new year, new project

My first thought was to reject the whole idea. How many years had I been making New Year's resolutions and failing to keep them after the first month? Ten years? Twenty? But this year I felt differently about the endeavor. For the past few months I haven't been very happy. Or rather, I haven't been as happy as I think I should be. I've been tired, grumpy and impatient. I have so many wonderful things in my life, things to be grateful for and I seem to be taking it all for granted. I was struck by the urge to do better. 


I feel the long and short of why we make New Year's resolutions is because there is something in our lives we want to change. We want to do something more. Or less. Stop doing one thing and begin doing another. Or maybe just find a way to do things differently. It seems to me that it comes down to wanting to be happier. Happier with ourselves, happier with others. More forgiving of the world and our place in it. 

In the past I've felt the need to make resolutions about mastering my shortcomings. But shouldn't I be able to accept myself the way I am? Or is it okay to want to be better? Maybe the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Improve on the things I can change while embracing those I can't. 

As the new year came and went I couldn't help but notice my procrastination. I was having a problem setting goals. Under the guise of wanting to make a perfect plan for all my resolutions, I kept putting the whole thing off. Then I remembered the saying "don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good." Very few things in life are ever perfect. That doesn't mean they aren't worth doing. 

So I made a list of everything I wanted to work on. There are some do's and a whole bunch of don't's, each one as specific as I could make it. Instead of taking them all on at once I decided to choose a few to adopt each month. This should allow me to keep my enthusiasm high and not get overwhelmed. Each month I'll add a few more resolutions to the current list and continue with the ones already started. The goal is to be implementing all of the resolutions by the end of six months. Blogging about my progress will be my way of being accountable, even if I'm the only one reading it. And maybe, by being accountable, I will be able to keep these resolutions and make progress towards being happier. 

Here goes nothing. 


*My inspiration for the monthly goal setting and resolution project was largely influenced by The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. If you're interested in your own project, I highly recommend her books. They are a great read.