2013!!

Hey Everybody!

 Guess what? We're now living in 2013--Awesome! :)

I'm not really a resolutions type of girl. I tend to be overly dogmatic (a habit I'm trying to break), and then I become frustrated when I'm unable to fulfill my resolutions completely. So, this year, I decided to come up with kind of a new year's 'guideline' instead of 'resolution'. The past year was a real year of growth for me. I felt more keenly observant than ever before, and among the things I was observant of, I was paying attention to what it is that makes me happy and since I want to resolve to be happy in 2013, ;-) it was around those things that I've come up with my new year's guideline. 

So, in no particular order, I'd like to, every day:

• Do something for someone else.
• Do something for myself.
• Do something to better our space.
• Do some work for the shops.
• Do something that cultivates my creativity.

 

-Doing something for someone else could be as simple as a hug or brushing my little sister's hair, to patching pants or mending my brother's socks.

-Doing something for myself will be anything from jogging to indulging in cookies. ;) Taking time for myself in a special way makes me appreciate myself more, whether it's a homemade spa or a good book, I need to take the time and believe that I deserve it.

-I've always loved bettering our space, but not always the nitty gritty of it. Doing a job that needs to be done that I keep putting off, is so satisfying, whether it's cleaning, decorating, gardening, home improvements or anything that is improving our frequented space in some small way.

-Working for the shops is something I usually do every day anyway, and it makes me happy because it's my way of providing for myself. Taking a more specific amount of time for that daily will help them to improve and grow more quickly, methinks. :)

-Ah, yes! And something to cultivate my creativity! This is what I'm most excited about. :) Perhaps this could have gone under the 'doing something for myself' category, because that's what it is, but the difference is, that category is for my physical self and creativity is something that enhances my mental self. Right now, my imagination is deeply sunken in my latest novel and I've set aside a goal to write a chapter a day on that, but creativity comes in a lot of forms for me and it could be painting a picture, learning music, or any kinds of imaginative planning or plotting.
 

So, as you can see, I've observed for myself that things that make me happy are things that satisfy, improve and challenge me.

Calling this a guideline helps to make me less dogmatic about it. If I'm not able to do everything in one day (gosh these winter days feel short!), I won't stress over it, but I find having the list as a daily guideline is helpful on those days when I'm feeling lazy.

What are some of your resolutions / guidelines for 2013?

(btw- special thanks to our furry baby Kynna for being so eager to decorate this post with her mug today! ;-)