Tis the time of the year when most people are working on or toward the resolutions they made on New Year’s Eve. Some people keep their resolutions all year long, while most I would say, lose their resolve around February. This year I decided to view my New Year’s resolutions as investments instead, hoping that the shift in perspective would carry me into 2019. These ‘investments’, indeed are commitments I know will result in personal and professional gains.
For example, my first New Year’s investment regarded my physical health. I’m ashamed to admit this, but honestly I don’t think that I have gone a full year without smoking at least one cigarette since 1997. I know this fact might seem alarming, and I have reasons that just feel like excuses at this point. I decided that it was time to fully invest in my physical health and not smoke a single cigarette in 2018. I feel like this is a realistic investment since I haven’t had one in over four months. Additionally, my smoking habits the past decade have been intermittent. There are more smoke-free days than there were days when I smoked. I’m finally ready to commit myself to never smoking another cigarette. I am invested in my physical health. I also decided to invest in gratitude. Quite frankly, I think that sometimes we get pulled into negative thinking about our lives, without realizing how good we have it. These processes are self-centered forms of self-destructive sabotage. I’ve been starting and ending my days saying thank you for all my blessings. This investment has transformed how I view my life, the relationships I have, and the ones I hope to build. It is slowly helping me move from contentment or resentment to a place where I will eventually feel comfortable being happy. I know right now, it’s just making me sit back and be inspired by all people and my surroundings. I decided to invest in my writing at least once a week. It’s no secret that I must publish to get tenure, nor is it a secret that I enjoy writing. I get to express my thoughts openly when I write. I am graced with the opportunity to use writing as forum for social change, not simply with this blog, but with research and poetry. This is gratifying in many ways. When I write, I find me. A reflection of a flawed being is revealed, but it’s an authentic me who for that fraction of time, I wouldn’t change. I don’t know exactly where this investment will take me other than up, professionally and personally. I invest fully in expressing myself through writing for my own betterment and the betterment of others. Finally, I decided to invest in dating this year and it’s a lot more challenging for me than most people would imagine. The truth is I want to fall in love with someone who is equally in love with me. However, I’m not very good at the dating thing. If I listed every issue I have with dating, I would certainly scare away every suitor. Plus, I know these are things I need to come to terms with personally. One I will say, is that dating is scary for a lot of reasons. However, in the long-run it would be nice to have a companion. I want to create my own traditional family and I need to invest in dating for that to happen. I really want these two children who I’ve named and imagined in my head; I want my imagined husband too. I’m really going to try this whole year to date, so at minimum there's a chance at having my perfectly imperfect family. I thought my approach to New Year’s Resolutions might be beneficial if I share them with all of you. Thinking about these commitments as investments, made me reflect carefully on my decisions. It also caused me to identify the gains associated with these investments, which has seemed to already help with motivation. What ways can you invest in you in 2018?
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