Be Better

I'm terrible at New Year's Resolutions.  It seems like I make the same one year after year and I never stick with it for more than a couple of weeks.  But I like the idea of a resolution.  The idea of making a vow to change something and start fresh in a new year.  I spent hours contemplating what my resolution should be for this year.  Lose 40 pounds?  Yep, I want to do that.  Pay off some credit cards?  Yep, I want to do that too.  Be a better cook?  Learn to use a sewing machine?  Improve my 5K time?  Yep, yep, and yep.  I was excited about all of the things I thought I could accomplish this year, but discouraged at the same time because, honestly, how was I going to be able to concentrate on ALL of them?  And then it hit me.  Be Better.

Be Better is my motto for 2013.  Rather than making a huge overhaul and trying to tackle all of my goals at one time, I decided to break them down into smaller pieces.  I'm still working out all the details, but the basic idea is to focus on becoming better at one thing per month.  So far, I have plans to be a better cook, handle money better, get a better 5K time, be a better friend, and better organize my home.  Do you see the theme here?  Ha!  I'm hoping that, over the course of the year, I can be just a little better at a lot of things. 

My focus for January is to eat better.  The beauty of this idea is that I don't have to be perfect.  I don't have to overhaul everything, I just have to work at doing better than I have been.  For example, lately my afternoon snack has consisted of some Doritos and a couple tablespoons of Top the Tator as dip.  Sometimes washed down with a can of pop.  Not a healthy snack by any means, I know, but I seriously lose all self control in the winter!  Especially around the holidays when I'm eating so many things that I don't normally eat.  Anyway, today I went to the fridge looking for a snack and repeated my mantra of "Be Better."  Instead of my usual junk, I grabbed an apple, sliced it up, and dipped it in peanut butter.  And I washed it down with a Bud Light.  It wasn't perfect, but it was better.  I figure I saved myself a few hundred calories and added some nutrients and protein I wouldn't normally get.  Again, not a huge change, just something a little better.

I hope you'll follow along on my journey to Be Better.  I'm telling the world of my resolution in hoped that it keeps me more accountable.  But I don't think my resolve will falter this year.  This new approach of small steps and changing things up every month is exciting and refreshing to me and I'm ready to tackle it head on.