Carole’s prompt this week is, of course, perfect for the early days of a freshly minted year: list five things you want to do more of and five things you want to do less of this year.
- 1. More community. Since 1992, I’ve started most years with a New Year’s hike. The location and people change, yet it remains one of my favorite activities of the year. What I love about it is the chance to get to know a variety of people, to share an adventure with them. And more of that sounds good to me!
- Less anxiety. Is it age? Is it circumstance? What ever the reason, more often than I like, I find myself frozen, heart pounding, palms sweating, breath short, unhelpful thoughts circling in my head. A whole lot less of that will make me happier.
- More spirituality. My divorce from religion left me at sea about how to embrace my inherent spirituality. The yoga and meditation practice I mentioned last week helps. A lot. Noticing helps, too, especially when I’m noticing interesting trees or patterns or creatures on my daily hike. And increasing my attention to my spirituality and beliefs makes a big difference in breaking the anxiety.
- Less negativity. From swearing over inconveniences that do not warrant such language to letting news headlines spiral in my head, I want to learn to reframe the negatives. Because, face it, avoiding them altogether may not be realistic.
- More indulging my curiosity. Curiosity is one of the core driving forces of my life, and I plan to embrace it even more. Instead of just wondering about everything from what birds are at my feeder to why language develops the way does, and then letting the thoughts pass, I’ll investigate the most interesting ones, at least a little bit.
- Less carelessness. Know what I spent time doing yesterday and will do again today? Pulling back ribbing from the cast-on edge of a sweater. Know why? Because I was careless and made the back ribbing longer than the two fronts and sleeves. Enough of that!
- Less eating sweets. Oh, boy, do I love me a cookie! Or a sliver of pie. Or…whatever it is hanging around in the treat drawer. I don’t overindulge, but I indulge with little tastes often, which I fear adds up to something close to overindulgence.
- More green smoothies. I started drinking green smoothies over the summer, inspired by my
lovely colleague Leah. Not regularly, though. Which is silly since they are so good and good for me. So more of them to come. Like, daily more. - Less procrastination. I first wrote that as “less planning” because what I mean to say is I do a lot of thinking and dreaming about a task or project when I more often should simply start it. Sooner started, sooner done, right?
- More making. Last year I started along the path of a me-made wardrobe. This year I plan to make more of my clothes (and don’t worry: that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning my minimalist wardrobe, but that I’m replacing worn or no-longer-used items with those I make. And it also means that I want to make more items for our home, from potholders to curtains. And that I want to make more meals instead of ordering take out when I’m tired. Making makes me happy, so why not embrace more of it!
How about you? What do you want more and less of in 2016?
