New Frontiers





It's almost 2018 and I'm so grateful to be putting 2017 behind me. It's easily been the hardest year of my life, which I think is saying something. I know that just because it's a new year doesn't automaticlly just make everything start fresh and clean but I'm determined to pick myself up and dust myself off the best I can in 2018.

I haven't made Resolutions for New Years in a long time (refer to the post Evolutions) but this year I'm going to give myself some guidelines. I keep saying I need a real adult to help me adult my very scary world right now but that isn't how life works. I have huge decisions to make and I feel like it's going to be very important to take care of myself so that I can build a vision for my future and make some much needed changes for personal growth.

I've been reading a lot of different articles on how to stay motivated this year and I found one I really liked in The Mighty about 12 months of self care. I changed it a little to suit my purposes but this is what it looks like and I think anyone could do it.

January: Feed Your Soul
Eating right! This is something I'm already working on by carefully learning how to cook and staying on the Purium Plan but I think January is always a good time for a detox, so I've ordered my Purium Detox kit. I lost 50 pounds in 2017 and I'm hoping to lose the remaining 15 in 2018.

February: Routine
I know it sounds boring but for me it's so important to have a routine. A regular bedtime, eating schedule, exercise schedule. I didn't realize how much until this winter. It's helped my seasonal depression enormously. Even a grocery shopping schedule helps keep me on track with eating better. It's a good time to get back on track.

March: Physical Fitness
By March I should have been doing physical therapy for my back, coming back strong from swimming every day in Hawaii and I'm already up to walking 5 days a week (which is something I couldn't do a year ago) I'm hoping by this month I can try to start running again or maybe start doing yoga again. If I'm unable to go up in intensity at least really join a gym with a pool to keep swimming.

April:Treat YoSelf
It's my birthday month! I think I should get my rare pedicure, massage and whatever else seems good to me. I'm just going to do things that feel luxurious that I never treat myself to.

May: Meditation Challenge
I'm pretty good about doing this before bed but it's never a bad idea to work on meditation. It decreases stress and improves your move. I may be moving in the spring and it's always stressful. There are some really great apps you can use if you are a beginner.

June: Helping Others
I've taken a lot of time off from my volunteer work and I miss it a lot. I hope by June that my back situation is under control and that I'm settled in whatever new community I might be in and I'd love to get back to helping the community.

July: Journaling
I'm always on the fence about this. I'm pretty bad at keeping a journal but when I do I usually find out some pretty interesting things about myself. I worked on it briefly last winter in Hawaii and it was an interesting thought experiment. I'll have a lot of changes in 2018 so it might be a good habit to form.

August: The Hobbiest
Try something new! I don't know what that is or what it could be but it never hurts to cultivate new hobbies. This will be a tough one for me because I've run out of the hobby phase in life but it's important to keep learning.

September: Social Butterfly
I get stuck in these ruts of not leaving the house or hiding from people. I feel let down and I feel like I"m letting down but I still need to put myself out there because I cannot live on cat friendships alone! I'll be working on putting myself in all those awkward social situations.

November: NanoWriMo
Thankfully November challenges me with National Novel Writers Month every year. I did complete this year and I am having my completed novel being read by beta readers currently. Do I have another novel in me? Only time will tell.

December: Mindfulness
Be mindful of one thing everyday that is amazing. That shouldn't be too hard, should it?

I also downloaded a book called 365 Daily Do Its: Organizing Tips and Challenges to Help You Get Organized. My house is quite large and it's very daunting on where to get started on how to pack it and after I pack it up where do I go. I'm formulating a type of plan in my mind but I'm not sure if it's the right plan.

Obviously, I'm trying to start my travel plans for the year but I have a lot of unknowns between moving and extra Stanford visits but that's always part of my ongoing planning.

If you asked my what my Resolutions were I'd say to be happy and healthy, then in my mind I'd add to be loved deeply. Call me a romantic but I think I've finally found a peace in myself where I could allow myself to feel loved. I met a wonderful man recently who made me think it could be possible to find my own version of a fairy tale, sadly for me he wasn't my prince but I bet there must be one out there for me. I have so much love in me to give that it would feel so wonderful to share it with someone.

Until then I'll keep making myself a better human being and be satisfied with being happy and healthy. I got this!

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