Dedication 2012

So I just wrote this whole thing out, and my computer decided to spazz out on me, so now I have to sit here and write it all again… So hopefully it’s as good as it was the first time!
I was out walking with a good friend the other day and she was mentioning how her sister always toasts on New Year’s Eve to a word. Words such as: love, connection, communication, hope, etc. As she was mentioning this the word that popped into my head was “dedication”. For the past couple of months I’ve been pondering upon the New Year’s Resolutions I always make, and how they always seem to fall by the wayside around March/April, and I have been trying to figure out how to keep them going - how to stay motivated for my ‘goals’. At this time a couple of things came into play that helped me figure out how to accomplish this in this year of Two-Thousand and Twelve.
One, was the reading of an internet friend that I have followed since before she had a blog over on SparkPeople. She blogged about her new years resolutions and her monthly goals for January. What a great idea! Make a spreadsheet for your Resolutions to help keep track of them, and to stay accountable. I love spreadsheets and being able to see my goals reach the end destination before my eyes. This still, however, did not help with my problem of losing my motivation throughout the year. In 2012 I want to become a better person - not just resolutions that end at a certain time or have little simple ‘goal checking off’ meaning. I want to grow, and create new habits. Become dedicated to my life and not just let it pass me by.
Two, the conversation I was having with my friend and the word Dedication. How could I make resolutions that would help me in the long run? I needed to decide what I wanted to dedicate my time to that would be worthwhile in the long run, habits that I always wanted to have. Things that would help me become the person I want to become. So I set out to figure out how to do this. I have another friend whose family every New Year had them sit down as children and write down a goal in each of three categories that they could focus on throughout the year:

Mental

Physical

Spiritual

What a great plan! Three areas that I (and probably everyone) could improve in! So this is what I came up with for my three areas, and the habits I wanted to form in each:

Mental

Read 24 Books in a Year
Journal Weekly
Blog Weekly
Weekly Photo

Physical

Drink 72oz Water per Day
Juice Once a Day
Walk 2 Miles Daily
Do 50 Crunches per Day

Spiritual

Read 10 pages of Scriptures Daily
Read Complete Ensign Monthly
Prayer at least Once Daily
Attend the Temple Monthly
Attend Church Weekly

I created a spreadsheet that would reflect this for a month at a time. I’ll keep all the same goals for the entire year, but adjust the numbers after each month to be able to complete something reasonable that I can turn into a habit. Some of them definitely need more determination and dedication on my part, but these are the things I want to keep in my life daily, forever.

So here’s my toast to the New Year (yes, I’m 6 day's late). To DEDICATION, to creating habits that will be with me forever. To making myself the best person that I can be!

Happy New Year