Plagiarism

So I'm going to start off this post by saying I'm a big fat copycat. Yup, that's right. Devoid of originality, I am scamming the idea for this post from Emily at http://www.thewinkofaneye.com/. You see, this year I resolved not to make resolutions. They never stick anyway. (I am dreading visiting the gym, knowing how crowded it is during the first part of the year.) And when they don't stick, I'm stuck at the end of the year with a feeling of failure.

But then I argue with myself. "Sally," I say (since I sometimes call myself Sally), "isn't that just lazy?" I mean, if I don't set goals, how am I supposed to have any motivation for anything? I think what I don't like about New Year's resolutions (is it proper to have "New Year's" capitalized? I never know.) is that I don't think there should be a specific time of year for setting goals. People (me) should be setting new goals for themselves all year round, not just in the first few days of the new year (doesn't look right not capitalized, Sally, but that is the proper way to do it in that sentence).

So that brings me to my copycatting ways. Emily (at http://www.thewinkofaneye.com/, check out her blog!) set three categories for herself for the new year. The first was physical, second was spiritual/character, and the final one was creative/intellectual. I like those categories, so I'm *borrowing* them, taking special care to credit her genius (http://www.thewinkofaneye.com/). *deep breath* Aaand, here we go.

1) Physical
This is the one that always gets me off track. It seems like everyone and their dog (really!) makes a resolution resolving to do something physical. (Let's get physical, physical...) (Do you remember the saying "all that and a bag of chips?" "Everyone and their dog" reminds me of that.) (Gosh I'm ADD today.) ANYWAY. Everyone feels guilty following the holiday binging they did, and everyone promised themselves that this week it was all going to change. The cleanse, if you will. (Imagine saying "cleanse" in a pompous British voice, like an old man in a smokers jacket speaking around the pipe hanging out of his mouth) The fanatical, wild-eyed promises to do better this year, to eat healthy to work out 7 days a week for three hours and really drop those pounds...and two weeks later they are (I am) sitting on the couch, watching Biggest Loser and chowing down on french fries. Effective.

So. My first resolution is to get myself moving three times a week. No time limit. If it's 20 minutes, awesome. If it's an hour, even better. If I go to the gym, great. If I play Just Dance on Wii, that still counts. (It is a work out! Have you tried it? Do!) Just getting in the habit of moving is the first obstacle. Of course, if I do more, all the better. I'll also be attempting to eat better, but that's not part of this resolution. One thing at a time, people.

2) Spiritual/Character
This one is the hardest for me, I think. It's an area in which I have been extremely lacking over the past year. The spirituality part. (My character is awesome. Flawless.) I have joined groups and attended church, but not as regularly as I should. I think what I am lacking most is connection. With people and with God. So my resolution here is to get more involved. Make an effort. Don't just attend, do. Give up the excuses that I give for not being more present. Dive in and see where I land. Simple. Right? ...

3) Creative/Intellectual
This one is the one I'm actually most excited about. In November 2009 I started a novel as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It actually has the potential to be a decent teen/young adult novel, but I have lacked the motivation to actually finish it. This year, I would like to finish the manuscript, and then look into what I need to do to submit it to a publisher. It's scary, and I know it's super difficult to get published, but I definitely won't know until I try, right?

My final (unofficial) resolution is to check in with the above resolutions at least a couple times and guage how I'm doing, tweak as needed. Maybe I need to increase one, or hone it. These are just general ideas, ones that hopefully by the end of the year will have me more active, more involved, and chasing my dreams like anything can happen.

Oh yeah, one more thing...

http://www.thewinkofaneye.com/

:)