Starting Now: My 2014 New Years Resolutions

Never wait to start improving yourself.  When I think about the steps that I need to take to start improving myself, I try not to get bogged into the thinking that I need to wait for a specific moment to take action.  I shouldn't wait until "after the holidays" or "after I graduate" or "after I get this sorted out".  I should start now.

Oddly enough though, the idea to start this blog came to me on the eve of 2014.  There is something special about this time of year.  When visiting family and friends that you haven't seen in a while, you share with them everything that has happened over the past year.  You begin to reflect on everything that has changed - or hasn't changed - since the last time that you've seen them.  Then, after the rush of the holidays and that last cookie that you probably shouldn't have eaten, things start to settle and you have some time to reflect just before the new year.  Such timing serves an excellent opportunity think about how you would like to improve yourself and define your New Year's Resolutions...

Now that I am 30 years of age and beginning to settle into adulthood, I find that I cannot escape the most commonplace of resolutions - to lose weight.  Although I appreciate more and more each new year that life brings, I am not the same active 25 year old who could get away with eating pub food 3 nights a week.  At the same, my resolution will not be so narrowly focused.  Developing and maintaining a healthy body is not just about how much you weigh.  It's about being strong.  It's about having energy for everything that life may bring you.  It's about being happy.

Some of my resolutions call me to perform very specific actions.  While I think these more definitive resolutions will help to provide focus to my self-improvement, I think it is equally important to have resolutions that allow for exploration.  I recently began reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. In this book, Ries examines how different management theories and practices contribute to the success or failure of new venture.  One of the points that Ries addresses in the introduction is the importance of learning in the business development process.  I think this is just as important in the human development process so I have included some learning resolutions.

2014 Resolutions

1. Take a Walk or Run Everyday that it is Not Raining.  I just want to start being more active.   I work from home.  The longest walk that I have to take is from the home office to the kitchen.  When I lived in the city, at least I forced myself to a walk 2 blocks each day to the coffee share.  Now I have a coffee maker.  As long as the weather is reasonable, my goal is take at least a 20 minute walk every day.  That may increase to running, but I want to start off with something that is reasonable but will definitely change my life.
2. Practice My Breathing Exercises at least 4 times per week.  A healthy body starts with a healthy mind.  This exercise helps to calm the mind and reduce anxiety.
3. Write at least 1 Blog Post per Month on What it Means to be Healthy.  By forcing myself to blog, I am forcing myself to learn more about what I want to blog about.  Along the way, I think the theme of this blog will become more focused and I hope that it will contribute to the larger discussion of what it means to live a healthier life.
4. Define the Next Step in my Career Path.  This may mean developing my skills for the job I have or exploring a different set of skills.  This may also change based on the success of different activities.  The important thing is to always keep this in mind and to keep moving forward.