jennadianne

Well, here it is. The ambiguous “new year, new me” post. Except, I am not really trying to change anything about myself. Just improve. Goals, not resolutions. Resolutions are bullshit. Goals are hard but realistic.

DRINK MORE FUCKING WATER.

I tried 75 Hard last year and drinking a gallon of water each day felt like it was going to kill me. I only made it maybe two weeks before ultimately deciding it wasn’t for me… because of the water. I realized then that regardless, I probably needed to start drinking more water but a gallon was too much. That was probably the last time I really thought about it though. But as I indulged in a lot of sugary drinks this past holiday season, ultimately feeling like crap most days I realized I really need to focus on my water intake going forward.

MEDITATE.

I’d love to say I want to meditate every day. Realistically I know that will not happen. So meditate regularly is what I am going for this year.

My father is someone who has regularly meditated for years. I remember him trying to convince me to do it and I felt I could not do it – it was too hard. It is still hard, but what is more hard is carving out those 5-10 minutes to dedicate to the practice.

DAILY STOTIC.

It kind of goes along with the meditation goal. I have had the Daily Stoic book for at least two years. I keep it on my bedside, or beside my Peloton. Every once in a while I’ll pick it up and read the day’s passage; maybe even a few days in a row but I want to do better. Never in the two years have I read all 356 passages.

CALORIE DEFICIT DIET.

Like every other human on the planet, it is no surprise I would like to lose weight. I am currently at my heaviest weight, ever. BK (before kids) I could never gain weight – no matter what I did. So the last few years I have been whatever about it. It is okay to eat. Losing half my bodyweight I thought was what I “should” be then I saw my doctor in 2021 and she emphasized weight is just a number and an ideal weight is not at low as I thought. It is a weight that when I look at pictures of me back then I’m like, yeah, I don’t hate it.

Now that I have my exercise regimen worked out (pun intended) I want to focus on the food. I don’t think I eat horribly and I don’t really drink anymore.

READ 12 BOOKS.

When I used to be BIG into the online bookish community… booktube, bookstagram I really wanted to reach a magic number of 52. For years I tried for that number. Then like a lot of things, 2020 happened and given the chance to do nothing but read… I stopped caring about it. It proved to be not at all as important as I was making it out to be in my head. In 2020 I smashed my goal of 12 by reading 35. Yet in 2021 I barely squeaked by with the 12.

A book a month is still a lot more than most people read and it is a “healthy” number. Little to no pressure. Can I read more? Absolutely. Is it necessary? No.

WRITE.

Writing more almost seems like a no-brainer for someone who is trying to keep a blog.

I have lost count of the number of times I have started and quit anytime of blog. Forget the amount of times I tried keeping a journal.

But gliding my fingers over a keyboard and dumping the thoughts that are in my head onto a blank screen is so freeing. No, it doesn’t always come out beautiful – most times it is a mess. But my mind feels free. Getting the thoughts out of head…

There are so many stories in my head. Stories with nowhere to go. Stories with endings. Stories with no endings.

I know if I made the time, like really made it a priority something worth wild would come of it.

LESS SOCIAL MEDIA.

I feel like everyone says this. It is so necessary though. And I think I have come a long way. I used to post everything we were doing; how I was feeling. The internet, before social media, felt like a place I could be my true nerdy and sarcastic self. Then everyone got online and had it at their fingertips. It was not the same place. These were “my” spaces and I felt like I had to explain myself more than ever. So I began stepping back. Little, by little. And every year I am a little further away than I was the year before. No more am I posting in real-time. And I only post anything when I am home. It is with a very conscious effort that I not post photos of my kids online too – photos are very far and few in between. The way I see it, if you don’t know what I am doing offline… you’re not allowed to see what I am doing online.

Simply, it comes down to, people cannot ruin what they don’t know about.

So I am looking to be even less present. And like in years past I will archive all the posts I did make this past year and start the new calendar year, fresh.

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I make some variation of this list every year. And every year it seems rather daunting. Definitely more resolution vibes than goal vibes. I definitely do not get the feeling like I can actually pull all of this off. It will sound cheesy, but because of Peloton I feel like I can actually achieve these habits. It’s about progression, no perfection. I pulled off a 30-day workout streak because of Robin’s 3for31 challenge in the month of December. I started that challenge not honestly thinking I’d be able to do it. I’ve never worked out for so many days in a row before, ever. I’ve never enjoyed working out like I do with Peoloton.

I have done a lot of hard things in my life. Becoming a mother and a wife; getting up and going to work every morning. If anything, 2021 and Peloton taught me I can find the time for myself. And going forward in 2022 I can do even better. I can continue to do hard things.

Here’s to 2022…

JS.