes a few more years.  2014: A Year of Outreach
By Katie
Two years ago in a different Mom New Years Resolution post on this blog, I let the universe know I wanted to breastfeed my second child for longer than I had my first. Wouldn’t you know it? My baby would not accept ANYTHING other than mom (forget bottles and pacis) for her entire first year — the length of time in the post that I said I wanted to nurse her was “at least several months” — and then weaned without looking back right at the 13-month point. So hey – maybe there is something to this annual post that breeds success. When the New Year rolls around, I like to take stock of my life and decide where I want to go with it. Usually I have a few fitness-related resolutions, and some career ones, with some self-improvement ones thrown in for good measure. This year, I’m in the middle of chasing a few goals that are ongoing — building my writing business, redesigning and growing Mumbling Mommy, training for some long-distance running races, losing those few pesky pregnancy pounds, and writing consistently on some personal projects. These aren’t new for January 1, and many will not be done by December 31. My goal is to just keep going with them and not lose my enthusiasm. One thing I would really like to see happen in my life this year is more outreach. When I cover philanthropic stories for my freelance newspaper gig, I always think “Wow, what a great cause. I should help somehow” but it seems like I never have the time to revisit the idea — let alone commit. My kids are getting bigger now and there are a few local initiatives that I think they could help me do (a food backpack program for area school kids that hosts huge packing events monthly, and Meals on Wheels drop-offs). As I watched my kids unwrap their Christmas gifts in my in-laws beautiful home, following a gourmet seafood dinner (courtesy of my mother-in-law’s skills) the night before and followed by a large brunch after gifts were unwrapped, I counted my blessings — but there was a nagging feeling that they should know more than that. They should know that some people struggle and in the case of children, they often suffer for no reason of their own. Besides, helping others is a good thing. So in addition to all my career, personal and family works-in-progress, I resolve this year to do more for people who need my help – and to take my kids along.  |
What will you resolve for 2014?
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Tags: Alyssa
