LET'S TALK GOALS!

Let's talk 2017 goals. I know what you're thinking "but Ash we already talked about resolutions," and you're right we did. But a resolution and a goal are different. A resolution, by definition, is a decision to do or not to something, or to solve a problem. A goal, by definition, is a desired result. Perhaps your resolutions are leading to a certain goal or goals. I think that in order for your resolution to have a chance at making it past that February hump, having a goal or goals set out in your mind will help give you that ambition to keep going. It's like a cause and effect if you will.

I have two resolutions I set for myself. The first, and easiest, is to read more. I used to love reading because it was an escape from reality. But as I got older and busier, I had less time to read until I stopped all together. I recently started again at the end of last year. I created a note in my phone to keep track of all the book I read this year. My goal is to read at least 15 books. So far, I finished the one I started December 22nd of last year, and have finished two more! Woo hoo!

My other and much more complex resolution is to get better control of my anxiety. I laid out a plan for doing this in my other blog post. My goal in doing this is to become a more positive person overall.

I have a natural predisposition to negativity because of my anxiety. I have to work *extra hard* to be positive. Whenever things go right, instinctively I think about when they're going to go wrong. In one day I could win the lottery, find my dream home, and buy my dream car, and I still would think about the one thing that went wrong that day. Even if it was something as simple as I ran out of Earth Balance butter for my waffles, or the shirt I wanted to wear wasn't clean. This is naturally how my brain functions.

But what I've learned about the brain is that it's a pretty amazing thing. I went through a lot of issues when my ex and I broke up, and they lasted for years. He was in (and out) of my life for a long time, and I never felt so low as I did when he was out of my life. Even when he was in it, he wasn't really in it. While I remember a lot of things that happened over the years, and I vividly remember the pain I felt, a lot of things are fuzzy. It's similar to when my Granny, one of my favorite people in my life, whom I was very close to, passed away when I was a kid. We used to watch Jeopardy together, and we would spend Tuesday's going to Starbucks and going shopping. Still to this day, Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week because I don't have her to spend it with. I have memories of her funeral, and her being sick in general, but they're fuzzy. Why? Because the brain knows what the heart can't handle. My brain is purposely blocking these memories out because it knows that my heart couldn't bear the thought of them. So if my brain can do all of this, my brain can work with me to be a more positive person.

But how am I gonna do this? Well, I have a plan. You know how people do those memory jars and they start on January 1st and at the end of the year they read all of their memories. I'm gonna do that but with a twist. I'm gonna take a jar, and every day, fill it with a memory or something that makes me happy. It could be something as simple as writing down something I love, like avocados, and whenever I feel down in the dumps, I'm gonna open my jar and read as many happy thoughts as I need to feel better. I'm gonna train my mind that when it feels negative, to flood it with positivity, and hopefully I'll need to dip into the jar less and less as the year progresses.

All great things start with a plan and good intentions. Do you have yours?

LET'S DO THIS 2017!