How would you like to improve yourself and your life next year? Is there a piece of advice or counsel you received in the past year that could guide you?
OWN IT!
Me gustaría estudiar más.
Remember who you stand before.
I really want to improve my physical health. I hope to continue the minimal work out routine I have started. I really want to lean how to cook quick, cheap, healthy meals. I am not sure how possible this will be. The piece of advice that could help is Rick Lawrence telling us "You are sinning" in regards to not getting enough sleep/taking care of our physical needs during Mekorot
I would like to stop noshing while using my computer. I will really try, starting right now!!
I want to work on my social skills.
Just before I read this I read a piece on a friend's FB about forgiving grudges. So let's hope I can forgive a grudge...
Listen to The Four Agreements, again and again if you have to.
I would be nicer, and always have a smile on my face. Unless I died then that would be bad. I would sad; not bad.
I want it stop search for a better option better way of doing everything! I want to just simply enjoy the NOW! It's a lot about perspective and sometimes my mind (my monkey mind) gets away from me and takes me out of the moment. I'm trying to acknowledge my angst and then stomp it out of my mind. Way easier said than done. Will take a ton of restraint but it will make me a better mom and friend.
I would like to manage my time better. I have tendency to procrastinate which is detrimental to my ability to get sleep, finish all of my tasks, and avoid stress.
My wife often reminds me that I should live more in the present and less in the future. As a risk manager in my professional life, it is hard to not be looking ahead.
Instead of thinking about being happy, or thinking about being better, I want to start actually making the life I think I should live, happen. So, things like saving money. Working out. Sleeping more. Making better choices. Drinking less. Writing more. Making things. These are all very, very simple things to do, even if they're hard, or require discipline, or aren't fun. Time to make them happen.
Be more mature.
I would like to be more soft hearted and compassionate. No particular advice, just a combination of messages that this is the area where I need to work.
challenge myself to grow. learn spanish or other skills. go back to school. sign up for a triathalon . sets monthly goals and start achieving them. no advice in particular. just to push myself.
I would like to be more productive in my creative life, and find a way to manage the exhaustion of full time work.
'Relax sometimes'. There's a lot to do, but stopping to enjoy the moments is what it's all about.
I would like to take a class to improve skills for the job market. Don't let fear make your decisions-what do you have to lose? Go for it! Now what is "it"??....
To be less judgmental, to be more accepting and kinder. Accept people for who they are, not who I think they should be.
Kindness begets kindness. The world needs more kindness, so give it some. Be happy and grateful when some kindness comes back your way.
I'm keen to get on an add drug, which I think will help with'will power' and making poor food choices.
Would like to feel better, have more energy. Get rid of headaches and be able to do more things, including travel.
Make me my priority. If I am not for myself, who will be.
Whittle down the noise of life and clear out the clutter - both physically and mentally. Advice - make each moment count, try not to postpone.
Start taking the Friday compressed day off in 3 of 4 opportunities Remember from key advice recently read: 1. Don't piss away your life on work 2. Don't piss away your money on lifestyle
Eliminate the fear and stress of my job. Get myself back into shape and lose 30 pounds. Treasure each day. Read more. Travel more without worrying about the office. Make love to my wife more.
Haluaisin saada tasapainon itseni kanssa. Haluan jakaa ajankäytön sopivasti perheen, työn ja harrastusten kesken.
The best piece of advice that I heard is, "it's in God's hands". I know it's kind of cliche but I really need to believe it. If I don't believe it then I don't think I would have much hope. Even though it is hard to believe, right now it's all I have that keeps me going.
I want to be able to express my tender more gentle side. I want to be soft and quiet not only loud, boistorous and animated. I want to express my admiration to a lover and be free of the internal barriers which shut that side of me down. Marion encouraged me to give space for the tender Amelia. I am doing that.
Pay attention to your conscious desires, otherwise you're unconscious desires will rule. That's the advice I just got from free will astrology. Of all places. Actually, I would like to see a shift in faith. I'm not sure what that would look like. I want to understand my concept of God better. My own concept. I want to feel my faith. I'm not sure if the two are related. That is, the advice and what I want to see improved.
Yes! I need to be a "strong woman" in ALL parts of my life. I can't let others make me feel bad or sad. I need to consider the source and trust my own judgement and intuition! I also want to become more active, especially since I'm now 50 years old. I want to age well!
I would like to take more care of my body. I feel I have neglected it somewhat this year and would like to get back to a level of fitness that I have previously enjoyed. I often advise others to be more selfish, in the kind way. I should listen to myself :)
I would like to go on on the path of humor and serenity. Last year I found this picture on the internet of two people in beaver costumes riding down a hill on skateboards. The capture says: "Don't take life so seriously. It's not like you're gonna get out alive." That pretty much sums it up.
I would like to learn more, and get good grades, and I can do that by studying and working hard.
Take more control of my life, exercise more self control.
I would like to get my house and other little stuff in my life taken care of so that I can have my attention on completing projects.
I would like to start saving money and taking better care of myself...
I would like to become better at taking criticism, and less willing to/interested in pleasing everyone. I just read a NYT article about women and criticism, and it basically points out that you cannot achieve success without attracting criticism. You will never be liked by everyone. And that's ok. Best to not take criticism personally.
Improvement projects are a turnoff. Engaging in them Tacitly acknowledges i am imperfect in myriad ways. Why remind myself? Rather , I prefer to take it bit by Bit, baby step by baby step. I feel I am doing the best I Can just through getting from yesterday to today and From today to tomorrow. In some ways i wish i had the Luxury of backsliding toward the good old days of helplessness, dependance on Joe, and financial Cluelessness. Advice? Live life.
I would love to have my life in order and be able to enjoy life a little, go to plays or movies nothing estravagant just to do what I would like. No more worrying of where I am living and what is going to happen to me. and me alone.
A person at work said recently," Don't let others steal your joy". She seems to be a very successful human being. I'll try to apply it . Also, I read a New York Times article about criticism by others being a good thing. I've felt very criticized by others and being criticized, especially as a woman, feels very serious. The article argued that women have long survived by pleasing others and, thus, find criticism threatening. As for improving myself: I've also read that women are intent on improving themselves much more than men. Perhaps I can take a lesson from men, who may be more comfortable with themselves as they are.
I would like to incorporate clean eating and working out as a part of my life that isn't negotiable. I would also like to stay sober and healthy. I would like to improve on friendships and get out more. One piece of advice I need to keep in mind is to not take things so personally. That's a hard one for me.
I would like more peace with myself about work. I feel like I have constantly told myself that things work out, that the instant goals dissipate and the long term ones stay. But without that tangible knowledge of what comes next, I find myself filled with doubt and worry more than I'd like to be. I'd like to let that go and have faith in my own skills and ability, and the aptitude of others to realize it.
Improving my health I stopped drinking over 20 years ago now I need to stop smoking One day at a time Advice only you can do what you can do in your own time
Ha ha ha ha ha!! I'm going to improve myself in the coming year by practicing to NOT keep trying to improve myself! The incredibly valuable piece of advice I've been given ~ repeatedly over the past decade ~ is to REST. And I really don't know how this is done. So I'm beginning to practice deep rest, in the hopes that this will help my body to truly heal.
I may be separating from my husband. I need to make a new life for myself and am finding it difficult. I am currently working on a masters degree in forensic psychology.
I want to get better at being in-the-moment, reflective and aware of how precious each day really is. ( this from my mom) I want to be better at blending my science job with my administrative job and to listen to people with open ears ( this from my dad). I want to get in better physical shape - one only gets one body -- and it is truly an amazing machine -- i need to do more vigilant upkeep of this machine...( from my brother). Last, but not least, I want to move from mourning my loss of my brother, dad and mom to learning from their amazing lives and living my life better - to the fullest ----
I would like to continue on my quest to be a less negative person and I would also like to be way less fearful. My brother spent some time with me in the spring and I noticed then that I am very fear-based....timid about really living and reaching out. I was surprised by this realization. Don't sweat the small stuff, he told me. I have heard that a million times...I want to live it.
I need to get back on track with my fitness. For me, 10-12 hours/week is what I need minimally to maintain my mental stability, fit in my jeans and enjoy my daily indulgence, whether it be magic bar ice cream or a couple of craft beers with nachos! And, if I'm getting my 10-12 in, might as well set the goal big and sign up for another IM or 50K to celebrate the big 50! Only time shall tell . . .
Don't wait. If you want to do it, see it, experience it, now is the time!
These things would improve my life: - knowing my family is safe, happy, and have resources to continue that way - if my current relationship continues to solidify into what I hope for every time I make a wish After my divorce, the death of my mother, and other hardships the best thing I learned to let things go when possible. There are so many things out of our control. I have always be a very cheerful person and won't let the darkness life can bring take over. Never, never, never give up.
I would try to not to stress to much about silly things such as college and other unimportant events.
I would like to improve myself, which will improve my life, by being kinder to myself, more patient with myself, and being more able to create my own world, rather than feel like I've been thrown into this unsafe world where things happen to me.
I want to carry on working hard at being a great mummy, and not get distracted or sad too easily. I want to be optimistic about the world, and not obsess over things I can't change.
I would really like to lose weight. I am planning to start drinking Modifast after this weekend, since my daughter and I are going to Stockholm for the weekend. THEN I have booked a doctor's appointment for October 16 so I can see about getting into the obesity clinic here.
I really hope that by next year myself (and the whole family) are getting more sleep. We have decided to cosleep with our baby. This is the advise of the parenting experts and I believe it is a good thing for the family. At night when he wants to nurse, he just lays beside me so we can both fall right back asleep. This has been great, but still the wear of 3+ months of frequent awakenings, plus a baby that does not like to fall asleep are taking their toll. There are probably other ways I should be improving myself, but I am too tired to remember what they are.
Since I'd like to pin down a steady job, or at least a steady job pattern, by next year, I'd probably say the best piece of advice that I have gotten is "Don't give up. Keep on pluggin' away, because the only direction to go is forward." I very much hope that I can achieve my goals and be on the upward slope next year.
I want to continue getting better and better at loving and nurturing myself. At believing that everything is as it should be. When things go positive it is for my good, and when they go negative - it is also for my good. I want to feel good and accepting of life. I also want to be able to focus on what I have instead of what I don't. Ways in which I feel included rather than ways in which I don't. I hope I can set a good example for my children around being healthy in life
Be more gentle with myself, not trying to be all but perfect. Be present in the moment, being aware and alert right here, now. Be grateful for all and everything, not complaining but making the best of every single moment. 'Stress less, live more.' and 'I can handle this situation with grace.'
I want to improve in my ability to be present in the moment. Being able to count your blessings in present time. I always have the ability in a calm moment but to be able to see clearly in the face of a storm. When I do that, my energy unfolds like a flower and I am able to support what is around me. I want to be able to improve my attitude with my work. Take my given time away and not feel guilty. Advice, our time on this planet is short, do not waste opportunities, seize the moment. You might not get another.
orderly house, quiet mind, simple routine, quiet quiet quiet. progressing toward the minimal. i can park my car in my garage. i spend my time on my bucket list activities...vedanta.....science......shhhhhhhhhhhhh. counsel: "maybe you are a karma yogi" "you cannot serve two masters" "Mother decides"
I would like to stop being so hard on myself. I want to relax and not take things so seriously. My anxiety is high lately; I find myself stressing too much over stupid things like being cut off in traffic, or things that happened decades ago. I want to let all of that go. I want to not be so uptight about minutia.
I have been taking time to work on me. I have been regularly going to the gym & it's not about looking skinnier, it's about just feeling better. I don't want to have all the aches and pains I have & I want to be able to keep up and not get winded in whatever I do. I am also trying to find what I LIKE to do. That's been hard. I have been trying different crafts and learning new things. I want to be able to use a sewing machine and actually crochet because I cannot figure that out with all the videos and books I use. I want to find my center. My happiness.
Screw cliches: be present, karma, etc. Do what feels good for yourself. Be a little selfish. Do what makes YOU happy, not always pleasing other people.
I need to manage my time better. I feel like this will improve naturally in time as I become more comfortable with this job but I also need to follow my priorities and how I set them. Ironically, last Sunday we discussed actions to de-stress in church! The piece of advice/counsel that I received was: The distance between the truth I know and the truth I live equals the pain I experience. The truth that I know is very distant from the truth that I am living which is why I am completely unbalanced right now. Proverbs 17:24-An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.
Be social and go to events, but take care of yourself. Do these two and it's all you'll need!
I would like to add empathy to my compassionate nature so that I listen more and try to fix less.
I would like to incorporate a daily meditation and weekly yoga practice into my life. I want to work on accessing the ease and light that I know exists inside me. I want to be as ease with myself and others and continue to be more comfortable with being open. A friend recently said to me that something she has learned is to be more gentle with herself. I think this is a good place to start.
QTIP quit taking it personally, especially the teacher evaluation process and other random acts of degradation. I focus on maintaining my serenity, set clear boundaries for self care, and get plenty of exercise. Also I don't create crazy people but crazy people are attracted to me because I am not afraid of them, this doesn't mean I have to befriend them in return. I have many healthy friendships and a healthy relationship with my family too! I let that dynamic guide my choice of friends more and more. I can't save the world, but I can create peace in my circle of life.
Concentrate on my physical self; optimum ability to forge a path into old age begins now so that I will be able to remain active throughout my lifetime. Advice? When you stop playing you start dying.
"you should have a show -- you're ready" (uttered by a former art teacher, no less). the most important art advice/encouragement i could have received this year, since i had been thinking about how to show, market and sell my art for awhile now. i am arranging things to be in place, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. knowing the timing will NEVER be perfect, i still have to produce more pieces and accelerate my framing skills. and also ask, what is the actual goal?
Right now I am working full time while going to college. I would like to progress in my degree enough to apply to PA school by this time next year. During this process, I have lost a lot of valuable time to spend with my amazing wife. She has stood by me during this difficult and drawn out process. I would like to find a very special way to thank her. I would also like to come up with a concrete financial plan for the next couple of years spent as a poor, non-working, full-time student. I have had a very difficult life with a handful of true friends, I feel as though they need a reward for being there. I will dedicate more time towards them. The only advice I have been given, that I hold on to is "time is going to go by anyway, might as well spend it bettering yourself", I am doing this to better myself, in turn to better my wife and all those I can help after this.
I definitely want to get my work going on a level I am happy with. This means both beefing up my business and being okay with it not being as busy as I used to be. Not sure about either since I have limited control over the first and not really sure I want the second one at all. The first does require me to get out of my comfort zone and ASK for help/work/introductions, etc. It feels like begging so I hate it, but it's the only way. I am not ready to give up my business, my career, the company and work that has sustained me financially, mentally, and emotionally for nearly 25 years. My advice to me is keep going, feel uncomfortable, it's okay, be patient but aggressive, or maybe the other way around.
I hope to continue my learning about Stoicism and deepening my understanding of it. The best advice I have received in a long time is from Epictetus: "Some things are in our control and others are not. Things in our control are .... whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control .... whatever are not our own actions." i.e. It is foolish to yell at other drivers. What did you expect?
More time focused on my health and happiness. No one says on their deathbed that they wished they had spent more time at work. That peice of data from the hospice nurses group has got me thinking.....
I would like to hold on to more money. We are getting there. By eating at home more often, going out less, making wiser spending decisions, I'm finding that there is more money available at the end of every pay period. This produces more feelings of security and makes me more hopeful for the future. My father's financial advice is always welcome and helps to center my thoughts about the future.
Balance my work and home life. let go every so often
I want to write. I have been a writer all my life, but feel stuck and uninspired right now. The advice, which is so simple and that I have heard my whole life -- but is so hard to heed -- is to just write.
I would like to lose weight. I am working on it. I feel great. The counsel I received a long time ago is the same that I prescribe to and pass on... Every 90 days or so... sit down with your boss and ask "What I am doing... Is this what you want? or What do you want me to change in my day to day work? This informal meeting will make the yearly job review a time to reflect instead of a time to worry. Billings, MT
I want to be real with my fears and weaknesses, so I am in greater intimacy with my loved one(s) and do not fall by acting out and hurting others.
I would like too improve my self by getting better grades and fill out college applications. I also hope too get a good job with good paying money.
I want to be better at living in the moment and fulfilling God's will every day. I want to dedicate each day to Him and to His tasks, not my own. I want to be better in tune with my kids and my husband, because they are the responsibilities God has given me. I also want to work on my ridiculous procrastination habit.
I want to be happy and content with where I am in life. I know this seems very basic. I want confidence and tranquility. I think the best advice I've gotten has been to start meditating and accept a "let it be" mentality where appropriate.
I am on a spiritual journey & I hope to continue along that path. Best advice? Learn to love unconditionally.
Yes, the Freakanomics podcast on self knowledge and Queen. I'd like to do more things I find enjoyable and sitting around the house doesn't qualify. I need things to do.
This year I have been on a journey to if not embrace, at least start to be okay with my vulnerability. Brene Brown's TED Talk on the Power of Vulnerability spoke to me. I realized that I have a number of numbing coping mechanisms that I use to avoid feeling vulnerability - and I realized that that is holding me back from feeling and loving and enjoying life. It was easy to focus on my struggle with vulnerability in the safe space of Public Allies. My journey this year will be to keep it up. I need to be vulnerable to be human.
I would like to become better at my job as well as expand my learning. I want to learn Javascript and maybe some other programming. Both of my parents have always continued their learning and have inspired me to do the same.
I would like to get back to exercising. I would like to take the cset. If your going to eat bread, all those carbs, make it worth it. Get the good stuff the pugliese with a glass of good red wine.
Follow through. It seems that everyday some new idea comes to mind. A pursuit. An interest. A creative thought. A desire. Only so many hours in the day. I want to improve my ability to prioritize. To seek the valuable. Not just the material value or the immediate gratification. The value that lasts a lifetime. Relationship. Love. Knowledge. Wisdom. Comfort. Maybe it is just waiting on the day. Maybe it is building something. Maybe it is spending time with my wife, daughter, mother, brothers, or friends. Maybe it is passionately arguing or debating some topic that won't really be settled but we will walk away from it knowing more. Knowing more about ourselves and the other. Maybe it is stepping over the line that holds us back from doing something. Not something like skydiving. Any one can do that. What about making a real change in your life about how you think about a topic that is on the opposite end of your philosophical or political or religious belief. Finding the courage to really understand the other side better than they do. Confront the fear that you might be wrong. Or confirm the fear that you might be right but because you have never explored the other view you really don't know why you believe what you believe. So follow through means I have to do just that. Quit living in the comfortable. Step out in to the unfamiliar and out of routine. Build new routines of capturing those ideas in a way that I can act on them. Technology is great for recording but I have to make the decision to act. The technology won't act for me.
I'd like to simply be a happier, less self-loathing person in the next year. I think that affirmation and meditation would be good tools to explore towards this end.
I would like to be braver at facing uncomfortable feelings, more honest in speaking both discomfort and love. I would like to accomplish more and move with energy and alacrity.
Breathe. As always. Be calm. Plan but don't think that YOU control things. It's okay to fail. Take risks. Travel. LOVE.
I want to have healthy exercise habits. Slug mode off. I want to have a better job situation but that's not fully in my control. I don't know what I can do but keep slogging through, 'cause right now it sucks.
I want to excel as a dad and a Realtor - and take FAR better care of myself. I'm just getting used to the fatherhood thing - should we be more attentive, more structured, less worrisome? I'm sure we will learn more every day as we are faced with new challenges brought on by our beautiful baby girl. As a Realtor I still want to further grasp my knowledge of how to BEST serve my clients - use the contracts, use the negotiation, and to have more resources at my fingertips, be MORE connected in my community. And definitely care more about my body -it's the only one I have and I owe it yo myself and my family to keep it in working order for as long as possible.
Dedicate more time to working out; remember to use a few minutes each morning to give thanks and ask God for help in any way. Messages through BSF and Jenn are helping to guide me.
School. Need that education. Just stuck without it.
I would like to listen more and be watchful. This should in turn help me to carry the burden of others. Also I would like to carry the burden of my family more. They are the ones I least focus on as I feel They will always love me no matter how I act. But my irritation is in fact anger and that's not good. I need to be quiet. I need to listen. I need to be watchful and show love.
I want to be more patient with my children. My 3 year old is a wonderful, intelligent, constantly-moving ball of awesome, but he's exhausting. I want to be more deliberate in how I work through tough times with him. Too often I am tired from work/night-nursings-with-the-baby/life and I am not as patient and calm as I should be. I want to be more loving and patient with my husband. Our relationship has taken a backseat as we navigate our new, bigger family, especially since my return to work. I want to nurture our relationship more, rediscover the things we love to do together, be kind in all interactions, and make more time for affection in our day-to-day existence.
I would like to be more open and vulnerable with both friends and acquaintances. I have been very closed off since I finished college, and that has been especially true this past year. It has resulted in many lonely weekends and feelings of isolation when I have no one with whom to share my heart. Sure, I would love to lose weight, figure out how to get a boyfriend, but mostly I just want to make friends and to get better at keeping them. It is important to remember, as Shannon Quay always says, there is always room for one more. There is always room for one more friend in your heart, at the dinner table, and on the couch. I've felt like an outsider for a good chunk of the past year, and though I still feel like an outsider, I want to do what I can to make sure others feel included, to give them a platform for openness. I'm realizing that being really picky about the friends I make as an adult is really limiting. I learn a lot from those unsuspecting friendships, and I don't always click as naturally with the people I expect to have as instant friends.
I would like to get stronger and healthier physically and i would like to have love in my life again
I would like to be alive an kicking at this time next year. I would like to be in a position (financially, logistically, etc.) where my wife and I would be very close to being able to retire and manage well for the rest of our lives. I have to remember: 1. Do not sweat the small stuff! 2. Make the most of every day! 3. Progress, not perfection.
I want to continue to slow down, to say no to things and people that do not nourish me or deplete me, and to say yes to the faint whisperings of my heart. Perhaps they will become louder and clearer as I make space for more stillness and contemplation. I am on the slow path from a human doing to a human being. Everyone I love tells me to slow down...be still...and take care of myself.
Find a new job that values you, or finally convince the people you work for that you're worth what you want to be paid. Lose 30 pounds because you don't want to have health problems when you get older, because you WILL get older.
I really want to quit drinking, quit smoking, and generally quit treating "my temple" like total crap. I think that would really help me start settling down, because, well, I'd like to start a family and all that now that I have my professional path somewhat on track. Though I could use a raise, for sure. Honestly, nearly everything my mother says is all the counsel I need. Her emotional support means the world to me.
I would like to lose some more weight and get into better shape. I've already made some great progress on this this past year and I hope I can keep the momentum going. I'm approaching 40 and having some anxiety about that number, but I think if I feel fit, healthy, and active that will soften the blow.
Kind of mentioned before. I don't want to be so caught up in my perfectionism. Need to figure out if I need to ride the wave and work with it or count it as a flaw and fix it. I also just want to be happy. Not just happy, but content. Accepting things for what they are. I take things too seriously and get so frustrated when I don't understand WHY people act a certain way. Like, you get really close to someone, but then you go to school far away. And some days it's like you are strangers and other days it's like the distance is not even there. WHY does that happen? Why are people so consistently inconsistent. How can I predict what will happen for next time so I am not so blindsided every time Eric goes a week without talking, or Shelby goes from "OMG BFFS" to "Hey. Strictly ROL business. That is the only reason why we are friends." in a second? Also I am too focused on figuring stuff out. Maybe I should let the chips fall. But what is entertaining about that? I LIKE asking the whys of life. When I don't get straight answers over time, that's when it becomes irritating. I have to do things the "right" way, too. And I hate conflict. See, I am discovering these things about myself. Is that good or bad? Why do I need to aways label things good or bad? Why can't I just let them be? I've noticed that my responses to these Qs have gotten longer and longer. I count that as a flaw because I am being ranty and inconsistent. But sometimes inconsistency drives me up a wall. So anyway. Here's a quote that I like as of late: "The world will not end. Just let it unfold. Perhaps no one has to die." - mother dearest
Exercise more. Eat less. :-) Be more empathetic to others. I've heard, "you're turning 40 next year; you have to take care of yourself!" That is good advice. I also had the insight that the most unavoidable foundation of human existance is the body. It tether's our consciousness to this world. As I get older I realize more and more that it is true that you are truly rich if you have your health. And without health, or fortitue of the body, the other things are harder (mental performance, focus, success).
who doesn't? ...actually, I have to improve myself every week until I get admitted to a masters. ...and noup, none has given me anything that helps me to move on... I'm all by myself
Be mindful of your capacity to ignore glaring problems. Seek help in caring for your body. You should probably also seek help with your finances, as well as with any area of your life, which needs managing, for which you are not an expert. This means most/all of them.
I want to wake up every day feeling gratitude for the tremendous gifts in my life. Gratitude has a way of diminishing everything which is giving you pause or concern. My rabbi (and Oprah) gave me this advice and it truly works. Also, I want to work out more...
Be selfish.
Take time to smell the roses.
This is going to be a hard one to answer because I see next year being a huge point of flux in itself so how on earth I'm going to think about 'improving myself' I don't know... In terms of improving myself: I'd like to get really good at something else. Whether it's my job (!), English but in a different way, or something completely different, I just want to put passion and effort and fun into something. Improving my life... I really couldn't tell you. Check back in a year.
I would like to be the entrepreneur that is deep down inside me. I have so many good ideas to make the world better. What I really want is to reach my full potential :). Advice: never, never, never give up!
There are several ways that I would like to improve my life next year: - Continue on my health journey and improve my consistency in exercise, eating healthy and sleeping soundly. This one action should not only improve my health, but impact my effectiveness in other aspects of my life by having more patience and lower stress. - Continue on my journey as a better leader. Listen more intently, be less judgmental of people and their opinions before gathering all the information, look for new and innovative ways to improve my business. - Continue improvement of my networking skills and activities. The pay it forward approach is a great way to help oneself by helping others.
I would like to improve my social anxiety... I hate it.... The only good advice I've heard about this, was from myself when I was helping a friend.
By trusting GOD. When things go awry have so much trust in him that there is no doubt. I would like to be a much calmer & happy person not so easily irritated or frazzled! I'd like to be at peace real peace. The advice I've been given before us stop worrying! Especially about things you can't do anything about.
I want to be much less self critical and far more accepting of myself. I want to exercise unabashed self interest, doing what's best for me after considering that there is no negative affect on anyone I care about. If not now, when?
Deal with weight issues - Deal with continued anger at Sid - Try and be calmer with kids and let their annoying behavior just go - Maybe try and meet new people - Treat myself the way I would treat a friend
I am working towards a normal BMI. I am focused on healthy eating and being more active. I want to have my brokers license. I will begin studying tomorrow, October 1st.
Community -- building my personal community while maintaining my personal space. I would like to increase my mitzvot beyond the family.
I would like to be braver about making connections with people in order to get a job and I would like to try to conquer my procrastination. Advice received? No.
"If you are feeling lost, you haven't gone far enough" "Even if it has your name on it, it might not be about you" I am trying to live a fuller more interesting life and be proactive about it.
Live every day to the best you can. Enjoy every- thing you can. Be involved only in what is changeable.
The piece of advice I got that I'd like to adopt to improve upon over the next year is 'The time is now" .... so simple and straightforward but so complicated. Don't put it off, hesitate, doubt or demur. It's not about the money - it's about liberating your mind.
I need to stand up for myself more. I have been caring for several people with medical issues I need to care for me or I will not be able to help them. A physician friend put as doing like they say on air lines "put on your own oxygen mask first".
"Never trust anyone"? That's too cynical even for me. I need to establish better controls over my excesses - time wasting, food and drink - and channel that time savings into things that I really want - looking and feeling better, playing the bass more.
By improving my fitness I will improve my life. It will mean that when we travel I will be able to tackle hills and anything else that currently stops me from enjoying holidays to their full potential. I need to heed the advice if my oncologist regarding regular daily exercise.
I would like to working in a field that lets me do what I value. I would like to spend as much time in the moment, notching the things and people around me as well as my own needs. I want my responses to come from that place. I want to create space for more people in my life and time to enjoy them and the things around me. I want to spend more time outdoors in new and expansive places with vistas and water and mountains.
I would like to be more physically active however not sure if that will work out. I also have something called Lupus (SLE), so working out will have it's pros and cons. I once had a flat stomach and would like to get back there but it's tough after having my daughter who is now 7. I've had enough counsel to last me a hundred thousand life times but what is life if you can't learn on your own? Or can't learn from your own mistakes?
I'd like more joy. Whatever that means. I want to learn more about job and incorporate joy into my life. Part of this is the birthday resolution. I just need to get off my ass and write about it. Advice and counsel... My dinner on Sunday with Thomas came at a perfect time for this question. His advice is to be specific. Be specific with myself in what I want. Be specific with God in my prayers. I'm already thinking about what that means in terms of things like a new job and a man. I'm not there yet regarding joy. But it will help me as I read and write about it. What does it SPECIFICALLY mean for me to live a life with joy? What tangible and not tangible things and people do I need? What do I need to do inside?
Calm down, man.
I would like to continue to get fit, both in body and in my practice. I need to be able to motivate myself better to get things done, even if they do not have a deadline.
In the next year, I would like to obtain a more stable job that offers promotion potential, salary increases, and which raises my status in the industry. I know that I've learned to always do my best at whatever I'm doing in order to be successful, but I have not found that this advice is particularly helpful. Sometimes, you have to leave one opportunity and take a risk in order to move beyond your current projection.
I would like to: 1) Finally eat healthier and exercise more and stick with it 2) Not eat emotionally 3) Have a better relationship with my husband 4) Not yell at kids so much 5) Have more together time with kids 6) Be a better daughter/sister/friend 7) Not be so hard on myself 8) Live in the moment always 9) Take care of my health--get more sleep, become more of an early bird 10) Go to synagogue more 11) Read 40 books 12) Start writing more Piece of advice--one day at a time.
Obedience matters! I want to obey God more dramatically and completely. To live in radical obedience is to truly live!!
I would like to not worry about so many things I can't control, to be kinder, not just to my family who are important to me, but to everyone I interact with. I often recall this quote from Ian Mclaren, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It's hard to pull yourself out of your own shoes sometimes, but everyone really is fighting a hard battle, at least equivalent to your own. They gloss over your problems and troubles, as much as you there, so I will try to be kinder; to remind myself that my struggle is just one of almost 8 billion; and that I would want kindness as I struggle through life so I should present that to others as my default stance.
I would like to become more active in being healthy. Healthy eating/organized meals, exercise, and drinking less wine - focusing my attention in a more healthy, positive way.
I want to be able to stop being anxious . Also learn that not every minute of my day needs to be occupies..
I've spent so much time working on figuring out who I am and what I want in the last year. I think the next step is to make some career decisions in the next one. I would love to find a path that would really allow for growth and independence and allow me the freedom I need to feel like my life is full and secure. I don't know where this is but finding it is on my mind and I think with enough leg work I can at least move in a good direction.
Mindful eating, mindful speech, mindful action.
Better health by exercise. Better diet by eating healthy foods and drinking less. Better mind by meditation or perhaps attending church. Make time for Tia more valuable. Interact with my Children more. Tackle the Recommissioning project with more authority and clarity. Just call my kids more often. Continue to do yoga with Tia,....that will help alot with better health and mind. Just exercise moderation to get a better balance in work, family and self. As for work at Duke I need more research adn consistency in effort.
Keep moving ahead. Step by step. You are not required to complete your life's work today. Your only intention is to make some progress. Be happy with whatever you do complete. This is not a sprint. And you have other desires besides building a business. Like connecting with others with deep intimacy. Slow down and give yourself time to be over there.
Follow your bliss. I want to have fun and I want the people around me to have fun as well.
Worry less. Live more. There will always be pain and suffering in life, but there will always be also love, sunshine and reasons to enjoy and cherish life. Like the breaking of the glass during the wedding ceremny, we need to remember there is suffering even in the brightest of days, but that this should never overshadow the possitive side.
I would like to start enjoying my life. I realise that it feels like something to get through rather than enjoy and that I rarely give myself up to the moment. I would like to start experiencing without agenda. A monk told me to own my feelings when I was in Sri Lanka. Too often I rely on other people to legitimise my feelings. At first I thought his words meant accepting I wasn't happy in my relationship and now I realise they mean not worrying so much about what other people think and doing what feels right for me, even if I'm not sure.
In the next year, I would like to re-find my calmness and patience that I've had in the past, but seem to have lost in the past few months or years. I plan to get back in touch with my center and the core of my being.
Total knee replacement of my worst knee has provoked me to really work at getting myself into shape, both physical, mental, and spiritual. Over the last few years, I have let things drop away that used to be important parts of my life: photography, meditation, healthy diet, exercise, and so on. I am finding that getting back into shape is not as easy as it was a couple of decades back. But, I am dedicated, even approaching compulsive. Next is replacement of the other knee. I am now convinced that what everybody told about rehabilitation is correct. The more conscientious I am, the more successful the surgery will be.
Be yourself. Take some risks. Continue having your great life.
I already am and have everything that I need so the only thing left it to take the first step.
I still need to work on what I wrote last year - to get my butt off the couch and my eyes off the TV more. There's a lot more I can do with my life even though every one around me thinks I'm busy all the time. And I don't want to be busy all the time -- I just don't want to waste so much of it. There's no new piece of advice I received - just something I've known for a while - to make every day a good one and live every day in the now.
I'd like to control my drinking. I've gotten good at moderating other health aspects of my life, but I still sometimes struggle with my alcohol intake. The advice I've been given is the obvious advice (alternate booze with water, count drinks, drink slowly); I just have to start listening to it. This isn't to say that I can't get drunk (I'm a writer, after all, and I sell wine for a living), just that I should never again drink to the point of sickness.
I want to work on my relationships more, at home and in the community. That means being more present and less in my head.
I wish to be more patient and more accepting of differences in others. I am too quick to make judgements based on visual appearances. I want to be a better listener. I wish to be a kinder person. If I am more calm and a better listener, I will react more positively. I will continue to study with Mussar texts to help me.
I would like to get moving on starting my nursing degree. I have completed all the pre-reqs and am on a wait list for admission. On a spiritual level, I want to practice gratitude more. Like today for example, my fiancée's daughter got a negative diagnosis for MS. I'm so grateful she is okay, not that we wouldn't have handled it as we could. But whew, just grateful for good health. Just move. I saw that in my email this morning from 10Q. If you want to do something, just do it. No more excuses for having half a life.
I would like to become more self assured and happier. I'd like to be kinder to myself and more accepting of who I am and what I bring to a situation. I'd like to be less worried about what others think of me, and more focused on what I think of myself.
I want to try to use my time better in the year ahead, and the advice that I will follow is that of (of all people) Senator Joe Lieberman: to develop stamina and endurance so that I can put in long, productive days and enjoy restful Shabbats.
It hardly matters how I'd like to improve myself as "wishes" aren't "horses" and I don't have the motivation to improve myself. If I had a Fairy Godmother, however, I'd be fitter by next year and be a great, healthy cook. I'd have a job I love and thrive at and be a writer. I'd make more time for my friends instead of having a sickening feeling inside me any time I have to socialize. But that's what I wish for every year but I am not interested in doing the work to get there. I like my comfortable life too much as it is.
I would like to be in better shape. I would like to lose a little weight, build some muscle, and overall live a more active lifestyle. Jillian Michaels has repeatedly told me (via a DVD) to keep pushing. It's actually more motivational than it seems.
I hope to let go of more external sources of reflection on who I am as an individual. I hope to release who I think I am supposed to be, who I think I am supposed to have in my life, and what I believe I ought to have achieved. I hope to focus on my internal light, what I want inside, and develop that as a source of ever-renewable motivation and purpose.
I want to continue on my journey to becoming more self-confident and self-reliant. This includes making strides towards getting out of debt, which with my new job should be easier than it ever has been before. I need to stay on track and not let my increased income lead to increased spending, but I think with the support of my boyfriend I am in for lots of new good things this year!
I need to be stronger. I need to "own" that I will be OK, whether on my own, or with someone. I want to smile and laugh more. I want to work less. I want to not always be worried about money. I want to travel all that I can. I want to be with friends more. I think about and miss Mark every day. That will always be. The best advice is just to make the most of every day, and do stop and smell the roses.
I would like to feel like I have a little more ease and grace with my personal contact management. This extends into my relationships too. I want to feel like I'm including people I should include and I'm managing my relationships as to best benefit both myself emotionally, as well as for optimizing for my business. I can't think of previous advice or counsel on this, but I'm going to keep asking people.
I feel as though my answers to this are starting to be the same, year after year. Right now that seems like a good sign -- a sign that my goals and hopes are consistent. I'd like to pray more often. (Sometimes liturgically, sometimes not.) I'd like to try to walk for 20 or 25 minutes six days a week. I'd like to be kind, compassionate, thoughtful, caring. I'd like to cultivate kindness and empathy and equanimity. I'd like to write more poetry. I'd like to blog more. I'd like to share the things I love with the world and hope that they reach people. All of these are directions rather than end-points. I feel like this is my perennial work of teshuvah -- aiming in these directions; noticing that I've slipped off course; aiming in these directions again.
The most salient piece of advice I received in the past year was,"....NO WHINNING ON THE YACHT." I need to appreciate what I have and have accomplished and not be envious of other's wealth, or trips or possessions. Considering where I came from and the condition of most of the rest of the world and even this country, I am very lucky and doing quite well. I would like to be more grateful, more satisfied and more optimistic.
Two things: Write 200 words a day. Go dancing regularly. Right there, life gets a whole lot better.
Be living back in my home state, at a good-paying job again, living with a girl I care about. "Our DOUBTS are traitors that make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing the attempt." Shakespeare
I would like to pay attention to being mindful and present in the moment with greater ease and better consistency. I would like to grow better at identifying and pursuing what I need and what I love. I would like to prepare for happiness.
I am on a path which moves along with grace, faith and God's will, eliminating fear. I improve automatically!
I really need to be able to have the courage to let go of the past. To truly know I cannot change certain things and to simply and happily move on.
I would like to listen without defense. To not take the words and ideas that are presented as changes I need to make, but instead preferences of those that are saying them. If I can listen without fighting (flight or fight being the reaction), I might be able to make changes if I think they are well grounded. Right now I just get angry... and being angry isn't how I want to feel. So, listening without taking it personally and reflecting when I've listened would be my greatest improvement this year - I think EVERYONE would be happier!
Do what you want, not what you feel is best for those around you! Your dreams will remain dreams if you don't have the guts to dig in deep and act on them!
Be honest. If you feel something, express it. If someone asks you how you are, tell them. There's no harm in living your life honestly. Everyone would much rather you tell them the truth.
I think I want to be happier with where we live. It's a constant discussion-- and its hard to make the best of where we are when many upsetting things occur, like graffiti, robbery, and bad legislation. But I think its harder to be in limbo on what to do- I would love some advice on this subject, but my gut tells me to jump off the fence, either dig in here or get the hell out of dodge, but definitely get off the fence.
Lose weight, get a job. Same as the last few years.
Find the balance of taking care of myself and serving family, friends and clients; build better performing structures and systems as opposed to trying to fix broken ones;
I want to move away from home. I've stayed here a long time, but I think it's time to go. Hopefully I'll get into law school and that will give me a reason to leave since I know I tend to stick with the path of least resistance.
Happiness can be of two kinds: something that we remember as being happy in the past and something we dream about in the future. The true happiness is to know when it is actually happening. This is what I strive towards. Can it be achieved within a year? No, nobody gave me an advice how to achieve my true happiness.
I want to instill the core values of loving kindness, honor, mindful speech, and other mussar character traits. Mussar can guide me.
i want to work for myself. i want to be my own boss. i want to be fucking creative every damn day. i want people to respect me for my craft. i want people to WANT my work. i want to run around, travel the world, swim in the ocean, be in the sunshine, love my friends, spent time with my puppy, dance, run, live, be. not waste and rot away for some else's gain. advice i have gotten in this last year that may help? hmm... i think it would be John Walsh saying that at the end of it all, all you have is your name. It doesnt matter what company you have worked for or this or that, but your own personal reputation when everything else is gone. I am going to work my fucking HARDEST to make me rep legit.
"Leaves Falling Gently" is a book recommended to me to help deal with chronic illness (DS'). I haven't read much but I lerned one thing; to respond, not react. I'd like to improve myself by thinking more about how to respond to people, email, and the like rather than just firing off a problematical reaction. I'd like to know the answer to the question:"what would I do if I were laid off, tomorrow?"
Stay physically active. I've been focusing on improving my mental health and have made huge strides, but now that I'm in a good place emotionally it's important to be holistically healthy. Eating better and exercising will not only improve my physical well being, it will contribute to my mental health as much as my medication. Also don't sweat the fact that my medication makes me fat.
Being that I am in school, my focus for this next year is to stay on track, not to get discouraged with distractions that might try to derail my goals, and to spend time with my loved ones. One thing that is a constant issue is to not be afraid. Afraid of failure, and even afraid of success. Fear is a horrible obstacle, it creates so many boundaries. I would like to try and recognize my fears so that I can overcome them.
I want to make new friendships including a particularly deep on, revive old ones, and be more of a part of a community.
I WANT TO BE IN LOVE. but i don't want to sacrifice myself or all the work i've done over the past couple of years on myself to get there. so, my advice to myself is: you have the best umbrella. don't forget that.
The thing you want to happen is gonna happen. And even if that thing doesn't happen directly, the next thing that happens will be the thing you always wanted to happen.
I would like to think more positively about everything. To look at what I have done rather than what I haven't done. To remind myself that small steps are big accomplishments.
I would like to stay closer to my purpose.
I would like to improve my lifestyle over the next year, especially in the health aspect. I am absolutely fed up with not getting enough sleep, eating unhealthily, and not having time to exercise. It's easy to look at these as simple changes, but they have been really hard on me. I can't get enough sleep with the amount of homework and after school activities I have, combined with my need to wake up early and get home late due to commuting. I hope that this lifestyle of commuting will end with my time at BC High. I plan on living on my college's campus, so I will have an extra two and a half hours each day, that I am now losing to commuting. I also think that I will have more time to exercise. I really enjoy running on my own, but it's something I haven't been able to make the time for in awhile. I miss the freedom it gave me and the time to just think and reflect. Instead, I now just feel stuck in this cycle of unhealthiness, that is probably putting an unimaginable toll on my body. And I don't want to plainly say that attending BC High is part of the reason that I feel stuck, but I honestly can't think of any other explanation. During the school year, I get five to six hours of sleep on average, and I almost never find the time to exercise. I have also gained weight each year due to stress eating. During the summer, I am able to get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, and eat healthy. I guess only time can tell if ending my time at BC High will allow me to lead a healthier lifestyle. I hope it does.
Say 'No' nicely when I need to. Be honest about my health. Work on letting go of low level anxiety that bugs me.
I'd like to improve my running! I've been stagnant and on the decline for the past few years (with regard to marathon times). I'd like to follow a regimen that incorporates speed training to get faster. (Thanks to Nabil for the recommendation.) I'd also like to explore the idea of a running group for motivation to encourage improvement.
I'd like to do more of what I love, get started easier with things I have to do, and get back to practicing yoga. I can use the pact I asked my sister to enter into with me on the anniversary of our mom's death to love ourselves more and take care of ourselves to do this.
For some unknown reason, I've been feeling a lot of rage this year. Suddenly, I have a bad temper, which has never been the case! I'd like a return to my calmer, more rational self. I always assume that meditating more will help. But that seems like an annual resolution whose meaning is almost hollow at this point.
Our actions are guided by our habits, thoughts, and beliefs. There are times to focus on what's "out there" in terms of setting goals, schedules, budgets, etc. At other times, progress requires an inward look. This particular piece of advice demonstrates the importance of inward awareness: DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU THINK.
I want to do less and do it better, with more focus and thought. Less multi tasking and less distraction. Maybe shabbat phone fasts? Facebook hiatus. What my brother said about fomo and trying to do so many things that it's not even fun rang true.
I would like to make myself into the best me I can be, regardless of where I work or what my job is. I mean in the sense of being the most excited, driven, passionate and grateful me. The best counsel and guidance I received in the past year is the following: "Remember to take care of yourself. It's like the air cabin pressure mask scenario. If you don't take care of yourself first, you will not be able to take care of others."
I would like to resolve my health issues... I hate feeling sluggish and tired all the time. I need to take care of myself, and keep that a priority- Self care, self care, self care....
Lately, it seems as though I've been allowing certain personality types to "get the best of me." I find myself getting emotional (angry or sad) when people display negative attitudes or behaviors towards me. I have even found myself being bullied, perhaps because I allow myself to be an easy target by reacting so emotionally. I have received advice about this before, but recently I was reminded to not let toxic people get the best of me and to keep my distance from them. Life seems too short to keep unhealthy relationships around. So rather than act with anger, I would like to remember to always act from a place of love and compassion - for my myself and others. This means to breathe deeply, not react to irrational behavior, and protect myself by creating boundaries.
Perhaps the best piece of advice I have ever received is the one from MILESTONES eating disorder clinic, run by Marty Lerner. And that is: we don't have to like it we just have to do it. To block out my feelings with my drug of choice, food, only kept putting my life on hold until I was old and this is rhymed for a reason. No more waiting to live! Life, in all its misery, was meant to be enjoyed, even if most of it is misery, and F LIFE is NOW. I don't want to be fat anymore on the sidelines of life.
I would love to simplify my life. I want to get rid of tons of stuff. I don't mind clutter so much, but it does weigh me down. I'd like to explore what that looks like beyond just physical stuff, too.
I want to name and let go of anger sooner. On more positive notes I want to be in service to others I want to guide my family to dream together and to give together I want more prayer and time for prayer in my life. I want to improve my health and happiness this year. I don't think there is particular advice, but a push to return to my own core.
I would like to be more fit and active in order to gain more energy in my day to day life
I would like to get back in shape and feel fit and healthy like I once did. One bad thing about the fire was that I used food for comfort and gained back all the weight it took me so long to lose. Now that my knees are shot, it's harder to find exercises that work for me. I'm hoping to join a gym soon, so that I can swim. I don't think I've received any specific words of wisdom about this this year, but I know that I need to be kind to myself and not put the kind of pressure to be skinny on myself that I have in the past. I'm determined to take this slowly and to just make better food choices rather than counting calories.
Spend more time outdoors. I am buying a house with a great backyard where I envision spending time with my puppies breathing in the outdoor smells. I want to have a consistent workout and exercise routine. I want to be in relationships with people - having them over for dinner, going to movies, going on walks. I want to find my community - where I belong.
I know I should exercise, but I don't. Just do it!!
Short & sweet. I hope to get in shape so I can be an active parent with my newborn baby. I can't be out of breath walking up the steps and hope to be a quality care-giver.
I read an article my Ann Friedman for Ny Magazine that really got to me -- it was about how she became (and I hate this phrase) an empowered woman in her 29th year. Specifically, she noted how the amount of fucks she game about other people's opinions of her just diminished completely. That is probably the most refreshing thing a person can be, is just apologetically themselves. I would like to get there -- to literally just "do me". To trust myself and just do what I do. To be the type of person that says "fuck it" and does things they want to do. Sometimes I over think things or I talk myself out of things -- I shouldn't have to. The people I admire, and envy...are people who just go for it. Who don't tell themselves "no". I'm going to stop saying "no".
My mom always said, "Get interested in other people." That, along with daily exercise, is the antidote to almost everything. I need to get better at this. My life can only improve if I develop more empathy.
I would like to get my business off the ground and focus on contributing financially to my family.
Be open to more things. Get out of your comfort zone. Do more exercise. Say "yes" more often.
Quit holding grudges and spend less time on the computer.
I learned this past year that feelings of anger occur when needs are not met. My goal this year is to make sure my basic needs are fulfilled so I can prevent most anger bouts.
I'd like more of my own time back. Honestly. Time is just too valuable to keep giving away to people, places and things that don't really matter or move the needle for me & my family.
I need to start getting to work on time. I need a promotion and or raise and I want my broker's license. Advice for next year - don't go crazy jumping into a new exercise routine - when things get crazy - back off immediately and re-evaluate - life is not a race. And anyhow i cannot run the (actual) race if I am injured and manic from too much exercise - take it easy.
I would like to better manage my time. I want to have a dedicated writing practice, and have time dedicated to all of my various endeavors, plus time to work and time for loved ones. I want to achieve greater balance in my life and reduce stress, and better managing my time seems to be the path to that. That, plus a regular meditation practice. That's the advice I received this year that I would like to implement--the importance of a daily meditation practice and some quiet unplugged down time for myself every day.
I want to continue to do things because I want to, no matter what other people say or think. I want to be comfortable being me by myself. I want to get out and do activities, see places, and experience life. I don't know about any advice for it. To me, it's just a matter of willing myself to do go there and do it.
Relax. No matter what happens, everything will be okay!
I want to follow my heart, do what I love, be surrounded by loving friends, be in a loving relationship, sing, coach, travel, make money, have fun, dance, and get in shape.
I would like to continue to do more listening and less talking. If I can I will begin to hear more and overreact less.
Patience, lose some weight, set a good example, give more to charity, don't judge, do not let others take advantage of my good nature, create value at work. I can improve everywhere. Don't be complescent .
I would like to be smarter, more beautiful, more successful, funner, and happier. I would LOVE to get better grades and better everything. Also a boyfriend. I don't need one to be happy, but he will help me, I guess. Advice: Don't be afraid. Go to people. Know when to stop. Friendzone everyone. Be a better friend. Talk to people, call them and invite them. Try your REAL best- Don't be lazy! And the most important thing- try to be happy and don't go too fast. Listen.
Don't make it so fucking hard. You are enough. Start writing and using your vocal chords to communicate your message. the rest will fall into place. focused action = vibrating at the level of your dreams = your dreams come realized.
I would like to improve my skills in communication with my fiancee. I want to make sure that when we have discussions we are able to truly share and hear each other for what we are saying. I also want to work out balancing my time better between my family, friends, and fiancee.
I'd like to rid myself of stories, roles, expectations of who I SHOULD be and live authentically, in the moment.
Nel prossimo anno trovo un lavoro nella comunicazione che mi realizza pienamete e mi chiede frequenti viaggi in Italia. Vengo pagato 3000 euro netti al mese, più tanti benefit. I consigli ricevuti nel corso di social media marketing si sta rivelando molto utile. Voglio anche ricominciare a correre e a stare più dietro alla mia salute.
Yes. Take a breath now and then (Wim Hof exercises and meditate daily). Exercise at least three times a week. Keep a day of fasting (600 calories) to stay in touch with body and keep good weight. Enjoy the moment.
Take it easy. Don't push so hard. What will happen will happen. Remember you are loved. Don't worry about the future. Trust yourself and those around you to do what needs to be done.
Learn a new skill.
I would like to work through some anger and grief--mostly grief--about the actions taken by a very powerful and destructive in law that have affected the life of my husband and child in painful ways. I know that if I can release it, our own lives will be better, but I have been having trouble, hoping for "justice" for the other person. Not to be. The best piece of advice Ihave been given is by a woman who went through similar deep betrayal and said she was working to see the betrayer's actions as part of the betrayer's "journey," feel understandable anger, grief, and move into what is. Let's see if I can do it...
I would like to commit to making my marriage happier. I need to remind myself when I'm annoyed with my husband that he and I really are on the same side. That even though he doesn't always show it, he has feelings that can be hurt, and my words affect him. I need to be more compassionate towards him and do better at working together as a team.
Be more direct, and very, very honest. The best piece of advice I received this year is that my life is meaningless. The only person who gives it meaning is ME. No one else. It is an empty slate . Every day.
i was given at my birth all the estates and mansions it would be a heresy to accept only a doorkeeper's job once I alter this doorkeeper's attitude once I change the essence in my mind happiness wil replace misery
I want to make yoga a part of daily life and explore within myself. Many people have counseled waiting for a year after the death of my spouse to make any changes. I totally agree with that because I need time to adjust to following MY own path. It is exciting and overwhelming but in a good way. I remain open to possibilities.
I am reading a book about the benefit of movement, so I want to have developed the habit of being active-- walking or biking instead of driving for example. I'd also like to somewhat overcome my natural tendency toward introversion so I can be in regular contact with friends and family.
I don't currently feel a strong urge toward improvement of either myself or my life. It's not that I don't think that I can improve, it's just that I haven't really had any great reflection toward that goal. I haven't had any particular advice or counsel recently that would guide me toward improvement either. At least, not that I've retained.
I want to improve my look/wardrobe. I'm kind of waiting to see if I get a new job first, but I feel better when I look better, so I want some better clothes. Maybe I'll get in a little better shape too. Other than that, I think I'm doing alright?
I would like to develop greater self-confidence, greater self-belief, and to overcome my insecurities about the value of my work, so I can cease being self-conscious and become more assertive with others when presenting my ideas and tools. Re advice, I keep thinking about the notion that if you can't get "out of" something, get "into it." Instead of attempting to deny or intellectualize my insecurity, I should jump headlong into - fight the boogeyman, slay the dragon.
I want to be less anxious. It affects my relationships and sometimes makes me a nagger. I don't like it. The piece of advice or counsel I give to myself this year is: follow your heart. Follow your heart because you have followed your head in making decisions that have proved to be destructive in my life. I will also cry more to let out the hurt, the hurt I have accumulated because I followed my head instead of my heart.
My life is wonderful at this state with a few regrets about ending my profession early. I think I can continue to move along with my personal plans, take classes, do more Jewish learning. I can always do more chesed and gemulut ; I have to think about that some more. my advice to myself is to not make any major deconstruct for this year. I need to be available to family as my mom will continue to have needs and my sist needs me as her wingman.
More patience in dealing with my son. Allowing him to be who he is and enabling him to thrive, to feel good about himself, to feel comfortable and be happier. If I can be a better mom to him so that he feels his lis life is better that would be a HUGE improvement.
By learning more and taking focus in my education and knowing about life's challenges and how to overcome them. Yes I received tons of guidance last year by just simply laying off your burdens and giving God the load , he will make me prosperous like the previous years
I would like to find a way to be at peace with the craziness of the world.
Keep traveling. Keep focusing on what's important. Keep carving out spaces to get work done. Pray more. Be thankful more. Keep working to strike a balance between taking care of my own needs and those of others.
Get my back to stop hurting. Be less judgmental. No advice.
In this next year, I want to focus on the book, my family, and friends who support me. I want to give support and friendship to others. I want to make healthy lifestyle choices, and spend lots of good time with the kids. I want to be generous and kind and authentic, and to work steadily toward my goals. "When you are afraid, look boldly in the face of that which you fear. Don't try to escape the discomfort. Both pleasure and pain are important in becoming conscious. Everything on your hero's path is here to empower you to bring forth mastery." - Maria Nemeth
My health - mental and physical - is the focus of my efforts for the next year. My goals include: reducing my weight to my high school weight; ending the using of meds to control my chronic illnesses; improve my mental health status. I believe that achieving these goals will result in general life improvements across the board.
Don't let a week go by without climbing
I'm kinda okay with myself right now. I've reached a point in my life where I'm stable emotionally (eh, sorta - except for being slightly psycho when Zach doesn't text me back) and financially. Should I attempt to go to the gym, yeah. Will I? Probably not. Should I eat less sugar, yes. So, that's it then...less sugar...more gym.
The next ten months will be a big test. I feel like I have made a lot of internal changes in the past year and a half in terms of taking too much on, letting go of anger, and giving myself and others a break. I've been able to give up the tranquilizers I was needing to take to sleep because of job stress (and cancer stress). I'd like to keep my focus on my stated priorities--family time, healthy foods, exercise, etc. and not let work or the stupid things that happen there intrude on my personal life. Drawing the line between home and work and putting that drama in the backseat of my life would make a big different. Not my circus, not my monkeys!
I would like to make healthier choices this year and be more active. At a deep level, I know that exercise and healthy eating make me calmer AND give me more energy, but there are still times that I let the stress of the day overwhelm my energy stores and keep me from being active. A great piece of advice that I should give myself daily is, "You never regret a workout."
I'd like to improve my life by being a little less responsible and living (not recklessly) but in a way that is more connected to people--the people I love, the people with whom I work, the people in my community. I've not necessarily received advice in the past year, but I have lost friends abruptly to death. People who put off enjoying things to prepare for a future. The future is just imaginary. Now is what is important. And while I would never do anything to jeopardize my financial situation, I can change my schedule and concentrate less on work and more on getting connected--connected to people, connected to nature.
I need to get in shape and get my house clean. As to the second part, I have nothing that would help.
I know about resentments, Ive known about them and contempt as my character defect for a long time. But they stay with me because I live with flawed angry people. Ive heard about praying for my "enemy" and recently read again a very similar thing, Bless your enemy and you rob him of his ammunition.Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you. If I could take contrary action instead of wanting to seek revenge and feel anger toward those I feel that wish to do me ill that is how I would like to improve myself. Also Id really like to continue on my creative path.
I need to be less aggressive in those conversations that I believe I am misunderstood. I need to take a breather and calmly state my point without restating it 3 different ways. I can ask the person to restate it to be sure they know what I mean. I need to walk on my treadmill every day, even if I go to the gym. I know working at home and sitting in my chair working on my computer is bad for me. I will walk every day, even if it's for 30 minutes. Once I'm walking and typing, I feel great, it's just getting on the clothes and sneakers.
Live Every Day> I plan to add to my skilles in both Music and social to improve myself this year. Taking Classes and be more social.
i can start by being less negative an argumentative with others i don't need to be right all the time.I need to learn how to say no to people,and just be myself.i need to pray more, and listen to what G D's will for me is.
I would like to lose weight and make sure I am eating everyday. I need to stop being too busy till 3pm to eat. I need to take care of myself and not always make myself secondary to my family. It is important to take care of myself because I am so vital to taking care of my family. I hear my mother's voice in this advice because she says it over and over again to me. That is not in a harsh judgmental way but in a mom taking care of her daughter way. I view DC as a change. I think I can alter my habits. I also realize this is a likely pipe dream.
The best advice I got was just a day or two ago: Figure out what I want, and then make a plan to make it happen - and then FOLLOW THAT PLAN. Good things happen much more often when we pave the way for them. I find this very challenging, especially the first part - its scary to pick one thing and decide to achieve it, it means not doing others things and risking failure... But it is better than isometric stasis.
I say this every year, but more confident . And closer to where God wants me to be.
I hope to take a more active role in making change. A new job, more friends, more opportunities. I keep waiting for something to happen but know that really I need to MAKE it happen.
I should use the strength, wisdom and tools I have developed over the years. I've got it all inside of me.
I would like to learn Spanish. I've been saying that forever and other things just always seem to take priority. I hope that next year I am actually able to reach this goal and speak Spanish at least at an intermediate level.
With my brother's death from brain cancer on the very near horizon, I will, no doubt, spend most of my 55th year of life grieving his loss and all that that entails. I hope by this time next year I will be through the worst of it, that I will be working in a new job, pursuing new forms of art, and feeling hopeful for my future. Regardless of the pain and sadness that is ahead, I am determined to celebrate life next year and to be the person God calls me to be.
Continue to clear unneeded things. Bring order and beauty to our home. Grow, laugh and explore with my husband. When planning E & C's wedding, our friend said, " You know it won't be perfect, right? I know someone who was planning her wedding and worked so hard to make it perfect, she couldn't enjoy herself." Wise words for all situations-let go of perfection!
This year I am starting therapy. I am hoping to start working on my anger, self respect and patience. I am so quick to dispute others who I disagree with. Just because I allow someone to voice their opinion does not mean I agree with it nor that my opinion is invalid. I see this as the first step in improving my relationships, especially my relationship with my wife.
I'd like to be more diligent at putting money aside for paying off the house and saving for Christmas. I do it every once in awhile now...but it needs to be a practice rather than a side-thought.
I'd like to be healthier, both mentally and physically. The best thing for me to remember that I want to get there is the quote "The only way out is through"
Like T. E. Lawrence, I want to have fun directly confronting my fears, barriers, and challenges with absolute bold honesty in order to write my own future and forever change the world. "Nothing is written" and "the trick is to not mind," so go and do something while something can be done. One will "finish" first between "you" and "what you seek to do." "You can't be neutral on a moving train" and, therefore, less hesitation and more perspiration can led to inspiration before expiration.
I want to work harder at my PhD. I want to surround myself with people who push me to work harder. But ultimately I recognize that the buck ends with me, and I need to be the driving force in finishing my dissertation successfully. I would like to continue taking my inspiration from Sonia Sotomayor, whose autobiography I read over a year ago.
To keep diary for appointments. Yes
I would like to get a job. Also, I would like to be better about managing my time. Also also, I would like to be better about keeping the house in order. I need to stop procrastinating.
I want to be in better shape -- for my foot to be better especially. ANd I want to be more positive with Mike routinely. Cuz I hate it when I"m short tempered.
Don't be such a yes person. Take risks and say yes because its what you want, not because you want to be liked, or because you don't want to inconvenience others.
I need to start eating food that makes my body healthier and happier. Finding out about my malnutrition scared me, but apparently not enough because I'm still not eating enough of the minerals and vitamins I need. I'd like to start by seeing a dietician and having an eating plan laid out for my health issues. I'd like to improve my diet in the classic sense of the word, not in the weight loss sense. Side note: I've been home sick for the first 1-7 of these questions. I've been typing on my phone or while watching court tv. Who knows where I will be next year.
Lose my temper less often
Weight loss is the big one for me right now. Not to be skinny, but to be healthy. I feel my body rebelling against me now the way it did before I quit smoking. It is time for a change and I hope that I have kept my resolve when I read this a year from now. No soda, skip the fast food on the way home, ignore the panic that enters the mind as the hungry feeling sticks in the gut. It's not there and you can always get food. You are lucky.
I would like to take better care of myself. I'm a strong person. I can take the weight of the world but often am so successful at problem solving and caring for others I let my own self care fall through the cracks.
In this next year I want to improve on my self awareness in terms of how I treat my wife. I realize that what is in my head and my heart is not always the way that she perceives me based on my actions. I want my love for her to match my actions, words and tone. As for improving my life in the next year I think the focus will be our marriage. I hope to still be married in a year. No piece of advice that has guided me.
I will be physically stronger, and fit. I will weigh approximately 200 pounds. I will be mentally sharp. I will be financially stronger. I will be living from the best version of my highest self...
I would like to be a better Father, Husband, and coworker. How do I do this: Learn how to better slowdown and multi-task. It's important to use resources that are available to me. Think about prioritizing the activities for my kids and family first. Understand that it might require seeking professional advice (not go it alone).
You can't out-think your feelings. Cut down on the anxiety-- do it right, not easy, and there will be nothing to be anxious over. Practice saying "no", and drawing boundaries. No one is going to fix it but you. So fix it.
I am embarking on a new relationship and one thing that comes up often in our discussions are the concepts of respect and communication. I want our relationship to last, so I very much wish to honour those 2 concepts. I don't recall any counsel in the past year--I will simply be sure to consider both at all times with my partner. It's in both our best interests!
Two things that I've read in the past year that I want to remain with me in the next year: "Whatever's meant to be, will find its way" "Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is." STOP WORRYING! Or at the very least, give yourself time to worry and stress, but then let it go. Stop dwelling on things, worrying about what could've been if you just didn't do that, or you didn't say this...stop thinking about the past and stop worrying about the future. Work hard, focus on yourself, and the right things will find its way. Know that you are enough. Whatever you're doing, right now, you are enough. You are worthy of love and belonging. It doesn't matter what didn't work out in the past year, what "could've been" in the past year. There are NO prerequisites to being worthy or being enough. You are enough!
Delayed gratification (not denied), self control, being an adult, open mindedness, tolerance, humor.
I would like to be less emotional and get worked up less quickly. I have a tendency to overreact and that is something I need to work on.
Get a job that makes me happier. Don't run out of money by September.
Meditate. Not focus on dating so much. Finish my book. Work on getting my short stories and poetry published. Work on my blog. Be a worker among workers.
Man, this could be a memoir. I want to be more organized and in-shape. I am working on my mind and spirit. Practicing meditation. Right now, I am learning to check in with my body especially monitoring my breathing. I hope by next year I am meditating a whole hour--I'll settle for 15 minutes (yes it is harder than you think). I hope to be more in love with Joe than I am today. I hope I spend some quality time with my mother. I hope my life is more in balance with friends, family, work....I hope I am on my way to a higher paying job, I hope I am developing my entrepreneurial enterprises. Best advice is by Oprah, I am really trying to live my best life.
Remember to be patient. That anger is not your friend. That you take up more space in the universe than perhaps you realize. On the other hand, don't be afraid to self-promote, don't want for others to recognize your talents and never expect to be thanked for your efforts.
I will stop being so afraid and feeling so unworthy of living a true, valuable life. Carpe diem.
During this past year, I have learned (through my experiences and through others' guidance) that it is ok for me to have an opinion and express it. I don't always need to yield to others (though sometimes it's a good thing) and that I can stand up for myself. I am trying to put this into action, in the way I approach my relationships with friends, family, professors, and others around me. I know that I will need to improve at this if I hope to move forward in my life productively.
I'd like to be able to ignore the people that push my buttons. I'm doing a better job of turning away from the things that needlessly aggravate me, I need to do more of that. My friend M. reminds me that a lot of that stuff has nothing to do with me, and I need to remember that. I also need to ask people to please not inform about stuff that they know I'm going to have a knee-jerk reaction to. It's entertaining for them, I know, to see me go into a fight and throw fact bombs everywhere, but it's not good for me. So, yeah, staying away from things that aggravate me where my engagement offers little in the way of making those things go away, I need to do THAT.
Continue having more patience with family. Continue positive energy toward new career direction.
I would like to figure out how to not take things so seriously and to not get so stressed out when things seem overwhelming. I tend to take it out on those I love when I get that way. I need to learn to take deep breaths and realize that things aren't as bad or as unmanageable as they seem and that it doesn't all have to fall to me. That I can ask for help. Perhaps meditation or yoga would be good for me to look into in the next year.
I would like to get in good enough shape to run a half marathon (or maybe a full!). I would like to secure a position in the Bay Area that allows me to live comfortably. I would like to live in a place that makes me happy. Stay motivated. Stay goal-oriented.
Appreciate what I've got and do not focus on incidental problems.
I am working toward improving my proficiency at reading audiobooks, with the goal of making it a primary career at some not-too-distant point. I will be attending at least two very important networking opportunities in 2015 which will hopefully open some doors towards that goal. Advice comes from my coach. He has given me many helpful tips on how to perfect my craft as well as the business of voice-over.
I would like to make better use of my time outside of work. I want to keep volunteering, keep experiencing new things, and keep writing and creating. I also would like to keep the house cleaner. The piece of advice I've heard this year is that thinking you don't have time is not an excuse. Do something and then once you are doing that, you will realize you have time to do more.
I'd like to learn more Hebrew and make a more Jewish home with more prayer and spiritual exploration with my children. I'd like to find a happy mate and a happier relationship. On the discussion of my painful surgery, my mother's passing, my spouse's moving away: Even this shall pass away.
I just want to remind myself to take everything one step at a time and it'll work out. Life changes so much from one year to the next these days, and it's ok to not be able to control it. Also, I want to work on my friendships in the coming year. This year has been about my family and my relationship with my husband. However, I need to make more of an effort to make phone calls and reconnect with people who I haven't spoken to in a while.
Treat your art like a business.
I would like to try something new in business and put away fears that may prevent my success. I want to create margin to give my family breathing room.
I'd like to continue on the spiritual path I am on and live into the wise woman moniker that has been bestowed upon me by many whom I know. The improvement would be finally accepting that I matter and that I am not too much. That would be the advice and counsel that I got also.
Man - isn't this the question. I just want to be happier. I have no idea what this looks like or involves - if its traveling or a different job or just more gratitude about what I have or maybe being with the right person. I think I have trained my brain so hard to think about next steps, bigger goals, what's next, how to make more, do more, be more. Am I at a point now where a lot has been accomplished and I should just...enjoy? I have no idea, but these last few months have been difficult. I think the smartest and safest answer to this question is to improve my health and outlook. I was told recently "You can't buy back your 20s" and I do want to enjoy them in a meaningful way. I want to focus on ME and MY CAREER and MY priorities. I want to get to a place where I can share my life in a meaningful way with someone, but think 100 other things need clarity and closure first.
Eat healthier and be more active. I've been told to keep in mind that the healthier I am the easier it is to get around.
I'd like to feel less alone and directionless. I'd like to light on something to do with myself that I love and feel fulfilled by. I haven't really gotten any satisfying advice with this although sometimes I feel self indulgent--like if I was a poor single mom I wouldn't have time to worry about this stuff. I just don't know if I'm good enough to do this physical therapy thing, and even if I am, I don't know if I really want to do it, and it's a big investment of time and money.
Have a steady job.
Ahhhh there are so many things I would like to do to improve my life over the next year, especially related to my back and the relocation that I want to happen but I don't want to focus on that now. Over the next year, I'd like to continue working on learning to love myself. I've gotten better this year at asking for help and allowing other people into my life but I definitely still have a ways to go. Hopefully this year, my 30th, will help me get to the place I want to go!
fear of change often can immobilize you and prevent you from going forward. So, I have been practicing expressing gratitude on a daily basis. Trying to let things go
Live fearlessly. Always put your very best self forward. Sometimes it's fear of rejection that keeps me from putting my full self in!
I would like to be more social & arrange more get togethers, having organised my first since moving here (planned for 21st October with the neighbours and Jackie bringing some Neal's Yard samples). It's too easy for me to hide in the shadows and not participate.
I need to take things slower and to take time for myself. I need to place myself in a state where I feel no need to perform and no pressure to accomplish anything. I just need to step back and enjoy the moment. I need to appreciate what I have in the moment. I need to stop striving to perform.
I would like to be more present in the moment and stop wasting time on trivial things and worrying. I would like to be truly grateful for every blessing.
I've kind of mentioned or alluded to the self-improvements in other answers so I'll just put, 1) focus on mastering new skills: Harp, Russian, Computer Graphics software. 2) Be more optimistic about the future, and overall happier. 3) let go of old hurts and abuses, and lighten my load so I can fly a little better.
I would like to let go of the fear of making a major career change. I make a good salary in a field I no longer love ( been in the field 34 years). I light up around animals, dogs in particular. I want to see my way clear to be able to support myself by running a pet sitting business. Good friends have encouraged me to at least explore the feasibility.
I would love to do a better job of letting things go and not feel so bad about mistakes I've made or things I should have done, but didn't. Learning from mistakes or missed opportunities is important, but perseverating on them and beating myself up about them is not a good use of my time and energy. I have received relevant advice, not in the past year, but it is oft repeated by a very dear friend: "there are more than enough people out there waiting to beat you up over stuff, you don't need to do it to yourself". Wise counsel, indeed!
My most wanted improvement over the next year is to get a handle on my personal life and financial security. I am in a position where I may be able to stop living paycheck to paycheck worrying when "the" event will happen that would unravel everything. It is my hope that that would lessen my anxiety and allow me to pursue other interests - health, volunteering, etc. I also want to continuously improve my relationship with David and depen it.
I want to live lighter. Simplify, throw away, get organized. I have too much junk that I can live better without.
I would like to work on my self-image and self-esteem. It can be hard to let go of fears, resentment, anger in order to move forward, but I would like to be able to do that so that I can focus on myself. I would like to get fit, to have energy and to feel goof about myself, inside and out. You can think about wanting to change, you can talk about it, but you need to just do it!!
Reduce the physical and financial clutter in my condo and life. And I don't need advice or counsel on that, I just need to do it.
I would like to follow through with my plans. With the help of my therapist, I am working on why I cannot move forward with my plans.
Follow through with my projects and goals. Make my personal best a priority wihout becoming a type A personality. EASY DOES IT AND ONE DAY AT A TIME. KEEP IT SIMPLE....YOU CAN DO THIS!!! 12 step......progress and perfection.
I dont' want to live in the future. If I have goals, I want to start them. I feel like I've spent so much time living in the future, but not actually putting any effort forth to start my dreams. This year is going to be all about action!
I want to be truly forgiving and accepting instead of begruding of my sister's widower who has rejected us. Obviously I would also love to find a way to re-engage with him and find a way to love him and share my grand children with him. But if it does not work, as it has not for so many years, let me be at peace with it and only think sincere well wishes for him. That's a big order.
Never make someone a priority while allowing yourself to be their option. And fuck yeah! Or fuck all.
I have made big strides this year with anxiety and baggage. Once in awhile I still overreact and let things get to me. This happens most often at work. Listening to the Audio Dharma podcasts seems to help me stay on track with improving.
I'd like to become more and more active, e.g., walking to work, biking to school etc. the more active I become, the healthier I feel and the stronger I am. Yes, my father always told me that I had incredibly strong legs and that I had great endurance. He also cautioned me that "slow and easy wins the race" - kind of like the tortise and the hare I suppose. His fundamental message was always to "pace yourself" and you'll make it. So I always have. Pacing myself physically has allowed me to complete two walking marathons (really a total of 40 miles in two days), a 40 mile bikathon and many afternoons of hiking. Now I need to pace myself with my studies. Focus on the goal ahead but take it slow and easy, learning as much as I can as I go forward. Oh yes, my father always told me that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. And I will! Thanks Dad!
I would like to return to and develop interests I loved and engaged in as a child and young adult, and lost or moved away from as I got older: drawing, playing guitar, sports, socializing. Somehow I went from curious and fearless/I'll try anything no matter what the outcome to curious and afraid of failure. I know that my life would be fuller in a positive way were I to re-engage in these activities. Over the last few years I've collected or been given the equipment and resources I need to delve into art and music and physical activity; I just feel frozen. I need to thaw and re-engage.
Pray more. Seriously, pray more. Read more theology books. Read more books in general. Be kinder. Offer grace in all situations... and to all people. Reach out to someone when you think about that person, even if you haven't spoken in a while. Connection to others are what ground us and strengthen us.
I have now been retired 1 year. I have been told I need to slow down. I know I bother those around me in anxiousness. I need to work on settling my self. Do less and enjoy more.
I would love to not worry about money. We keep making more money and it keeps disappearing. I'd like to be less crazy with spending money. No advice that I can recall...
I can't think of any specific advice I received. I would like to let go of my ego and be less needy emotionally, as well as less self conscious. I would like to stop procrastinating and put more time into my writing.
I would like to be able to roll my eyes at people more instead of absorbing their irritating negativity. To catch their attitude in my catcher's mitt, take a look at it, and just drop it on the ground - no thank you!
Spend less time doing nothing. Find a way to motivate myself to fill those empty spaces with productive work. Disconnect from social media. "If it's important enough for you, you will make the time."
To follow my bliss, take some chances, do what I love. Niki said, just put it out to the universe and you will get your answers and find your way
I would like to get in a position where whatever skills and experiences I have acquired could be useful in general and help people achieve their goals and dreams. Take control of your life and live your dream.
I gave a piece of advice to someone that months later I started to feel harshly myself. I told a young employee that they really needed to find someone to mentor them, someone who they both could trust completely and who would have enough experience and energy (a rare combination) to really support them. Months later when meeting with some people who mentored me through the first third of my career, I really felt how much I missed having that kind of relationship. This coming year I hope to find someone who can meaningfully mentor me (something that's harder to do as you rise). Everyone who used to fill that role for me is gone now.
I want to think about myself less in my free time.
I want to live my life in better alignment with my morals, purpose, and vision for the future. I think the best advice comes from two authors whose books I read in the past year: Be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and don't take anything personally. --Don Miguel Ruiz Cultivate and trust your wild instinct. --Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Be less critical of others. From George Wein: Don't worry about your enemies. You can't change them or do anything about them. Instead, focus on your friends and those you love.
"Just breathe" or perhaps, "learn how to ask for help even when it's awkward and difficult". Over the next year, the biggest improvement will come from going back to a full-time contract in IT, but still living according to the poverty-constrained budget. I've learned I can do it by necessity, the hard part comes of doing it by choice. Ideally, as I pay off my own debts (credit and personal), and put some money aside for long-planned home upgrades, I can also bank a sizeable chunk from both incomes so that there's more of a cushion from which to launch the next attempt at flying on the private practice alone. I didn't do that over last summer's contract, and so was flawlessly UNprepared for the leap of faith that happened last fall... thus requiring another leap of faith into accepting help this summer. The better I can control my own impulses and manage to plan for my own desired future, the more likely I'll be at least somewhat better prepared for the next opportunity, when it comes.
I think mostly through loving myself and therefore having the capacity to love life and other beautiful human beings and all beings even more. Learning to love and accept myself for who I am. Learning that it's okay to have lots of different emotions. Knowing that I will naturally express myself in a loving way and that is beautiful! Trusting myself. Soaking up so many new experiences and beautiful learnings lately. Taking them all in one step at a time, no need to rush. Just being a sponge and retaining what is beneficial and nourishing. :) Here's to life being messy and beautiful.
Being true to myself. I would like to grow as a writer and painter. I would like to be known for inspiring people and encouraging them to go after the things they told they can't have or the things they feel they don't deserve.
I want to take better care of my body and my soul. Healthy eating of good food, consistent exercise and time to study.
I want to be happier and more flexible. The objective conditions of my life are very good but I worry about the state of the world and the amount of human misery. I worry a great deal, which is partly a job requirement and so unavoidable. But I need to do a better job of living well, both for my self and long term well-being but also to provide a better example to my youngest daughter of how to live well while caring about people and the world. The tradition has some good insights about how far our sense of duty needs to extend, and it teaches that while it is important to help others, it is also important to love oneself and enjoy life. That others cannot enjoy their lives is not my fault, and while I ought to do things to help change that situation I cannot do it by myself and still must live my life. If we all deserve to be happy this includes me, even in the face of human misery. Some attention must be paid to trying to reverse misery, but not all attention all the time. I can and should have joy in my life too!
I would like to improve both my mental and physical health by exercising regularly. This is an activity that I know helps me live, feel, and sleep better, but I do not make the time to do it right now. If I go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, I should be able to find the time to do this.
I can improve myself/my life by continuing what I have been doing, just doing it more. Like: more meditation, more exercise, more healthy food, more rest, more loving in my relationships. The advice I've been listening to is the mantra I want to deepen this year as a practice: “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” ― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
I would like to have a better job, spend summers on my boat sailing more, helping kids that have a tough life be more at peace by spending time at sea, learning about the peace they can find with God and the connection of water, God, and them. Advice: From Shelley Stern, stick with It. don't let Rabbi tell you : you aren't one of us, You are. Go to Israel, follow what your heart tells you, your special. God works through you. Don't give up. " This is hard for me, I have fought with not being accepted all my life, I know I fit in, I do listen, follow, learn, act, do what God tells me to do. But I never seem to get there. So I resign myself to hoping and knowing God does what he does through me because he is my Father, accepts me for who I am, uses me to do his work and knows I never question that. As long as I am doing that. what else do I need to do? I hope I find the answer on my trip this next summer.
My overall health. No new advice or counsel on the subject- only need to listen to the wisdom I have received.
Stay with the same job for a while since it is working for me ..consistancy...and find a better living stuation...
1) Be in the best shape of my life, and keep it that way!!! 2) Continue to keep healthy relationships growing stronger, closer and lovlier. :) (this includes my husband!) 3) Continue to do well in my career. 4) Get back into oil painting, drawing, guitar playing, sculpting, and anything else that sparks my creativity because I enjoy it and I know that it honors God because He made me this way. 5) Keep learning and growing and having fun while doing it!
I want to eat and drink more moderately, and in a way that is more sustainable for the planet and for poor people. What has helped me in the past year was following Weight Watchers faithfully.
one day at a time. want to be more loving and less judgmental. oh yes, and lose weight. :)
Don't take things personally, You really don't know what's happening in their world. Choose to act from your values vs react from them.
This goes to my main problem right now... I don't know how much I'll be making, so I don't know if I should stay where I live. I don't know what to do with property I own. I don't know whether to commit to a woman I'm seeing, or let her go, since I know I'm not really ready for that. My advice would be not to rush into anything, and to realize that some decisions that seem immediate are still six months away.
Go pro. Build a biz and a life I adore, that helps loads of people transform their lives in meaningful and lasting ways.
Take more time for myself and do what I want to do rather than always working on projects for others.
I would like to spend more time reading or taking part in sustained activity of some kind, and less time "multitasking," flitting here and there on the facebook, for example. I read with Piper for 20 minutes the other day, as she does every day, and it was nice. I read a lot in fits and starts, but I do have time to actually focus. It is a matter of pushing myself to sit down and focus.
Save your money! There is nothing you need to buy that would be better than saving your money and paying off bills. You'll be saner and happier, even if it feels stressful and difficult to resist those urges in the short-term. Remember, everything you've bought because you had to have it: well, you didn't have to have it, and at the end of the month, you always regretted it. Save your money!
I would love to be more organized. Especially now with a second job, organizing my time is especially important. I've felt lately that I've been neglecting my friends, and if I were to organize and prioritize my time better, this may not happen!
Forgive and forget, live on...... THat makes one's life so much lighter!!
Don't foreclose on what you need/like. Remain open to a diversity of experiences; give everyone and everything the benefit of the doubt... to a point. And if you want to get better at something, commit to it. Work at it every day. Think about it. Dream about it. Invest in it.
I want to be more mindful, more present in my daily activities. I want to feel like I am living and savoring each day, rather than rushing through the day, the week, the month to get to the next "thing." I want to feel relaxed and patient and I want to be able to "let myself go." I don't want to look back and think "wow - there goes another year" without being able to look back and think "wow, what an amazing year I made it."
Keeping my promises to myself. All of them. Not just some of them. But all of them. I find it makes a huge difference when I'm not only keeping my promises to others, but especially when I'm keeping the promises to myself. Especially those ones. In all areas, fitness, health, home, finances, etc. I just know it makes a difference.
I want to be a more sincere person. I want to have success and have the lifestyle to back it up. I am not saying that I am materialistic, but I just want to be able to be proud of my accomplishments and become a better person as a whole... no matter how generic that sounds.
I would like to continue on the path toward slowing down, being more mindful, and being both more patient and tolerant. I would like to feel less stress and more satisfaction and calm by doing so.
I'd like to work less and enjoy life more. Delegate more. Trust more. Take things more lightly.
I would like to improve myself by stepping out more - taking more risks, giving more of myself, working from a place of greater authenticity. "Dying to self" - coming less from a state of ego, and more from a place of "pure" action - unfettered by self-consciousness, fears, etc. No specific advice...the phrase "it's not ABOUT you" keeps resonating....when it's not about you, then you're free to act from a place strength and clarity.
calmer, more organized, able to prioritize my health and model that for my children
Like a zillion other people, I need to lose weight and exercise. I wish I could find the ongoing motivation to make change happen. I need to find the advice or counsel that could guide me!
Still want to get more patient, tolerant and understanding. No.
I would love to be happy with the life I have. I am a mother to five amazing kids and a grandmother to seven wonderful, fun and loving grandchildren. I have a good job that I enjoy and I have roof over my head. I have no reason to be sad, to be lonely, to be scared about what will happen to me. I want to be alive the next year, not hiding and over come with saddness like I have done this past year. I really don't need anything or anyone else in my life, I need to be okay with that, to live my life to the fullest, to spend time with my kids and grandkids and bring joy and happiness into their lives. To teach my grandkids things they will never forget, about being outside exploring, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the forest. To give them a sense of self worth that only comes from nature.
Communicate better with my nuclear family back in Cali. Invest money and time wiser. Listen more.
Be quiet. You don't need to fill up space with your words. Sometimes silence speaks volumes and you don't become redundant or liable.
I would like to be more open to new opportunities in the coming year. This past year has felt so hectic and bumpy in terms of emotions and stability. While I am sure that will never change, I am hoping that being open to new opportunities will bring me more pleasant surprises as well as opportunities to grow and develop in areas that I can't even fathom. Also, I would like to take better advantage of opportunities to advance my arts career.
Wow, there is a lot. I think it all fits under this umbrella of apathy that has overcome my life in the last 2 years. I am not sure if it is actually a piece of advice or just a cliche I have heard since I was a child, but it has hit me hard the past couple of weeks that I am the ONLY one who has control of my future. I have to make things happen, or else...they won't happen. I have always looked at this as a sort of selfish attitude and written it off. But that isn't it at all. It applies to people with drive, who want to have a role in Shalom and a changing world. That is me! It isn't going to happen for me, I am realizing I need to care and have passion about my own goals. I hope to do this in the next year, to feel more like myself and not to let life pass me by like I think it has in the last couple of years.
I would try to get more sleep. Try to finish my certify for group fitness. be more relaxed less tense..Take it easy on myself..Stop beating myself up...Realize although my parents are dead they live on inside me. no advice given my anyone
I think the best advice I received last year was from my AP Lit teacher: She told me that if I focus too much on the past, I'll be depressed. If I focus too much on the future, I'll be anxious. The only way I can stay sane and live life effectively is to stay focused on the present, on what is immediate and tangible. I've always dealt with anxiety (and to a lesser degree, I've had the tendency to dwell on past mistakes), but since I've tried to put that advice into effect in my life, I've found myself a lot more content.
Sadly, I did this last year too (and clearly failed), but I'd like to spend less incidental time on Facebook and online games. I do use it as a break when I'm writing particularly emotional material and need the comfort of friends, but other times, I find myself wandering over even when I have things to do. I'd also like to yell less. I want to be happier, and find the best way to reach my kids and encourage them to reach their potential. If I could do this without getting frustrated, it'd be great. Finally, I want to spend more time with my parents and in-laws, take down their stories, and really marvel in the time I have with them, because I know it's precious.
i need to focus. now that i've [ forcefully ] retired, i have time to do things, if i can manage them. i promised not to sit around and eat bonbons, and so far [ a whole month in!] it's not an issue, i'm very busy. too busy, some days. i can go to school - i don't know how, but i could. there are always options. i can learn stuff. glasswork; http://www.brazeestreetstudios.com/home/classes/makebake.html i can exercise - just move a bit more each day. last year i lost weight not eating carbs. I'm clearly addicted to them. but i can do that again. i'm sure i'd been given advice, but i can't remember it. i want to stay in touch with my work friends. i want to learn something, anything. i want to find out what's going on with my health, and deal with that as well as i can. i want to figure out this relationship as best i can and deal with it honestly.
Keep on letting go. Stop worrying and learn to love the bomb.
I would like to get to a point of being out of debt so that I can focus on stress reductions, and living in the moment with joy and a feeling of being free.
It is all about acceptance and compassion and kindness to myself and others. Always. And staying better connected to those I love and cherish. And pushing myself to go beyond what is comfortable.
Learn something new and not related to my industry. Get involved in volunteering somewhere!
More family time, more traveling. Less social withdraw.
I would love to feel like my best self. What does my best self look like? Confident, but not arrogant. Collected and yet in touch emotionally. Considering the future, though not constantly planning and judging. Able to know what is going on with others while prioritizing/balancing the needs of myself and others. I keep returning to a quotation from one of the first jewels of Elul: "Never hold tightly to someone who wants to go; never anchor a ship that must sail."
Just deepening my capacity for love and tolerance, and including myself in that love and tolerance.
I would like to make healthier physical choices for myself. Avoiding sugar and embracing movement. If I can listen to the invitation to check in with my body and soul each day in mindfulness.
I would like to feel less longing and self doubt. I would like to feel more up to the task and more energetic. I would like to be more sober, less avoiding, and clearer in my communications. The advice that came up in meditation is "trust yourself" and "follow the love."
I would like to improve my eating habits throughout the entire week (not just work week and go crazy on the weekends). I would like to improve my spirituality by increasing the amount of time I spend in reflection or meditation per week.
I would like to be more contemplative, quieter, and less judgmental. The 'advice' and 'counsel' that is most useful for this is actually just watching my roommate live her life. She is a great example to me.
I would like to try again to be more disciplined in reaching my goals - the memoirs etc.
Exibiting more patience and thinking long and hard before I speak would be a vast improvement. To improve my life I need more freedom - without feeling guilty about it. I've probably received all kinds of advice but I'm to stubborn to follow it.
Focus less on business and more on family and my relationship with my God.
To worry less, to manage my stress better and definitely Suse saying that whilst it's natural to worry you can't worry about everything and you have to just let things go. Because you - I, do. Seriously, why am I worrying about what E will do after school in secondary when it's 5 years away And Rach saying I need to stop worrying that I'm not the parent Elliot needs, because I'm the only parent he's got. Because I am. There is no one else and all I can do is my best, there's little point worry if it's good enough, because firstly it is and secondly if it isn't there's not another parent around to do a better job I want to feel less manic and anxious, to be calm and still without it being due to being overwhelmed or depressed
There are ALWAYS options. You are never trapped, you may not like the options, you may not have thought of all the options, but they are there. Honestly look at the ones you don't like, enlist a trusted counselor or friend to make you stretch your mind and talk about the ones that are difficult. Find out what you are TRULY afraid of so you know all the pieces you are trying to work with. You cannot make a beautiful picture if you are missing some of your puzzle pieces!
I need to establish some stability and healthy boundaries. Financial, personal, household healthy boundaries. The idea of stability, of a peaceful existence, I just don't even know what that is like, but I want to find out. The most important thing for me is going to be a job, I think. A full time, reasonably lucrative gig of my own. thing two will be getting the masters in ed, and getting certified. maybe.
I would like to let go of the drama and invest in being in the present moment. I'd like to let go of fear and the drama that suppressing fear causes me. I'd like to be more present in my daily life, create more time for relaxation, connection, art, and music. I'd like to live more easily and gently. I'd like to be courageous and lighthearted. I'd like my life to be simpler, full of ease and joy. I'd like to touch people more gently. More kindly. I'd like to be more gentle and kind with myself. I've received so many good pieces of advice this year, but the one I continuously come back to is this: My energy and intention and vibration manifests my destiny.
yoga, replace caffeine with yoga art will guide me. water and yoga. as my liver and kidneys cleanse so shall the wetlands of Earth be restored.
I continue to work on getting fit - I think that's the major piece for me. And getting more comfortable with stability.
Try to lighten up. Move past the past. Get a thicker skin. The only thing that makes it part of your life is that you are still thinking about it.
I would like to complete my yoga training, pay off 3000 in credit card debt, and continue to work on my goals that I have set. I just looked at my debt, and I really need to reduce my spending and lifestyle.
"Write down those things you completely fear the most. Don't rationalize them, acknolwedge them in their darkest form. Seeing them outside of yourself will take the power away from those thoughts [...] the point of those activities [meditation or yoga] is facing what's burning internally. If your method of choice is writing, write honestly. If you need to sing, sing your heart out. No need for something fancy or new."
Always be learning in everything that you do in life. I want to improve on my life by making myself a perpetual learner. Always reading, exploring and experiencing to enhance my life but also open myself to opportunity. I no longer want to accept my position in life due to my lack of initiative but want to explore more that life has to offer. I owe it to myself and my family to grow everyday I am given.
One thing that I'm always struggling with, and has especially resurfaced since I've arrived in Spain, is the difficulty I have living in and being satisfied with the present. I find myself frequently living in the world of what could be or what might be and not fully taking in and living what is. For the remainder of my time in Spain, I want to make sure that more than anything I can appreciate and make the best of the present so that my experiences are rich and my memories strong.
Be more mindful Be more grateful Be more compassionate
I would like to continue to work on being body positive. I would also very much like to learn to be calmer in discussions and debates. I also hope to continue my self directed education in history, magick, post modernism, and education. I'm currently working at a school and that is helping me with council to be a teacher that I hope to be.
Diet - don't eat between meals. Manage portions of food. No food after 9pm Exercise - Bicycle minimum of 3 days a week for 1 hour. Do stretching circuit 6 days/wk Hobbies - pick a theme for 5775 and photograph - street art Find a storefront or 10 acres of land
the best advice i got this year...while getting divorced was dont focus on what you've lost. think about how much you gained and experienced and be open to the new life in your future that would not be possible had you not changed the course of your life. so i want to focus on being my best self so i can redefine my future and live a happy second half of my life.
I would like to improve my life by making it more meaningful... not just working to work. I keep hoping to find something more altruistic to do.... work for a cause. I would love to contribute in some manor towards getting medicaid in Missouri or help with reading... something. I can't think of any advice I have received in the last year... sadly.
I need to think better of myself. I can be an awesome principal. I need to give myself more credit. A friend told me that I was worthy of this new school. I pray that my leadership will take us where we need to go.
I don't know that I like the language of improvement. It speaks to an understanding of self and the world that is linear -- that we are progressing towards some known end, a pinnacle of excellence or a complete self. I like the language of growth and deepening, getting so internal that you are external. So with that caveat on the language -- how do I hope to deepen myself and life this year? I hope to grow more compassion so I am able to get outside of myself more often, to be less self-conscious about how I move through the world (not less thoughtful), to not be afraid to deepen connections with others, to always be thinking about how my individual work impacts others in small and big ways. To always be expanding the possibilities that critical thinking and writing afford students. To always be re-imagining who we mean when we say students. To embrace love with less fear, less withholding. To experience unadulterated joy and find a place within the heartbreak too.
More calm, more in the moment, less stress.
Relax. This too shall pass. Don't worry so much about work. You're a good mother. Keep enjoying.
I want to keep moving. I know that I'm my biggest enemy to my own growth and progress. This one quote has hit home for me: "the comfort zone is a wonderful place, but nothing grows there" I'd to like to explore outside my comfortzone and grow professionally and personally. I hope I'm more toward where I want to be in my career next year. I also hope I'm able to get back into physical shape.
Be strong, be you. Don't let people stop you or make you feel small and weak.
Be patient with all things but especially yourself. Celebrate where you are. Lean in. Sparkle. Fire lights more fire. Listen to desire. You have choices about what to pay attention to. You are not your feelings. Nourish your body. Less computer, more coffee dates.
I would like to try to calm down a bit and not 'sweat the small stuff,' as my spouse tells me. I think this would be really key for just enjoying life and savoring whatever comes my way.
The piece of advice I received is that I need to be patient about getting a new job. One will come along, but it takes time. In the next year I want to get my work life in order so that when the perfect job does become mine I can leave quickly and with no outstanding work (David Walker, I'm looking at you!!). On the non-work front I would like to improve (create?!) my love life. I need to stop crushing on emotionally unavailable men and look for someone who's actually interested in me.
I would like to rent out my spare room to generate some money and to get to know different kind of people. Maybe I could go for more walks in the woods.
I would like to change my eating permanently to a more healthy standard. I would also like to get rid of all the "stuff" that I carry around, books, clothes, etc. I don't have anything that can counsel me, I just kind of wing it.
Get into a better math class and go to a good collage.
Continue to work on acceptance of the current state of my life; being OK with how things are rather than brooding over what I have not achieved.
I know I have an insidious lazy streak, and the more I keep moving the fewer chances it has to rear its ugly head. Life is too wonderful to spend so much of it sitting on the couch... unless that's when I'm recovering from the exhaustion of keeping busy, or knitting, or writing, or...
I would like to be capable of having relationship with the opposite sex with out running away from it. my new therapist has helpede understand why I do this. I would also like to have better control of my anger & more patience. I am actively working on this with professional help.
I would like to improve my financial situation. I'd also like to feel like I'm improving myself spiritually and psychologically, and that I'm contributing to the world. I want to feel confident and integrated and valuable. I have worked this year on staying in gratitude more often, and I'd like to improve on that in the upcoming year. I recognize how much support I receive in my life, and how gently G-d has guided my growth over the years. I want to finally make the leap into confident engagement with life.
keep going
I would like to lose 35 lbs the right way by exercising and eating right. I'm tired of always being tired and unhappy of my appearance in the mirror. I want to be a good physical role model for my son by doing physical activities. I hope that we continue to hike with our friends the O's and my wife and I find a happy place working out. Advice from a workout video that my wife and I do in the morning, the instructor says, "stop making excuses and finish what you start." I'm on my way. Message to myself a year from now. I hope you can control your bad eating habits and you're in the best shape of your life. I hope you finished all your races, it's always been on our bucket list. Love your family.
I want to slow down. I want to write. Two days ago I had a peak awareness of what happiness is after I listened to NPR. for me it is the synchronicity of my body , mind and soul. So this is what I need to prioritize and when I cannot be in a space that affords this I need to move away, for the moment, or day or forever.
I want to marry Zac Efron. Zac Efron is a singer, dancer, and he is a great actress!!!!!!!
Right now, I'm feeling happy in my life, mainly because I took the advice of someone I met casually who advised me to keep moving forward re meeting people I'm simpatico with after a series of interpersonal disappointments. And you know what? I've met several people I like and who like me, are expressive of their feelings, and follow through on keeping in touch. I'd like to lose more weight, fix up my apartment (ongoing tasks), and get more involved in creative pursuits, but overall I'm glad my life is more richly peopled.
Next year I would like to declutter my home and my mind. I want to go through all my physical belongings and purge the items I need to purge. And I want to take a spiritual/emotional inventory and see what is holding me back, cluttering my mind as it were, in that area. A man who held my exact job at this company some 20-30 years ago told me recently "You're large and in charge." He was talking about work, but I've realized it's true in my personal life as well. I am in charge of organizing my home and living space. And I am in charge of my own spiritual/emotional health as well. I am in charge of my own happiness and I must take control and purge the things from my life I need to in order to reach new heights.
I would like to take a class and ingrain myself in the study of some new area. I think that would improve my life and myself both abstractly and concretely - abstractly, by broadening the things that are on my mind and general awareness; concretely by easing me into a school setting, should I decide to pursue a next degree.
Financially. All to there. We are so close. Diane's advice on taking care of the world that is right in front of you. Know your options, do your homework, but don't think you need to make every decision. Let time make decisions for you.
If I could improve my life in the next year, I would make a sincere effort to get connected to my new Temple community. After all the drama at my last congregation, I was hesitant to truly get involved at the new place. However, I miss having that connection in my life and really need the support and spirituality a congregation offers.
Try eat healthier and exercise more consistently.
I want to continue to grow as a leader and make stronger connections and more connections in my community. I hope that these relationships will lead to a stronger community and more opportunities for me and the creative people in my community.
With that is going on, do something that will make a difference, help someone do better, enjoy the time we have.
In the next year, I want to spend more time doing what I want to do with my life. I really haven't figured out how to do this yet though. I guess I would start by not doing things of low value and spend more time thinking about what I want to do.
I want to marry Benjamin Sharp. Benjamin Sharp is a singer. He also plays the piano!!!!!! Also ha plays sportssssssss!!!
Exercise more. "Every journey begins with a single step".
Not really
I need to focus on fewer things. I need to wrap them up.
i would like to improve my time management skills - i feel that appropriate time management is the key to me feeling safe, secure, nourished and content with my life!
I want to be financially stable and have less stress, enjoy life more. I feel like life is too hectic. I need to take better care of myself, mind body and soul, and listen to my body when I am overwhelmed. Finances overwhelm me. Health matters overwhelm me. I want to not worry any more about these things. Someone told me worrying about tomorrow robs you of today. It is so true. 98% of what we worry about will never happen. And worrying doesn't change the outcome of anything. It never did.
For my birthday I received the self-help program- "Start with Why". I'm planning to use this to explore and discover more about myself and learn how to be more intentional about doing the "why" every day in my life so that I can help others and live a more purposeful life. This past year, I have been a part of a group of guys that has helped me stay the course mentally, spiritually, and physically. The encouragement given to and by others has helped me improve myself by never settling and always looking for a better way to improve my life. I plan on sharing this program with my friends to help inspire them.
Get published as a primary author and apply for a promotion that people have been telling me I need to to for a while. Personally, to take more time to be aware of and to celebrate the present. Then to reflect. I would like to become more mindful.
Be more self-disciplined about producing something, even if it's bad, even if it's small, each day.
I could easily say…lose weight, drink less wine or exercise. I could say that every year…wait….I do! If you subscribe to the idea of necessary "improvement" it suggests that you're not what God intended... at this very moment.So, I would like to learn how to embrace who and what I am while staying open and alert to whatever God has planned for me. This time last year I thought HE wanted a writing ministry for me…but now I'm not so sure. The counsel of Don Miguel Ruiz that says we are "enough" right now, has helped me to stop striving for some unknown purpose, perfection or improvement. It's actually the rephrasing of the Biblical advice "be still and know that I am God"….
I'd like to improve two things about myself: 1) I'd like to practice being more discrete, especially professionally and 2) I'd like to start working harder, in all things. In terms of discretion - I tend to be a very open person, but there's a lot of value in holding back in a professional setting, even just about things about myself. Once something is said it can't be taken back, so I'd like to learn to keep my mouth shut a little bit more. I also really need to focus on improving my work ethic. I've always had a tendency to be a bit lazy, to succumb to inertia - whether with school work, work work, creative projects. I'd like to find ways to be busier (which would have the dual benefit of filling out my life and helping me round out myself), which helps me get more done.
Yes I am more interested in improving my spiritual life than my physical being. The only advice I listen to is the Word and it tells me to study it and live my life according to it. That's my plan for this and all REMAINING years I have left.
I would like to be more organized in the upcoming year. I think that being better organized will help me next year when I'm a senior and then when go to college. I would like to be more on top of big projects/ essays and to maybe even get them done ahead of time instead the day of.
In the next year, I would like to be more open and interpersonal. I want to be able to not worry about confrontation and interaction with others. A piece of advice I received about a year ago was from my facilitator on my Kenya trip. She said to me "The key to achieving your goals is to go into everything with and open mind and an open heart." I carry this saying with me to this day and share it with people I meet. By next year, I hope to be the person I've always wanted to be.
Be true to myself and don't let others persuade me to waste time doing things that don't enhance me.
I'd really like to improve my diet, to eat less sweets. And I'd also like to get better at dancing and yoga. And of course, there's Spanish and academic writing and astrology...I always have a lot of projects I'd like to do...we'll see. The only advice I'm definitely going to follow is not to give up in my search for a job, and in anything else as well. No backing down.
I want to be more clear and forthright about saying what I feel and think and asking for what I need. Trying to just suck it up and make it work and be the one who is always bending and flexing doesn't feel healthy or right anymore. My needs are equally valid and I resolve to value them and to speak my heart and mind with honesty and respect -- it takes courage, but the results are much better.
I would be a more trusting open person. This would improve my relationships with other which is something I wish I would have worked on growing up. I don't think I've received any advice from others to realize this, just know it's a very big piece of my life that's missing.
I would like to be improve myself by taking a vested interest in the life I want to lead. I want to pursue my interests, spend more time with my children and husband and lead the life I constantly day dream about. There is no reason to get stuck in the day to day and I hope I improve myself by following through on the changes I seek to make. I want to write more, exercise daily, have a better relationship with my husband, make healthier eating choices, create a stronger bond/have presence of God daily, be more present with my kids, achieve some kind of small business, pursue doula training, and live in the moment. I know all that is a tall order but I think I can achieve that with small doable goals. The best piece of advice I found online by accident, and it states "if you are not leading a life you are obsessed with, change it." And I am on a mission to do just that.
I want to express my love to my wife more, better. Be less irritable. Be more present and open w/o being reactive.
I'd like to get more in shape (continuing my work-outs after my trainer contract is up, continuing to improve my eating habits, etc) and be healthier.
I would like to restore order to my daily life, by waking and sleeping at regular times, returning to my yoga practice of 40 years with discipline and community, and to dedicate time to my writing, music, and art. I need someone to trust to give me advice and counsel. That is perhaps another thing I'd like to improve in my life. Although I don't really want to join a church or synagogue, I need community and find it very lacking in the superstitious world of affirmations and Louise Hay profiteering in the culture of life coaching, self-published self-help books, and new age industrial spirituality.
First I'm trying to improve my body, which has been an ongoing up and down process for several years now. The advice was to focus on things that are in your control and try not to worry about things that are beyond your control. I cannot control how hospitals charge for services you do not choose, how colleges charge for services with little benefit, how bad news still travels by paper mail, how banks use computers and lobbyists to squeeze people just a little more all the time, how overzealous men become the police. I forget this and become depressed and don't want to live in this culture anymore and don't feel I have any alternative options other than suicide. My daughter tells me I limit myself by putting with with life's crap and making excuses to live out my potential. Maybe there is a better effort there to pursue than I have seen so far. Most of the time I feel I'm just trying to hang on to what I have until I die.
I'd like to be making a life & a living doing good.
I want to figure out what my priorities are and then work to align my life with them.
Ask for what I need. It’s not fair to resent someone for not giving me what I need if I haven’t told them. Asking for help is a compliment. Then there are assholes who don’t want to help. I worry about a lot of things that never come to pass. My tendency is to get stuck on one problem and ruminate about it. This leaves me frustrated because I’m not making any progress solving the problem & just getting more upset, having one sided conversations like a crazy person. If I can’t solve a problem, I need to accept that, take notes to remember where I was, and put it aside. If I’m reluctant to do that, I just need to remember all the times where I have immediately stopped worrying about an issue as soon as something else comes along to knock it out of the top priority spot (see above re worrying about things that never come to pass). So by choosing to put a problem aside, I’m not quitting, I’m putting my energy where it can do some good. There is no back of the book No answers sometimes… sometimes I will just need to pick a direction and maybe be right, maybe be wrong.
Find all the things that make you incredible. Don't spend any time or effort with anyone who doesn't completely agree.
I'd like to get healthier, maybe lose some weight.
I want to learn how to be happy. I want to stop feeling so lonely. I want to create a stable and rewarding existence for myself. I want to find my way through this grief and pain.
I want to stop getting lots of ankle injuries and I want to stop being very lazy.
I was spurred to lose weight because of my problems at work with not sleeping properly. I want to get back down to the weight I was a few years ago.
I would like to be a better student and stop talking in class a lot. I would like to improve on what I like to do like singing, dancing, acting, and volleyball. To be original and yourself because everyone is TAKEN!!!!!! Like yu kno isss ok? CHHHHHHHH and because people touch my pressure point a lot.
Lose weight. Meditate more. Be assertive.
God, Help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful
I'd like to improve my health and fitness in a new way, by learning to complain less. I will try to either just do or just don't do things and try not to be bothered as much by others' words and actions. I hope this will make more pleasant to be around and to be and make the prospect of being around another20 years more appealing. It came from a quote someone posted on Facebook.
I think I wrote this here already. My track record of wanting to improve and actually improving is not that great (maybe being here a bit too self critic). Well... I do feel now that I need new friends and people to talk to. I have been doing a lot of self improvement in the past 3years and I have changed. I noticed that I am quieter and quieter when I meet people I know. We have less and less in common, but I'm not really making any new connections. So my next years improvement should be to make those new connections and talk more to them. Check what they are doing for living and if they are happy then adopt those techniques to suit my life!
I'm looking forward to being more comfortable looking inward. Too often, I think I reach outward for validation of my energy, ideas, contribution. It would be good to cultivate my confidence that what I have to offer is good enough, powerful and needed ... without the neediness. The key to success with this is a steady, daily practice of meditation, writing, exercise and gratitude. With these pillars in place, it will be safe for me to be vulnerable, outspoken, a leader and attract love.
Within weeks of reducing my grain intake and going sort of paleo, I began to lose weight and have more energy. I resist fad diets, and I'm no shill for any marketing firm. And who knows, maybe it'll plateau and I'll get all doughy and foggy again like other people in their middle-age, but I'm going to keep coupling this with yoga and some cardio. I want to live a long time and look good doing it. My advice is Mark Twain's: "all things in moderation, including moderation".
I would like to succeed in every thing I do because I'm swag and also marry Cameron Dallas or marry Jack Glinsky or Marry Zayn Malik because they are life and they are perfection.
Manage my own life nutrition. Balance the things I love doing with the way hours are consumed, leaving more room for the creative side. I'd like to have made major headway on my second novel. It may mean pulling back on other things, so making those choices are important.
Work through failure. You are not a failure until you name it as such - Wooden. Grow! Grow! Try! Go put on your fighting shoes each day.
I think I would like to keep in touch with old friends more. I have gotten out of the habit of writing or calling people. Of course I always want to be a better wife, sister, mother, therapist, environmentalist, Jew, grandmother and I want to be in better shape...The one thing I am trying to develop is not to give in to a sense of hopelessness and cynicism.
I read an article on NPR about life as mis-en-place (put in place). It never occurred to me - a non-chef - that I could (should?) apply the principles of m-e-p to my life. A very simple reminder about things like - the better my plan, the better my execution; when I use something, clean it immediately and put it back where it belongs; take time to prep, it will save time in the end. When I actually use mep I feel less stressed about those things that are within my sphere of control.
Lose 10 pounds. Get more organized. Declutter! Probably too much. Need to dig deeper. Kinda down at this moment.
When I reread my answers from last year, I liked one in particular and saved it aside so I could reuse it when the right question came up. Here it is: I want to be more humble. And realized that ironically I think in a lot of ways I am humble, but it's an unhealthy humble--it's insecurity or low self-esteem. And then I unconsciously overcorrect that by being too strong in expressing my opinion, or too certain of my own rightness. If I had a healthier relationship to being imperfect and fallible I could simple be humble and less self-assured in a good way. I could listen more. I could change more readily. I could be more flexible. I'd probably be less obnoxious!
No matter what..... do what makes YOU happy. Worry about no-one else but yourself. Sacrifice now.... benefit later
I hope to remain on a path of being emotionally truthful to myself and others, getting clearer on how and why my feelings feel the way they are. I want to be able to practice empathy and separate it from my own insecurity. there are pieces of advice i'd be better to remember more often 1. be honest when i don't feel okay or conflicted 2. i'm am blindly groping in the dark and it's where i need to be 3. being kind is always a choice 4. can i say that what i am trying to do is bringing me closer to myself and God. 5. how do i feel about me
"It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy." Adopting this mindset requires a mind shift. It requires a change in the way I approach things in life. It requires me to change my attitude and look at everything with a glass half-full attitude. I think I can do this. Besides, no one likes a Negative Nancy.
I am always wanting to increase my patience and decrease my judgments about other people. This is what I concentrate on during the High Holidays - I hope I get better every year - it's constant struggle. I also want to increase my mindfulness, presence and focus. I have noticed that, as I am aging, I make more mistakes (e.g., the coffee pot incident, tripping and falling on the sidewalk, etc.). I am committing to paying better attention during the coming year.
Get back to working independently - make it happen. Believe in yourself. You can do it. Use the thinking from the Go Make a Difference thinking course.
I think I'd like to get away from the shoulds. I want to live a healthy life where I take care of my body and my soul. In this next year I'd like to leave room for fluidity. Whether it be makin way for new opportunities or just being open to the ebb and flow of it all.
Improve / maintain my health. Everything in life depends on that. I think the best advice I heard this year was to gain clarity on what I want and then to focus on it and not to get blown off course. Easier said that done but I think important advice.
Don't try to anticipate worst case scenarios of the future, even to try to have a contingency plan. From reading a book about the impact of our fear of the future and that even if the feared thing comes to pass, it is usually not as bad as we feared and we do recover more quickly than we ever expected. I am learning to actively push away the concerns I have over the future of my daughter and my granddaughter. I was constantly trying to figure out where the end line is or how I would cope IF. Now I realize that none of it ever comes to pass as I had expected. It's not that stuff doesn't happen, but it's not what I expected. Whatever I thought or feared or planned ends up not coming to fruition as I had imagined, so don't try to make contingency plans. When the thoughts start, I find something else to think about or something fun to do; it's not just grit and determination to not worry, but to also replace those thoughts with something happier.
Gain my helicopter and fixed wing commercial licenses. Have open and unhindered communication and visitation with my child. Be super healthy. And strong well rested toned female muscular shape. Have virtually no inflammation remaining in my body. Advice keep your focus on Abba and seek him. Believe in him he has your best in place. He is very involved in your life and never ceases to draw you closer and to shower. His love on you. Expect the best because that is what he is giving you. Smile relax enjoy.
I want to get even healthier than today, with daily exercise. My Mom-in-law used the old adage, "Getting old is not for sissies" and added "and for those who don't exercise." She lived to 97 years of age!
I would like to know where I stand spiritually, this time on my own terms.
Keep going with your weight loss goals! Don't let work keep you down. Do the grunge work that you dislike in order to save time for the big, important projects that you care about.
I would like to be more patient and accepting of myself and others. I would like to approach others with a spirit of collaboration versus competitiveness. Love yourself
I would like to be more fully present and be open to receive the blessing of the given moment. I would like to be more open; to people, to the possibilities,....to life! Be grateful and just breathe- the excellent advice I received.
I'd like to put myself into a position where I feel more in control of my life, both work & personal. I also want to be in a significant relationship, where I'm partners with someone who's willing/able to share a life, however dysfunctional it may be.
I would like to have less of a victim consciousness and see my life as only positive and in my control. Those things out of my control are meant to be and I should see them as such. I would like to move toward acting only out of love and not fear. I want to see money as an opportunity, not a limit; life as an open road, not a one-way street; and love as a changing being and myself as a changing being. I used to be more this way. I could see God in others more freely and in myself. I'd like to replace my negative emotions with positive ones and see people in my life only as teachers rather than as criticizers or perpetrators of a life I do not want to live. Sometimes it is difficult to free oneself from this mentality, especially when I have unfortunately lived in it for so long. I have also freed myself from it when I can, but again and again I let others' come in and bring me down and then I blame them for what I could instead take control of myself. I don't want to be a victim in my mind any more. I want to be a lover who takes the high road with pride, humor, and positive expression.
Less stress, by focusing on the moments and celebrate every moment possible with peace and harmony. Accept myself and others, the wrongs and rights.Forgive myself and others everyday everyday. Sstop being angry!! Give thanks!!!
I need to get my health in a better place and be a better advocate for myself. Make it to all my appts, get my meds organized in a way that I'm always keeping track of them, and take better care of myself physically and mentally. I need to stop drinking so much diet soda and work my diet. Also start exercising again my body will love me for it.
Learn to be a kinder person and attack less.
Well...one step forward. Don't panic, self, should you screw up. You probably WILL screw up. -Go to the doctor and try to get your GI issue resolved. -Keep going to the gym and/or working out. -Try not to gain weight. -Try to lose 5 pounds. -Stay focused at work and don't blow your awesome job. -Keep a better eye on your kid's study and eating habits. -Keep cooking good food. -Never become cynical towards this loving man who has come into your life; don't take him for granted. -Save more money; don't spend unnecessarily. -Sit up straight. -Stop smoking at some point in the coming year. -Try to get your mind off the past.
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” --Eric Roth
I want to spend more time outdoors, in MY church. And the time that I do spend indoors, I want to be more purposeful: less consumption and more creation.
I would like to have a stronger relationship with Amanda. I would like it if her and I can grow together and become closer. I am sorry for all the pain that was caused to her by all the deployments and time away. I cannot give it back but what I can give is more to the time we have now.
there are so many things I could write here. I don't want to be the victim anymore. I want to take life in my own hands (even though its always been there) and steer, director, navigate, and make headway to goals that I decide on and achieve. No more babysitting (middle management) and taking direction from some asshole that gets paid unGodly amounts for doing a shitty, shady job. No more being fat and overweight. No more bloodsugar mysteries and guesses. Enough. I am at the wheel. I decide where I'm going and how I'm getting there.
Better work habits, more energy. Those would make me proud. Starting a new novel. I know it's in me. As for advice this year, I can't pinpoint anything. I'm fifty-seven now, and occasionally someone says something that clicks, or I read something meaningful. It's not that I don't have a lot to learn. I do, I just have fewer sources for it. Jakob is a main source of wisdom. Arch contributes too as do certain friends like Nancy and Meg and Sandy and Jan. But nothing stands out as having given me more perspective or a new path to take this last year. Every year I do seem to get somethings more together, feel more adult, feel more like I understand myself. That's certainly true for this last year, but I have backslid in terms of exercise (the energy part) as I have done better with a certain kind of flexibility about my writing. Of course I would also be thrilled to sell my novel, but that feels more complicated as a goal as time goes on. I may end up self-publishing, which given the publishing environment wouldn't be the end of the world but I'm still holding out for the traditional agent/publisher method for it. I have answered the last three questions on the same night after returning from a lovely dinner in Instanbul with Teo and Scarlett. Therefore I am less inclined than in previous years to take my time and be thoughtful about these answers. I have also left out my wishes for my kids, which though technically are not what I should be answering, are essential to my happiness. I wish them each success and happiness, and though I'm more worried about Nico at the moment, I will always worry about Jurri doing okay in school and being safe, especially now that he has his own (my) car, and Jakob just because it feels important. But whatever success I manage to achieve for myself this year and whatever happiness I experience in this crazy fun hedonistic adventurous life I have with Arch, my hopes for my kids' success are equally important to me and probably even more important. There are many who would say that's not right, but it's part of who I am.
I think the usual thing of getting more sleep, snoozing less in the mornings. I got 9 hours' sleep last night and snoozed for another hour this morning and still felt tired during the day. Same stuff every year, right? I think my eating has improved slightly. I've had slightly smaller portions. I've lost a bit of weight and I've kept up the regular exercise even though the microgym has closed at work.
I want to be more active in my work instead of reactive. I want to control what is going on instead of waiting for it to come to me. Teachers have told me that they like what I'm doing. That makes me feel good, but it also makes me think I have to live up to their expectations.
Show up 100%. Trust that I am in the right place at the right time with the right person. I want to be able to become better at speaking my mind as soon as I feel an uncomfortable emotion.
Stay away from Obama Care
I would like to control my temper which has a habit of bursting out from time to time. I have received no advice as I have no rabbi to speak to.
I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself. My life is great, and I need to just enjoy it! For someone like me, that needs to feel productive, that is a hard thing to do. My wife is a successful physician, and even though I have a PhD and a few published papers under my belt, I have been unemployed for two years. I don't have to work, but it freaks me out that I'm not. I am always grateful for everything I have in my life, but I also need to let myself slow down. I hope that by this time next year, I'm more relaxed about these things.
Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14
I'd like to trim down and feel healthier. There is a lot out there surrounding this "goal" for our society, but I do like what a few individuals are up to in this space. Specifically because I have sailed past the turning 40 mark, and am a female - I am interested in what tips, techniques we can do for keeping our hormones in check, our cortisol low, and upping metabolism. The women experts I am following closely in this space are Sara Gottfried and JJ Virgin. I also like what Lissa Rankin has to say. And I am very tempted to do the "Health for Life," challenge that Bill Phillips created. We'll see what I can do in this area. I know it's an issue for me, especially the blood pressure and cholesterol - so I know it's time to make changes.
*Keep your sense of humor. *Do things which bolster who you are, not who others want you to be. I want to improve my inner balance through yoga mediation and writing.
I would like to retain a workable fitness routine. I'd also like more balance in my life.
I'd like to have more discipline in my work life. I'd like to have more organization in my work life and my finances.
I want to find ways to better unplug myself (don't tell me you're not eating this up, Reboot) and more clearly define the borders in my life between being connected to social media and not...I would also like to help my girlfriend do the same (she's the worst).
I like to gain mastery of my new position at work, it's going to be a year of learning and changes. I just have to remember that change is eternal and you have to flow with it.
on an emotional level I'd like to become a more consistently patient and compassionate person. Physically I'd like to get a handle on and turn around my weight gain. The best advice I've been given was work related to the effect that to move ahead I need to be aware of the politics that exist whether I choose to engage in them or not.
Stay at good wt. and resume tai chi/chi gung! Bike rides?! Keep up a little guitar every day for callouses. Best advice from this year, from the happy psychologists and "Less" author: no problem, just start again if you notice you have stopped. (Meditation, clutter-busting, learning new skill, making/reaching new goals, stopping bad habits, all of it.)
I am hoping that both of my grown sons (ages 22 and 25) will finally be independent and out of our home this year so that my husband and I can relax and enjoy our own relationship without the distraction, interruptions, and stress (both emotional and financial) of having someone else in the house.
I would like to continue moving forward with my journey to facilitate healing, connecting and empowering women. I feel called to do something big in this area and have already made huge strides forward. I continue to strive live from a place of peace and love and to allow this to radiate out from me. I have been told on occasion when I connect with my heart I will step more into this role. It is already happening and I am excited about where this will take me.
Be healthier.
Perhaps by giving equal weight to thinking long-term life strategies and goals, and, just trying to live in the moment and be happy in each and every situation. Help myself to be a happier person which will in turn create more happiness with the ones I am around. Some influence comes from the Sidarta poem hanging in our basement bath.
I'd like to be less impulsive - I say what I'm thinking before I think thru whether it ought to be said. Part of my continuing goal of mindfulness is becoming aware of the implications of what I'm about to say before I say it
I would like to become more cheerful and tolerant. I would like to no longer be so very sad. Don't let someone pressure you into choices that aren't right for you.
I seem to be stuck at the part of the story where you have a dream before you can make it real. I have no dream as yet. Part of this is the fear that my dream is either mundane or I've already achieved it. I also dislike the words 'need' and 'should'.
Wow! This is the toughest question so far. The answer though, pretty much, is in the other responses I have given to the previous 6 questions. I would like to be more intentional in my relationships; more independent but also just as grateful or more so when I need someone. Who doesn't need someone? Literally and figuratively, I can't and don't want to travel this world alone.
I would like to work thru my present "aging" chaos so that I will be ready to carry on with what comes next. So that I will be able to operate more fully and happily in each moment. That means I must muster courage to do what I must now medically, do regular therapeutic collage, physical exercise and give time to my spirit.
To increase my capabilities and perspectives in all areas. Embrace struggles as learning opportunities.
I need to learn to accept a compliment gracefully.
I would like to take a Bible precepts class and have a more dedicated prayer life.
Be authentic and be my best self. Work on all levels - physical, social, emotional, spiritual, mental to reach my best self. To guide me I continue to come back to the advice to be present. Being present brings me to my best self.
I'd like to keep working on my fitness and health and also on my people and relationship skills. After all "If not now...when?"
I want to keep on expanding my horizons in the next year. I feel like last year I branched out as a reaction to dissatisfaction with my housing/friend situation and this year I'm in danger of becoming too complacent simply because I'm happier. I don't want to lose that side of my life, I want to combine the two sides and mix the things that make me happy.
I'd like to be having more fun; more sex; more enjoyment; more stamina; less fat. I don't have to wear my 'fat suit' any longer, and I don't have to get boring!
Well, apart from getting a job in my area of expertise, I'd like to start studying martial arts, probably HEMA. And I want to learn how to speak and read/write Japanese. Oddly enough, I don't feel like getting into a relationship. Romance couldn't be further from my mind now. The best counsel/advice I got was not in the form of written text or spoken word. It was witnessing the everyday struggle of good people trying to make a good life for themselves. Their neverending struggle and their strength and determination to win that struggle has been and still is a great example that inspires me and keeps me optimistic.
Simple answer - spend less time at my job and more time doing the things that matter; art, volunteering, causes, loving, with my children.
i would like to become not afraid of so many things this upcoming year. I would like to finally stabilize my weight and get into healthy habits. I think I need to carve out a little me time, which is hard due to being a single parent. I am pretty sure I can accomplish all of this one day at a time.
i advise myself to be more patient. less provocative, slower to respond.
Would like to get up the courage to invite people over regularly, not just for my birthday celebration. Would like to go on more bike rides. Would like to take more chances in general. The advice I received last year, in June or July 2013, was to slow down and not make people feel like I didn't care about them. I think I have actually done that this past year, and would like to continue to do so.
I would love us to live at manor farm house and be doing the renovations we plan. Although not in the last year, I am still using the American experience to conquer my fear of failure and keep trying and putting myself out there!
Write without fear.
I would like to exercise more. I would like to be more productive with my work. I would like to be more gentle with my children. I don't know of any particular advice or counsel about this, but my bosses admonishment to be long-term greedy, not short-term greedy seems apropos.
Take time to set up your day with clear intentions and make sure you complete everything you agree to do.
Talk less and listen more. Only eat when hungry.
Be more creative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to become a better and faster writer, copywriter, storyteller. I’m always looking for mentors in this space and studying them. I also want to develop my sense of control of my choices and expand my ability to have faith. In myself and those close to me. My husband and my mother are strong influences for me to follow.
I would like to improve myself in two major ways, I want to be the kind of person a lady would want as a good husband and also boost my own self esteem
I would like to use the treadmill more often, and to continue loosing weight. I would also like to be more organized.
I would like to improve my health so that I feel well and good and strong! Helpful advice that I have received is for me to slow down and pull back. That it's wonderful to give but that I must also keep some for myself...
Over the next year, I definitely need to work on my coordination. Ask anyone that knows me, and they will almost certainly agree that I am the definition of a klutz. I’ve lived with it in the past, but I’ve reached the point where I need to actively suppress my ability to trip over nothing. It’s cute when I little kid trips while climbing up the stairs, but it’s just embarrassing as senior in high school. I also work at a job that requires a fair amount of dexterity. Dropping every other customer’s box or can as a cashier or bagger is extremely frustrating. I may be able to feign an unusual mistake with customers, but there is no way to hide it from coworkers. I never do anything stupid enough to cost me my job, but each misstep stays with me, and all I can do is try not to let it happen again. If there is any proven (or not proven) way to overcome this weakness, I’m all ears.
I would like to be a better person in pretty much every way, so stop my 'high and mighty' reaction too anxiety, let go of my preconceived ideas of large groups of people, and be kind to everyone, even the people I hate, and ESPECIALLY the people who hate me. Also, I should be on time more often, and also I want to get braver around guys.
RELAX. engage other people more
I would like to be less moody around my husband. I tend to overreact to things he does.
Be more happy and stress free. Enjoy your last year of high school. get bitches eery day
In considering a new position, I kept saying to myself "know what you're worth". In one way, that was literal. How much I was worth on the market for the job I was doing. As i progressed through the job search, I also came to understand the question differently. I considered: "What is it worth to you?" Sure. I could demand top dollar for a job, but what if that job took me away from my family. Reconsidering the definitions of "worth" and "value" have been a recent activity and I hope that by this time next year, I will know the answers to these questions deep within my soul.
I need to become more fit and physically active and acheive a better balance between work, play, spiritual and family time. Kare encourages me in the kindest possible ways to to this.
I earnestly hope that I can more fully embrace my unconditional love for my children, that I can find a way to keep from letting their poor decisions and behavior hurt me so deeply or make me so angry.
I'd like to stop blaming others
I can't think of any particular advice given to me by anyone but the best thing I did for myself this year was to let go and let life guide me. I fought and resisted so many things only to realize that I should have been embracing them. I will carry this with me next year and beyond.
I can't think of any past advice, although I'm sure it's there. At the moment I feel depressed, adrift, and it's not a good time to sort these things out. By next year I'd certainly like to be healthy, happy, and committed to my job and my life challenges.
I would like to be less distracted and more focused. Michelangelo insisted that he never created his magnificent statures; he simply revealed them by chiseling away at any part of the rock that didn't belong.
I just want to be at peace. With my husband or without him. I want to hold my head up and act with courage holding my boundaries. I want to be moving toward the time when I'm alone and come into my best self.
The only thing I am not satisfied with is my weight, so I am going to try and exercise more and enjoy more HEALTHY food and less sugar. I honestly can say that the other things I do with my life are worthwhile and I have no regrets. OK, curb my temper...I think I am making progress in that area already...:)
I want to be fitter and happier with myself. My answer last year was similar, to be comfortable in my own skin. I haven't yet achieved that. Maybe give out another year. Ultimately I think it's about feeling like I am in control of myself physically.
less "i should" and more "I want to".
I would--always--like to be a better parent, which for me mostly means having more patience with my kids. Things like work, school, finances--all of that is secondary to parenting. The advice I have received on the last year is to remember to live like you're dying. What sort of a person would I try to be if I knew that my remaining days were few? With my wife's father succumbing now to pancreatic cancer, this is brought into sharp relief. As a result, I have been a better parent. Some, at least, but there's more I can do.
I would like to slow down, worry less about the stupid stuff and enjoy my family.
I want to continue to eat healthy & be active. My hope would be to lose a few more pounds & continue hiking.
I would like to be better at accepting other peoples foibles. No.
I'm trying to learn not to get hung up on old friendships that not longer have a place in my life. I have trouble letting friendships go, even when they've become toxic. I like to hold on to positive memories, and wish that could continue. But, if a friendship is making me unhappy or causing me hurt, I need to let it go. Life's too short to be surrounded by people that don't make you happy.
I want to be able to really put into effect the lessons I learned this past year. One, that other people's expectations of me have nothing to do with me. Second, that I am working really hard to find balance and I am learning that in order to stand in that balance and stand in the place I might need to really disappoint people. I want to be okay with that...but I am nervous as hell.
I'd like to be less of a critic and complainer. To be more accepting and forgiving.
Say Yes. Be content with those around me. Be Healthy. Surprise yourself with the power of your strength. Be confident in the direction you're headed. Push yourself. Be a better student. Help others.
I want to be happier. Sleep more. Love myself more. Care about hate less. Write more. Celebrate. I hope that I'll have something by the time I read this again next year.
I would like to be less catty and less of a gossip next year. These often are personal goals for me, and I find that I can make improvements on a short-term basis but have a very hard time maintaining it. I think this will help me be happier and less stressed too.
I want to continue to live healthy. This includes eating well and exercising my body, my mind and my right to say "no thank you" rather than being a "yes" person.
Let me start out by saying that I'm on my back 'cuz I likely tore my ligament two nights ago pole dancing at Cheetah's, which has me on my butt, out of the game, and really reconsidering my priorities! How would I like to improve myself? I think about this all the time. I want to steer the course and ride the waves. Captain of my ship. Not take no for an answer, even from myself. Go for what I want. Greater clarity in terms of exactly what my goals are, still with openness to what the universe has to give me - it's a collaboration, you know. I think I'm doing a good job. A great job. A fucking awesome job! By next year I'd like to: -Update my website so it's GORGEOUS -Make a feature film (WIDE RELEASE! AWARDS! INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES ABOUNDING!) -Make a web series + short film (WIDE RELEASE! AWARDS! INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES ABOUNDING!) -Keep hanging out in the unknown and leaning in deep toward what I desire -Breathe -Drink more water + eat more veggies, always! -Let in the looooove. :) :) :) :)
I have been a huge believer in "don't sweat the small stuff" in business, with varying degrees of success. I would like to improve that sucess rate in business, and apply the same philosophy at home.
I would like to be healthier. Right now I am the most unhealthy I have even been. This ties in with question #6 in that I am constantly working to try to keep my head above the water financially....so if I could budget better I wouldn't have to work so much therefore I would have more time to make time for me. I want to be healthier in several ways 1. Physically. I want to get back into "fighting"shape where it feels good to go out and run 3 miles. 2. Domestically. I want to purge purge purge of all my piles in hiding places and storage units. My living space needs to be healthier 3. Time Management. Needs to be healthier. ~Maybe the 40 bags in 40 days?? or "Just Do It". :) Not sure if I have received any advice other than it is just going to get harder as I get older to lose weight etc. I need healthier habits over all.
I think I need to smile more, binge less and work out more.
Christina Yang said to Meredith Grey, "He's not the sun, you are." I keep hearing it over and over in my mind. I would like to live my life for myself and my daughter. To be independent and responsible and happy.
Next year, if I'm in a relationship, I would like to be more wiser and not as gullible as I've been before. The most significant advice I've received was to "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." I hope that with that in my mind, I will make better decisions. Not just about relationships but with the direction of my life.
I'd like to maintain my state of calm (possible, likely). I'd like to find a job worth having (highly unlikely). Be rid of all the assholes in my life (also highly unlikely; it's my karma, I think). With age, though, comes a reduction in possibilities.
I know I am repeating myself, but I really want to work on losing a significant amount of weight. I had been going to Weight Watchers for several months and then stopped. Their advice is usually pretty good and works if you do it. I also want a higher paying position with my firm. They are very generous and I love my job, but I think I am ready for more responsibility and more pay.
I would like to be more patient and understanding with everyone, beginning with me.
Be kind to yourself and others. Don't take anything to literally and learn to laugh and relax as much as possible. If you can't dance and sing in public gig aren't living fully!
I want to improve my life financially. I want to try and eliminate as much of my superfluous spending. Practice delayed gratification. Wait about a week to by what you think you need. I also want to BELONG to a charity where I volunteer regularly. I've contacted a coordinator and have them email me their calendar.
Stop worrying about things that haven't happened.
There are two major areas in which I want to improve. #1 - I want to get healthier and slimmer. I want to lose 5-10 pounds and keep them off and to establish more exercise in my normal life. A helpful phrase might be - Does it hum or beckon? #2 - I want to clear my life of clutter, starting with finishing the clearing of my office and continuing to photos and art times I want to sell. Keep in mind - have I needed/used this in the last three years? If not, there is always the internet.
I would really like to become more athletic in the next year, wether that means running again or hiking or tennis. Just so it's a routine. But I always say that. :) As far as advice or counsel… well clearly if I received any, I wasn't listening or I'd remember it now. Har. I have to say that I find male athletes inspiring because I feel women who are fit are more driven by their appearance and men are driven by how they feel and the enjoyment of the sport. I'm sure that is a terrible generalization that puts me at odds with other feminists. But hey, women with implants who get dolled up to run on the treadmill, you aren't doing us any favors, ok? Your sports spreads in Fitness mag that relate your sweat to sexiness is harassing my mellow attempts at being healthy. Anywho, when I run, or play tennis, I picture one of my male friends telling me I can do it. And they aren't even looking at my boobs.
My life feels that it is so far over but also so far beginning that it is hard to really generalize what I would like to improve myself in. I think what I would like to improve myself in is how much I can dedicate myself to anything; whether it be athletics, academics, or a job. The most effective piece of advice I feel that I have received, that would tie into how I would improve my life, is what I learned from a man on the train. He was in his late 30s early 40s, and studying in night school to earn his degree. As we began talking, after a number of similarities we shared, he told that a samurai by the name of Miyamoto Musashi did things in strategies rather than plans. So I decided to take up that advice and now I try to live life in a constant state of strategy. I believe that it will help me improve myself as a person and make me more flexible to hard situations that may arise.
I guess learning to seek God in the mundane, quotidian tasks of life. I wish to be content in whatever situation I find myself and learn to embrace that and discover God in these places. Then, to use that to reach out and embrace those who are marginalized.
I would like to start living a healthier life.
I used to attend 2 yoga & 1 ballet class per week. I have not been able to get to these due to my new work hours. I have been trying to get exercise & stay busy (so as to not deal with my loneliness) by working outdoors alot this summer but this is quite solitary. I miss having people to spend time with, be it the (ex) intimate relationship I recently lost totally or my girl friends. I am so weary of starting over & building new relationships that I stopped reaching out to people. I realize this is who I am, I am the one to put out the effort & I want to get over feeling humiliated by this & accept it & reach out again & find new friends & maybe a new partner. Believe it or not, my son Zach, whom I shared this with, in part, this past year, told me he realizes this about himself but accepts it & doesn't feel shame or humiliation & neither should I. I want to increase my social circle & have close friends again.
Besides getting fit, I would like to grow my professional skills in a more entrepreneurial direction. Receiving advice from an accomplished professional, I realize some skill areas to market. I would also like to keep stretching towards being able to better explain my faith.
C. See number 6. Also, I'd like to be more creative with Ethan. I'd like to do more projects and crafts with him, as well as getting him more active. I don't want to see him getting my bad habits, and I can already see him getting some of them (laziness). E. I want more toys. That would improve myself. We'll do that when I'm 9.
As I have begun to care for my parents...being the "parent to the parent"...so many friends at church, many of whom have been in my shoes before, have given me the same piece of advice: Make sure you take time for yourself. I get so busy with planning meals, shopping for food, handling their financial affairs, taking them to appointments, worry about how quickly my mother is declining and whether or not she is really doing downhill or if it's a ploy for attention, keeping my own healthcare appointments, and the list goes on...I just forget that I need to breathe. I need space where I don't have to think about all that. I'm the only one who can make that happen for me.
I'd like to be able to ask for help more. I'd like to be a more open communicator. I'd like to motivate to spend more time outside. I'd like to become more social. I'd like to continue burlesque. I'd like to open up to my alter more often. I'm a long way from who I really want to be.
Be an exceptional contributor and ensure a balance between health, family and professional commitments.
I want to be more understanding and empathetic toward my wife, especially when it comes to her health. She's asked me to simply listen when she describes a health problem rather than to offer suggestions or analyses, and I'll try to do that.
i would like to be thinner and more in shape and have a better lifestyle as far as eating and exercise. to come naturally, not having to think about it.
Keep tracking food intake each meal. Emotions won't kill you but overeating could.
I've lost a lot in the past two years : friends I thought were forever, my synagogue, my belongings, nearly everything. Today my dad told me how low of a person I really am. It hurts. Next year I'd like to be at a place where these things don't bother me. I think I legitimately deserve an inheritance if there is one so I hang on for that and only that. Why shouldn't i? The only advice I got was an online source and that was to realise that sometimes people are meant to only be in our lives for a short time- not forever. We have to accept that and move on without regret. It doesn't mean we have failed and it doesn't mean we need to chase them and make them come back. It just is what it is. I just wish it wasn't so hard to make new friends and become more independent.
Be less judgmental. Don't eat when stressed. Give people the benefit of the doubt.
I would like to follow the intention that I set for this New Year...integrity in all my actions. I have done lots of reading on the meaning of integrity and think it's time to focus on this in all aspects of my life. Integrity, to me, means being gently honest, living by my principles, following through with my commitments, and having strong moral character. Many of the books I read last year were focused on the characters' lack of integrity and that got me thinking about people I know who live and model integrity. My husband is my role model and I want to work on living my own life as he does his own.
My fitness has always been the focus of me judging my health, I need to improve my fitness, I don't necessarily want to be thin, but fit and healthy is important. Guidence would be good, right now nothing springs to mind though, there are plenty of motivational quotes and so many supportive webpages/facebook pages that I'm going to use to motivate me on this journey.
Breathe, Let go, Breathe.....just become a better person, learn to become more at peace- be satisfied with what I have- be grateful for the life I was given. I think I have always believed and been advised that meditation is the answer....is where my salvations lies....I'm working on it.
I would like to improve my ability to view daily annoyances, inconveniences, people who challenge my patience and other distractions with a quicker regard and spend more time finding a place of acceptance and peacefulness rather than stress and irritation. Advice- something related to patience while house hunting.. Waiting is the hardest part? Thanks tom petty.
I receive great counsel all of the time from my parents. :) I would like to spend more time consciously with God. I would like to treat myself better - consider my health more often. I have gotten better at keeping my spaces clean - but I would like to improve in that as well. I would like to be a better sister. I stress out about my brother a lot. And I really don't like his current romantic relationship. I need to be better and being kind and positive.
I would like to have a greater sense of peace in my life and marriage. I contribute a lot of anxiety and I don't like it. I would like to be able to relax and enjoy every moment for what it offers, whether it's what I would choose or not. I want to be less stressed. One good piece of advice is simply "one day at a time" and another is simply to "be kind."
Probably the same answer as previous year. I would like to develop some hobbies, do more physical exercises in hope that it will make me feel better emotionally.
I would (again) like to get a better handle on my anxiety and while we are at it on my finances
I'd like to be happier in my workplace. It will be an active goal and I'll need to work at it. Remember why you do what you do.
I would like to take more time for friends and family., just a note to tell them I'm thinking of them. And a reminder to me of who and what is important! It's all about the journey, not the destination:)
Find a routine and stick to it. This would enable me to get more/better sleep, exercise regularly, have free/fun time and feel successful at work. Shut down my own practice. Be active outside (kayak, swim, snowshoe) and spend more time with quality people. More education... want to take 9 month certification course from Trauma Center at JRI.
In my interactions with people, I need to remember to listen more, talk less, don't interrupt (bad habit of mine). Not to beat a dead horse, but I would like to be less lazy and do more around the house to get it into shape, and exercise more to get myself into better shape. I need to be kinder to my spouse, more patient. My best friend pushed me to plan a vacation with my spouse last year, which was a wonderful idea and turned out to be a great trip. I am following her idea and planning another one.
breathe. center. focus. let go of desire and do things for the joy of them in the moment. breathe. do. care. give. give thanks. don't let fear and anxiety stop you from saying yes, from holding out your arms to embrace the world and the only life you have. be strong. but more, be gentle to the world and to yourself.
Never talk to anyone when you are angry. Just wait until you're calm. You can still have the same conversation without the emotional distraction. The second is prioritize my time better.
I would like to learn to not feel guilty about saying no. I keep working on this and I'm not getting it right yet. I always want to rush in and save the day, but I just can't do that in every situation and still take care of myself and my family. I need to learn to be just a little bit more selfish, which is difficult for me. I think the end result of this is that I'll have for time for me and my family, which is very important.
Breathe. Let it go. Don't take it personally. Don't feel guilty for other people's behavior.
I'd like to spend more time on writing and music, and less on facebook and videogames. Also, I'd like to lose weight. But I'm always saying that, and I never seem to make progress.
I would really like to grow in confidence and in faith and joy. This is critical for all my relationships. Self love is very important and so is happiness and confidence. I have so much to be grateful for and I'm good with several things. It's important to know this.
Better shape Physically, Mentally and Emotionally. (not in that Order) Every conversation counts!
Be yourself, your real self, as much as possible, but no more than possible. Hold boundaries, and then slide right up to them and push to make sure they're the right ones. Run, swim, fly, play, write, read, talk, laugh, trust, break, cry, ache... be. Just be. Own your space and fill it.
I'd like to live connected to the moment, not carrying the weight of regret from the past or engaged in the emotional anxiety of trying to figure out the future. I think of that as being balanced between my head-space and my heart-space, not going too far in the direction of one or the other. That's what I'm pursuing -- balance in the most important things in life -- relationships with people, personal activities that bring fulfillment, and the spiritual care that nourishes and sustains my sense of being. That's an amalgamation of lots of pieces of counsel from the past year.
I would like to continue to work on having a thicker skin, I suppose. But since I have been working on this for, oh, 40 something years, it might be a hard one to achieve. I think the best advice I've been given is to just try to enjoy the ride. I'm trying. Reall.
Set boundaries, and stick by them no matter what to make sure that I am taking good care of myself.
I would like to continue to enjoy being in my skin and interacting from a centered and balanced place inside of me. In this I am a better communicator and more able to respond when needed. I am less likely to expend energy unnecessarily and no longer defensive. (When I am defensive I catch it and can regroup and re-orient my energy more quickly). Being grateful for each day I wake to and close my eyes upon is important--and any reminders of just how wealthy and well I am, living here in America, is welcome and helps me stay on hopeful ground. I would like to spend more time teaching, being creative, reflective and learning. I received a missive in dream reminding me sternly that I was made to love and to be loved in return.... I was exhorted to share my knowledge--it was time.
Think more before I speak.
I would like to put my worries in perspective. People say, "The stuff you worry about never happens, so you waste time worrying." I wonder if the reason it doesn't happen is that you worried about it and made some changes or took action to mitigate the effect of the thing you worried about. So I don't want to stop worrying. I want to worry in context and channel the anxiety from those worries to good decisions if the worry turns out to be a reality.
I want to be excited to go to work each day. This most likely means finding a new job. Also, I hope to have my divorce finalized and have custody of my daughter. Right now my life is in the dumps but I am just taking it one day at a time. I understand that things will get better in time.
I would like to make my next year about pleasing myself, not others. I want to be able to do things that I want to do, not worry about those around me. True relationships won't question my motives and tell me otherwise. I need to trust my instincts more.
I would like to start exercising more, and also be more optimistic. I've found myself becoming more pessimistic, and it doesn't feel healthy. I'd also like to start reading again. I was going strong with that for a while, but then got sidetracked.
this past year I worked very hard and getting healty and losing weight. I am almost at goal and have lost almost 80 pounds. I can walk for 3 or 4 miles when this time last year I could not have walked to the corner. All this has taught me that I can do almost anything if I just start to believe I can and I instead of thinking about all the why's I can't do something I focus on all the why's that say I can do something. One piece of advice that has helped me is that I didn't put all my weight on over night so why should I think that it would come off over night. In other words change is about make a choice and sticking with it. It's about look for the how not the why I can't and it's all about not giving up but reassessing when something doesn't work and they fixing what when wrong. It's about moving ahead if it's only with baby steps because any movement no matter how small is still progress. So in the coming year I want to move towards a retirement that is meaningful and busy and in a new place. I want to find the place for my retirement that will help me feel the peace I felt in Thailand. I want to live each day in it moment full and joyfully. That is my goal
I hope to be less concerned about others' opinions of me. A few months ago I read, "it's not that people are against you as much as they are for themselves." That has given me a lot of consolation as I have felt hurt by others' lack of interest in me. It's not so much that they hate me or don't want to be around me, but they are just wrapped up in their own lives. It also encourages me not to be so wrapped up in my own things and look around at others' needs once in awhile.
I would like to steer the ship of my own career. My step-mom has told me for a long time to think about How I want to live my life. And what path will take me in that direction. Recently she pointed out that I have mentioned family above anything else. So I should make decisions that position me to make that happen.
This as a hard question for me, improve yourself and or your life. Maybe to be more content to be myself, to be satisfied who I am. Not sure about this question. Maybe focus on giving back more to the community or youth. This is hard for me right now. I want to improve everything, I always want to be a better person. I still don't know how to answer or what guidance I am searching .
I want time to do the little things that make me happy. Stressing about school will only get me so far. I want to be able to make time for "me time" on a regular basis. You get out of life what you put into it.
I would like to get more done, feel more accomplished and make some efforts to really improve with things like Hebrew, music and especially getting things taken care of in the house. Advice? No I can't think of any. It's more of a Just Do it! kind of thing.
Over the past year I've noticed two main things: that I could do a lot better at active listening, and that people have a hard time hearing/understanding me when I speak. Both of these point to a lack of deliberateness in action: when listening, I need to think before I respond, and make sure to start with a follow up question; when speaking, I need to slow down and enunciate. I did better at taking a moment to breathe before making decisions last year -- this year, I need to take that pause and incorporate it more broadly.
Next year I will be living in a different city, which will be a major improvement in and of itself. I hope that it will facilitate my ability to live life more fully.
I'd like to understand myself better. In what ways do I suffer from anxiety? How can I detect it and what triggers it? I've been blind to it for so long, but just recently understood that it's been part of me for so long.
I would like to spend more time in prayer, studying the Bible and communicating with God. While I have conversations with God in my head all the time, I don't put a lot of time aside for prayer, deliberate praising, deliberate worship and deliberate asking for specific help. I have been in much more actively engaged in our relationship in the past, and I know that I felt myself to be more calm, more relaxed and even more confident than I did when I am wasn't. This year, I feel like I have been in survival mode most of the year. My prayers have all been about "help me", "comfort me", "relieve me", and "guide me". I would like to spend more time praying about other people, other problems, about learning, about growing, about next adventures, about how I can help others instead of others helping me. The best advice that I received this year that will guide me in my journey is not new and not complicated. It was simply, "Cristy, you don't have to have everything figured out right now." When I can accept that having some questions left unanswered is ok, it leaves me capable of spending less time trying to fix me and more time enjoying what I have and those around me.
Priorities need to shift towards a more healthy work/life balance. More time needs to be spent doing what I want, vice doing something I've decided I "have" to do. Reevaluation of all the "have" tos needs to happen. Perhaps a reevaluation of what's important and long term goals. Life goes by too fast to waste time.
Unconditional life! To be open and honest with my desires and wishes, to work toward their fulfillment whilst having fun and enjoying whatever the moment brings, thar is key. State one's desires and dreams then let go of the outcome and enjoy the moments.
Figuring out the fitness piece seems important. And having it somehow be organic. I"m overweight. And not fit. And getting old. And...my wife is in sort of tip top shape...which provides a significant accent. This comes to mind. Betty says focus on the weights. Others say in contrast, focus on aerobic. 50/50 could split the difference. Having motivation and/or finding the target activity, and location to do it, are the relevant elements.
Be more of a leader at work. I should stay true to myself and raise everyone up instead of trying to raise up each person, individually.
I think Bayes' Theorem is kind of cool--work on getting things less and less wrong with every iteration--as is much of the advice Nate Silver gives about decision-making. Apart from that, it's always useful to remember that if you get hit with a bucket of shit, you should be sure to close your eyes.
I want to be more clear with my needs and to speak up for myself. I would like to be more dedicated, time wise, to my art. Art and relationship...a perfect balance. What would guide me to those actions?...advice given?...only that life is short. Be in the moment and live fully.
I want to no longer be dead inside. I want to build relationships and improve on the ones I already have. I want to be able to trust again enough to date. I honestly am not entirely sure how to do that, other than to let a lot go, and historically I'm terrible at that. But I'm trying.
I would like to get better at keeping a routine, and at doing the things I need to do more in advance of when they need to be done. I'd like to streamline what I do so I'm not messing with things that don't work. And I'd like to lose weight.
I would like to have more confidence, and speak up for things I want. The advice I got is that "What others think of you is none of your business."
Remember to enjoy the daily love of my family and fellow teachers. Be proud of my accomplishments.These are finally paying off.
While my life isn't currently a major snafu, it seems it will be soon. I really dislike being dislodged from my comfort zone. In general, I like things to be pretty predictable. One piece of unexpected advice I got is that I should be open to experiences that "stretch" me and take me way beyond my current comfort zone. I was told that I should be open to a mission overseas.
I would like to improve my fitness! I was so on track for most of the year but have seriously fallen off the wagon after meeting Mark...
the piece of advice I received is "you are enough" its been a good mantra when I feel overwhelmed. This year i find a way to continue trying to exercise
By this time next year; my goal is to have my own car, and insurance, my own place, my own job where I earn enough to be fully self sustained, a job that I enjoy, and someone I love who I can depend on for emotional support and non-judgement. My goal to improve myself: be confident in who I am, what I want, what I can do, and that it is my business entirely to make my own decisions and be in control of my life. I don't want to hide my decisions, what I do, where I go, or who I love. And more than being open and honest about my life and who I am; I don't want to have to explain it or justify it to anyone. My life will be my own, and I decide.
There are the usual improvements such as weight lose and increase outgoing activities so that I may have more fun, make more friends, acquaintances and possibly a lover. I want to establish healthy habits for myself: healthy eating, drinking, exercising and mentality. I want to be able to take rejection without going overboard in beating myself down over an embarrassment or let down. I received a piece of advice (among many other bombs) from a psychic. I must love and support myself as I do others and (the real bomb): I need to seek therapy. In short, I attract/am attracted to men who are like my father: cold, unresponsive and selfish. I'm not playing the victim because I see this behavior and I stay any way. I tell myself I don't deserve better, that I don't have anything to offer a better man so i must be happy with what and who I have. I never officially linked that mentality to father-issues. I thought it was low self-esteem (in relationships). While she was making her case for me and therapy, I was thinking back on every time I reasoned away my heartache by reminding myself that my own father didn't want anything to do with me. It would hurt so fucking bad. It's not even like I knew the man. We interacted once a month for four years. We met at a train station in NY, he'd given me the agreed upon amount of money (as dictated by Ma), a quick one-armed hug and goodbye. I thought I was able to move past it once it stopped hurting on the surface. I said I didn't give a fuck about him, and I truly don't. I formed a relationship with my Grandfather! Nevertheless, I still choose men who remind me of my father. So that's my piece of advice I intend to follow: I will seek therapy. I stopped seeing men because I knew I had poor taste. Clear abstaining from that part of my life is not enough. I will now step down from my soapbox.
I will earn a minimum $75,000. in 12 months by improving my self image. I have been counseled that I am capable of achieving far more than in the past year.
I need to continue to work on love. Love is what heals, what motivates, what moves us all ahead. It is our common denominator. People need to know that each of us matters, and every time I engage that with someone, I feel the peace from within and from without. What a blessing. Everyone hears - internally or externally - what is wrong with them. We need to hear what is right with us. So I want to keep focusing on giving that moment to others, and to myself.
I want to have more patience with myself, to have less fear, to be less self-critical, to be kind and loving.
I will be more assertive. I will be more daring and bold. I will be more creative and dynamic as a person and professionally. I will discover myself more.
See my answer to question 6. I've received lots of advice and counseling around my weight problems for many years, not just in this past year. I would love for someone to give me the one piece of advice that would do the trick for me and get me onto the right path and keep me there.
I wish I could see patients and people in general beyond what they tell me. Go further into what they really want. People come to see me for a reason and that reason is not always. Very clear. Advise, which btw no one gave me: keep swimming, just keep swimming.
The hills never get easier. They only get faster. Rest.
I would like to be kinder, more patient, and less self-centered. Meditating more would help guide me, but I've gotten out of practice since the temple I go to has rearranged the practice schedule. I need to fit it in somehow.
I would like to have zero outbursts or incidents where I raise my voice or say anything hurtful to anyone. I grew up in a family of yellers and I don't want my daughter to have the same experience.
I would love to be stable work wise and love life...... stop working so much, make time for yourself.
I want to get my knees to function properly -- lose 50 pounds (get to 145 by this time next year) and schedule surgery for my knee so I can walk properly. Be your own best doctor.
I'd like to cut back. The advice I'd like to remember is, "say no!"
Continue half-assed efforts to lose weight & think about eventually quitting cigarettes.
Put one foot in front of the other. I just want to somehow survive. When I think a year ahead I just get anxious, sad, and overwhelmed with grief. How do I live a whole year without my son? How can I ever survive that? And then there will be another year after that, and another one after that. I hope at the end of this year I will see some small truth to the adage that "It gets better". Right now, I can't imagine it.
If there is one central theme for the year ahead, it is to simplify life. I need to cut the clutter in my head, and in my home. We will be living at my daughter's for months, in someone else's place. Then when me move in to our new digs there will be all the stuff we own. I need to purge, edit, give away, and greatly simplify what is around us and focus on the joy of just living. Material things and books and all must take a back seat. The greatest advice is from the Buddha: things in moderation are the good things. I must control what even enters the household, so that I am not overrun by stuff. I need to focus on Lezlie, my kids and the grands, and the joy of my work in teaching. Less stuff = more joy. And get to work on my !@#$%^& book as I have promised me.
I must learn to focus my attention to things that really count- Mae Green is the person who constantly reminds me to do that. She is right - but easier said than done.
More jogging, less iPhone games. Amazingly enough, I don't remember explicitly hearing this advice, but probably it's on the legal disclaimers that I agree to for every software update. Those are small changes and ought to be quite easy, and I think the benefits available are large.
I want to live more in the present, and worry less about the future. I'm doing better on agonizing about the past - quite a bit less of that - but I'd like to just relax and enjoy my blessings more without regular stomach-clenching at the thought of it all disappearing through some unforeseen disaster (or, in some ways worse, due to my own carelessness). There have been a lot of messages along this line in the past year - from my rabbi, on NPR's Story Corps, from my parents in various forms, even from Jon Stewart. It's such simple advice, and it should be so natural to us all - be here, now - and yet to us among the hyperconscientious, achieving presence can be embarrassingly elusive.
Find peace and balance. Advise: take the high road.
I want to follow my budget regularly, be more responsible with money and also my time. I need to study, practice, do all the things I want to do but never find the time to do. I have the time, I'm just bad at managing it.
Deepen relationships with children and their spouses. Also my grandchildren.
I would like to be more active. Not to lose weight, but just to get outside into the fresh air more. A friend started an instagram group where everyone took one weird picture per day, and being involved with that was helpful in getting out more to take pictures and see the outside world a bit more. So combining outside activities with photography is my goal.
Take time to take care if yourself. Find your priorities and focus.
I would love to find the discipline to exercise and manage my diet this year. Cognitively, I'm doing well. But I've regrown the belly I had 10 years ago, that I lost with the devastation of divorce and subsequent exercise. The advice is the same I give to patients daily, make the priorities that you need to reach the goals you set.
I'd like to be in better shape.... so I'd need to exercise more. I enjoy making (bucket) lists of things to learn or to do. I love doing more intentional RAOK. Make choices each day to do better. There is only the present.
"Go and learn." "You don't have to be so strong and self-reliant all the time." "Stay strong." "Lo alecha ligmor v'lo atah ben chorin l'hibatel minenah, and I'll damn well try." Work hard, and be kind to myself and others. Smile more.
I would like to be more physically active. I would like to have a regular exercise program. I would like to be eating more home prepared food and less junk. I would like to have lost 20 or more pounds. The piece of advice is to try and start some kind of program, however small at the beginning.
I want to start my family - getting that foundation moving & creating more depth & purpose in my life - advice listen try not to fix as much - being insensitive during stressful times but that's not mine to carry - let go of friendships that really aren't balanced - letting people into my circles sours me if they are spilling poison in the water we swim - be less loyal - let the bad ones go - & evaluate everyone with the same standards no matter the history - I want Rick & I to build a meaningful year with love support humor & excitement to share something only we could create - looking forward to meeting that person & seeing him in you
Neglect everything else.
Be true to who you are. Be honest and be happy.
One thought that 2 people have suggested is follow my instincts and pursue what I NEED not what I think I SHOULD do. In light of my job dilemma, put aside $ and think of what is important!!!
The best advice I received this year was to go for it. If you want it and you know it is good for you go for it. So, here I go!
Effective thinking's seCcond element is after learning the basic process well, try something and do something hard enough the you fail. Learn from your failure. Much of my anxiety is not wanting to fail. Now can I make it part of my learning process.
I would like to improve myself with gentleness, kindness and compassion toward myself. I would like to reside somewhere between perfectionism and total inaction. I would like to keep working toward my goals in a "slow and steady wins the race" way. "Teach us to care and not to care, teach us to sit still"
I would like to improve myself/my life next year by following the following piece of advice: "Always be ready for a change. Nothing will remain the same around me".
The only way out is through! I need to take small fires head on before they become big fires. So often I think my problems will go away if I look the other way and of course that never happens. My joke at work is if you wait long enough your problem will go away. This can not be the way I operate. I must take conflict head on.
I'd like to stop procrastinating. I have a hard time motivating myself to get things done, from housework to losing weight. . ."I'll do it later. . ." My sister's attitude is "Get 'er done!" I should probably make that my mantra in the coming year.
I'm so overwhelmed right now that I keep telling myself 'just breathe.' Sheri just left and I have so much to do at work that I feel constantly under a tremendous amount of pressure. However, I wanted more responsibility, and I've earned it, and now I just need to capitalize on it. So I think what I'd like to do to improve myself and my life is two fold: 1) Just breathe. Just take a deep breath and do what you can and things will be okay. 2) It's okay to pause your work to take a look at the bigger picture. In fact, it's pretty essential. So take 'ten' each day to just...take a step back. Look at what you're trying to accomplish and instead of just turning your wheels, think about how you're accomplishing it and if you're going about it in the right way.
I would like to have a somewhat stable income, and be financially organized. I would like my office to stop being the unholy mess it is and have it be organized and efficient.
I'd like to stop being so openly mean and judgmental. I would like to be the kind of person that other people want around them, as opposed to simply tolerating. I suppose the best advice I can give myself is to remind myself that fear is a habit.
physical activity
Improving myself is something I think a lot of, especially now. I know I have been improving my attitude and what people around me think of me for the past few years. I know what I was like in the past and I really didn't like it, and I hope I never become that again. I want to improve myself by sticking to my guns, if I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. This comes back to the guitar thing from one of the other questions. A piece of advice I'd give myself would be "go for it, what do you have to lose?" I need to be confident and get what I want, if not, I'll regret it, the same way I did in high school and I don't want to feel that way again.
Spend more quality time with my son, especially down time like weekends and vacations. Try to do more of what he wants to do rather than just the same old grind. BE PRESENT!!!
My program advise told me "if anyone could get it done it would be you." Those words which inspired me to started the international educational program also inspire me to go towards my dreams. Within the next year I want to change my health. I want to transform this decent but neglected body by getting into ideal shape and feeding it foods which are beneficial and worthwhile. For this goal, it is not just about my ability to achieve anything I put my mind to, but the idea that I am the only one who can make this happen for me.
Get out. Create. Improve yourself. Wherever you go (whatever you get) there you are.
Breathe. Relax. Notice. Feel. Allow. Love.
I would hope that in this next year I could more fully experience peace that only comes from our mighty God. Life is so full of anger and hatefulness in so many small ways and big ways. I am tired of being emotionally jerked around by the sinfulness of man and the fear and unease that comes from it. To be able to rest in the peace and stillness of our Creator, as is stated , "be still and know that I am God". To realize that anxiety and stress is not of God but sin and to be able to rise above it. Though when I read the Psalms and experience the cries of David to be released from his burdens and enemies and how he implored God to rescue him I realize that the burdens of this word are here to stay and that we can only overcome with His divine help and guidance. The Lord is truly my Shepherd and maybe the answer is that I need to learn to more fully surrender it all to God.
If only. Aging seems to be standing in my way. All progress these days is small, to my regret.
Treat myself and others better and kinder and remember that the world is a nice and friendly place. Value myself and friends. Accept with easiness and gratitude.
I wanna be more resilient... I wanna bounce back so much quicker when presented with a tough situation. Rejections are sometimes a blessing... I'm still here trying.
More consistent exercise. Less interrupting. More reflection.
Use clear, direct communication skills. Be very clear in differentiating between my observations, my feelings & my thoughts & know what I want to accomplish in sensitive discussions.
Worry less, worry won't change it. Enjoy life, relax a little, ride more and be healthy. Enjoy your family. Work does not rule you.
Follow thru with all you do. It is nice to help people but you are not taking care of yourself. Care for yourself is important and should center things around you. I rarely took that advice this year despite it being told to me year after year.
Let go and let Gd. Allow more room for Gd in my life. Surrender more. Take care of myself more. Eat right. Excersize. Do yoga. Meditate. Stop being so busy trying to run things and other people.
I would like to work on limiting the stress in life and not let things bother me as much as they do. When I am stressed I would like to think before I act and speak.
I would like to clean up my act,,,,, not procrastinate ... Get fid of unwanted, unused stuff there's been lots of counsel on minimizing etc. that I haven't heeded!!!
Regarding my cochlear implant, the key to improved hearing is to practice, practice,practice.
I would like to drink less if not at all during the week. Go to yoga and then I think the good things will come. I just need to cut down on my vices. Oh yeah, and stop wasting the day watching tv.
I just can't answer these questions. I guess just to work hard in uni and to work hard in all my relationships, with Chris, with friends, with family and with acquaintances.
I want to lose 15 pounds, maintain my strength and get stronger. To be there for people who need me - not only my family, but others that i might not know well. Evi told me to be true to myself - I'm not sure exactly who I am, but I want to be the best me -- full of great ideas and willing to plunge in.
To love instead of seeking to be loved and cared for. "You don't recognize love when I give it. ". " Once you feel better, you forget about the residue of your bad feelings on me".
be a more patient flexible and fun wife and mommy!
Let it go, let it goooo! Stop holding on to grudges, pains, betrayals, and other forms of disappointment.
See Day 6.
Work harder at improving what I know through more practice. Wise advice--make yourself available to be used by God to help others fully and completely because you already have everything you will need for each day to fulfill it. Start each day asking, how can I give of myself fully and be present today?
More art. More art. More letting go and creating up a storm.
I would like to be fit. Advice: Get off your ass! EVERYDAY!
I'd like to find a new job, one where my talents are better utilised, where there is room for growth and advancement. And hopefully some travel. The best advice I received was look forward, not back.
I would like to become more myself. I've heard numerous times over the past year of people working to become the best versions of themselves and I would like to work towards that. I want to be better and be kinder, not to ruin or damage relationships by my actions but also standing up for things I believe in. I want my life to be in a happy confident place where I am happy with whatever I am doing and the choices I have made.
I think the one little piece of advice that I got this year that has stuck with me is from a book by the author of the Kite Runner - wish I could recall the name in this moment - thanks to my handy dandy book journal courtesy of Sheila Charney I have the title - And the Mountains Echoed - A line in that book has stuck with me and proven itself - we think we live out of what we want but we actually live out of trying to avoid what we fear - I too try to avoid what I fear - This year I rode the bicycle - oh how proud I am - I parked the car in a tight spot - I got into the ocean quickly because I needed to pee that badly - I will continue to be there facing those things that I fear. What will it be? Submitting more writing pieces.
Improve myself by being more patient without being less passionate. My life is good. I want to keep it good by maintaing a healthy lifestyle; healthy food, regular exercise and lots of love. If I were to give myself an advice it would be, forgive, and move on.
I would like to have lost the last 40 pounds of excess weight. I've improved my eating and been told that upping my exercise level should do the trick.
I need to remember my almaga match. Getting into relationships with someone who is caring, empathetic, and loving. Choosing a partner who is unavailable to me and not able to grow with me can only cause me hurt and pain. Do I continue to follow the same patterns of old or do I forge ahead making healthy choices???
I would like to improve by lessening my stress level; being more ahead in my plans for activities; cooking and eating according to the Dash Diet for lowering my blood pressure; taking time for meditation and beginning yoga; and continuing on our current trajectory for paying down our debts and building a small savings. A few close friends continually support me and offer sound health and spiritual advice. These come in the form of phone calls, in-person comments and prayers. My husband is my main friend who offers continual support and advice.
I would like to make a career change in the coming year. In preparation, I would like to commit to learning statistics and developing research skills. I will have to accept that finding a job is a huge challenge and taking the step out of the security of the known into the unknown is worth it, albeit frightening.
I would like to be able to financially support myself with my nutrition business alone. I would like to be able to travel to see family. I've gotten coaching and started relying on other professionals for more guidance and it's been invaluable.
This is a really hard one, I can not remember getting any advise or counsel in the past year that, well I can remember. As for improving myself and my life see previous question, please.
I would like to have a better balance between service and self-care, between helping and having. This seems important: Wisdom from Nayyirah Waheed, the becoming | wing be easy. take your time. you are coming home to yourself.
I don't like the concept of improving myself but I would like to be the person that I am called to be. The keys to unlock this mystery is to read the Word/Holy Bible, to mediate on the Scriptures, to journal any thoughts and to be obedient to any calling or direction provided through these times of quietness and reflection.
I want to become more organized and stay focused on keeping the paper clutter down. Just have to do it.
Make healthier choices -- both in my activity level and the food I eat. Practice portion control (a technique that has worked in the past for me). Say NO to gluttony! Ultimately, that should lead to a healthier, leaner ME.
Kids need to excel in their studies - I need to help them motivate. Wife needs to find a real job - I'm going to have to kick her in her butt to motivate. I should shop myself around for a new job. Drink less, eat better, work out more.
Relax more /BE more in tune to nature and GODs will for my life
I was told to relax. I should relax so I will follow that advice. I would like to take better care of myself. I have started to dress better, and wear makeup. for next year, I'd like to have lost 50-70 pounds so I will be lean and healthy.
I am excited to seek balance next year. Right now, my surroundings are new and our lives are almost in a normal place here. Once things are normal, we can fully commit to the lifestyle we want, including exercise, a social life, building a home, saving for the future, travel, and eating well. One piece of advice I always remember is from Emma. The first time we met up -- it was at a coffee shop in Plymouth -- she told me, "Money comes and goes; time just goes." I never took that advice to the point of being frivolous, but I do remind myself to take it. I tend to worry more about the future than living my life to the fullest now. But since moving to Seattle I find myself wanting to experience it fully. I think it's easy for my money to go here. But 2015 will be all about balancing the life we have now with our plans for the future.
Breathe. Smile. Drink water. Run. And most importantly--you cannot control how others act. You can only control how you react to them.
One of our son's teachers remarked in a teacher/parent conference, "I'd rather students turn in assignments on time rather than late, perfect assignments. Turning even wrong, or incomplete assignments on time keeps the conversation going." This is true for everything, I now realize. Do not prevaricate, procrastinate, or postpone: the conversation of life is happening right now. Get on with it!
Remove unnessessary things from my life. Simplify. Get rid of clothing. Keep in mind the pale blue dot. Learning about the pale blue dot from Minnie has been enlightening and helpful in keeping a healthy life perspective.
This year, I would like to become more efficient. I would like to complete assignments on time, and complete my homework in a timely manner. I need to be positive with myself and no nonsense. I think I need to "just do it".
I want to be more healthy and lose weight. I have had this goal for a long time, but I really want to be serious about it now as I am getting older. Just take each day one at a time, if I slip, get back on the horse and make better choices.
I would like to develop more patience, and trust in life. I want to relate to my soul and spirit more and have confidence in these parts of myself.
Where to begin? Humility (my recurring theme - and what does that say...?). Spirituality is not a goal, it's a process. A wise rabbi told me "You worry too much." Oy...
Again, I'm not sure myself or my life is really in my control anymore, so even if I could settle on one of the million ways I could improve either, I don't think it could actually be done unless the rest of the tides shift in that direction. As for advice or counsel, reading _The Fuck It Life_ was a really powerful thing for me this year. I was able to apply the philosophy successfully for a time, but - like so many things - it didn't last. I can summon it on occasion, but being able to truly live the philosophy day in and day out may actually be within my control and beneficial to me and everyone around me.
I would like to work on being more kind and compassionate with both myself and others.
I would like to regularly practice ways of reducing stress - including meditation and yoga.
I would like to continue swimming. I'm two months in to a regular workout 3 to 4 days a week and it's made me feel SO much better. I would like to stick with it, and this time next year I'd like to be one or two lanes faster! (Lane 6 or 7.)
While I obviously wish to remain successful at work, happily married, and as good a father as I can be, I would really hope to improve my general health next year...my weight, blood pressure, pain levels, mobility and more all have to improve, and it is mostly on my shoulders to do so.
I want to work less after hours. It is a choice to work so much, after hours, and I feel it's gotten out of hand. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or wrong decisions. Deciding is more important. Be faster on my feet. Be more calm and understanding with the kids.
I've got to get back to exercising. I felt so good when I was doing it and can not believe how easy it was for me to let go of it. While I have gained very little weight, my whole shape has loosened and slumped. It's really important for my health that I get on this.
Go where you are fed. If something stops serving me, cast it aside and seek what does. I would like to let go of fear of making the wrong choices when the guidance I receive does not make it obvious which path to choose.
Wow. Of course, I want better health. That seems concrete enough. I would like to learn to 'be' in my house so that it isn't such a weight. Learn how to have a friend. Be better with money. Advise? No one seems to give me advise.
Rationalizing won't fool your body. I need to take more time for myself to walk, move, smile, and pursue the hobbies that give me joy. I also need to be much more conscious of the food I eat, and strive to avoid the things that aren't good for me. "Just a little bit won't hurt you" is not a good rule to follow! As for advice our counsel, all I can think of is that everyone starts out as a beginner, so I don't need to beat myself up for not being good at something the first time, first ten times, or even the first hundred times.
I would like to lose weight emotionally -- so that the physical weight finally gets released and is forever gone.
Jean Okie says the joy in parenting is dealing in real things. May I continue to deal in them! May Ella smash her hotdog into Eva's robot, and may I be able to observe and delight in it!
"Do it now" Having found that my cancer is in remission, I think it even more important not to put things off.
Oh geez, don't know. I need to work on procrastinating, and on self-confidence, but I don't feel like I've received specific guidance on either of those. I think maybe I need to be more open to hearing other people and remembering what they say, whether it's their opinion or their guidance or their stories.
I want to do more to be closer to my wife. It's so easy, with the kids, to let things go. I want to be more purposeful about this, maybe figure out how to afford a date now and again.
Live in the Vortex. Be present in the now. Enjoy all life has to offer. Know that today is the best it will ever be (and therefore it's a total surprise if/when it's even possible to better). So I want to continue living in the Vortex and loving life.
I'd like to figure out what I want to do with myself - career-, love-, passion-wise. Advice: Figure out what it is that you want, then, figure out where you need to go to get it. Then go there and do it. As my Nana would say, "the time will pass anyway."
I would like to be more mindful. I would like to make the most of my time.
I would like to be more "at peace" next year. Right now, I am unsure about what I believe, about where I am in my life right now, and about what spirituality looks like. I would like next year to bring about it a peace that passes understanding, even if I don't have things better figured out. The best advice I can give to myself is to be real. Be real about the pain. Be real about the questions. Be real about rejecting what may have been a satisfactory answer in the past. It's okay to question, it's okay to be unsure, and it's okay to wander. "Not all who wander are lost", and I hope to continue to wander next year until I find the path that I actually want to be on.
don't be lazy. if you're not all about what you're doing, fuck it. do what you want. and do it as best you can. If you don't know what you want, go skate or go on a hike or climb a tree something. have fun. do your best don't take anything personal be impeccable with your word don't make assumptions
I'd like to learn how to be happy in my own skin. Stop criticizing myself with every photograph and every mirror image. I'd also like to be brave enough to stop doing what is bad for me and do what is good for me. I did it once, not sure why I stopped. Scared to do it again.
I would like to exercise more, drink more water and spend more 1 on 1 time with my partner.
I would like to remind myself to be open to love. I put up a lot of barriers but I hope to accept love when it is given and remember to forgive.
Be crisper, more concise. This comes from the inside out. more effective work out program. clearer thinking. better systems. clearer goals around the use of my time. keeping my word. ending each day on a positive note, and with a set up for the next day
Assume positive intent. Mike and I both do this thing to each other where our faces or tone give away our feelings. I don't think that the faces or tones are the things that need to change. It's the thinking that causes them. I want to refocus on assuming positive intentions. I feel like this will help us both. Feel more supported, less on guard which will translate into better faces and more open communication. I don't want Mike to feel like I am judging his actions or that his efforts aren't enough. Or for me to feel that way. I know that these are some of the feelings we trigger in each other when our negative assumptions spill out first.
I didn't so much receive this advice as formulate it. I'm tired of holding grudges, of re-living the moments of my life, which have been many, that made me angry, hurt, upset, bewildered. I will be visualizing those negative moments so that I can, in my mind, turn them into floating particles of dust that vanish in the air - or that fall onto the ocean floor where the mud they form can be dissipated by the ever-flowing currents. I will make my memory's difficult moments disappear - and if they recur, as I go through my reflections, I will remind myself that they no longer exist - and will put them out of my mind as I work to appreciate the present.
Unfortunately, my goals this year are the same as some of my goals from last year. I want to get out more, make more friends, get more active, and get healthier.
I want to change my diet, and exercise on a more regular basis. Since moving to Boston, I haven't fallen into a good exercise routine, and I've been eating really terribly. Also, I'd like to reduce my debt a lot. And travel. So some conflicting goals here....
I need to continue to work on no longer seeing myself of unworthy of other people's time. I always think I should leave other people alone because I may be bothering them. I need to acknowledge my own self worth more.
I want to learn how to be a leader, a figure who is respected and listened to as an authority, not just someone people generally like and find sweet. The advice I've seen seems to be a lot of "it's okay to be an asshole/be a bitch, it's okay to be harsh, it's okay to be bossy." I know that is step one for me, learning it's not overstepping to speak up.
Same as every year...lose weight and get in better shape. It's getting boring. LOL
Sleep right. Eliminate wasted time.
I would like to become less judgmental and more accepting to change. I used to be this way when I was younger and then changed as I became more settled in life. I want to get back to what I feel is more my true self. My husband is often the guide that I go by in these matters. While he does not always follow his own advice I trust him and he is the one who knows me best.
We are coming up on the end of the grant where I work, so I think the area I need to improve this year will be related to my career. I hope by next year, I have a plan to move into a place where I can get my LPC hours for licensure and that I'm ready to be a good therapist. I have to just go for it, and I hope I can stop being afraid of this new path.
I would like to be less explosive. I wish I wasn't so reactive. I also hope to not let the success of others make me feel less valuable.
I need to: a) be kinder with myself and recognize and care for my faults and weaknesses, instead of shaming myself b) make healthier eating and exercise choices c) find friends I can really have close and intimate conversations with so I don't feel so isolated d) reconnect with a synagogue and a Jewish community I care about.
I would like to become more outward focused, sharing more of the Word with the world in everyday situations. The apprentice series by James Bryan Smith are very encouraging in this area and I am meeting with others as we read the books and hold each other accountable.
I want to open myself up to new opportunities and challenges where I can become more involved in making a difference in my community and in the larger global environment. i also want to become more proactive in reaching out to other people and building friendships and meeting new people.
I have a running list from year to year of what I'd like to improve and every year I improve a little more. At first I didn't think my changes were happening quickly enough but then I realized that these changes and improvements take a lifetime. Here's my list: Be kinder. Be more outwardly thankful, make sure people know that I appreciate them. Be kinder to myself, not be so self conscious. Lose weight, always lose weight. Be more healthy. Not be such an asshole driver. Be ok with wanting to stay home, and relax; not feel like there is always something that needs to be done. I'd like to feel passion for something again; find new hobbies, maybe.
I want to be healthier. To feel better about myself. I am too self conscious. Working out a lot helps that and that is something I need to do more.
I need to become more disciplined with my work. Less screwing around on the computer, more getting stuff done. The best piece of advice I've received to this end is to find one system that works, and stick with it. I have been playing around with the system I chose (bullet journaling) and have been pretty consistent with it for the past three months. Is it making me more productive? Hard to tell….
Advice given: Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. I love yoga, anatomy, human touch, massage, alternative healing. My ideal career will be on this path. This next year I will begin laying the groundwork for this to happen.
Breathe and don't play into people's drama
I need to more often ask for what I need and less often give in to martyrdom or suppress my own wants and needs. Nope, no advice.
I would like to eat healthier. I want to read more. I want to spend less time on the phone and more time with my kids. I'd like to learn more about pursuing my career.
Study more of God's word and more of my relationship with Him.
Over the course of this year I want to get back to eating right, quit smoking (again and forever) and I want to be stronger, more flexible, and more balanced than any year previous. In mind, body and spirit. And being balanced for me includes having a schedule and a consistent plan for writing. The best advice this past year was from my Sifu who said to think of myself as the best, as #1, because if you go in hoping for second place, that's what you will get
I think I have heard this throughout my life and not just this past year, but that is to be yourself. And lately, I feel that I have done a decent job of that and not faked things to fit in or said things I didn't believe; or worry what people had to say. And in doing this, I have found to be surrounded by amazing people who care not only about me and themselves, but also the community. I think its beneficial to be passionate simply about yourself and everything you stand for. Follow things that interest you, dig deeper into the unknown and discover greatness.
Better self-care The best advice probably has been to be consistent (but not in an unrealistic kind of way) -to do small things on a consistent basis. Other good advice is to be more of who I am, focus on my actual strengths, skills and experiences rather than focusing on my areas of weakness. To say "yes" to life which I am working on doing more Read more - I love to read and have been working to make more time. It's the first thing I do on weekend mornings (even if I haven't read much at other times during the week). I also carry my kindle with me so it's easier to squeeze in a few minutes here & there
I would like to go back to school with an online learning program and get certified as a coach or teacher best advice to follow carpe diem, cease the day! and remember that in a year from now you'd wish you started a year ago!
I would like to improve myself AND my life by practicing mindfulness and increasing my ability to be present. I feel that I miss out on the nuances of my relationships and experiences when I am not mindful, and that it would enrich my life and that of others greatly if I could become better at being present. In the past year a friend of mine who knows that this is a quest of mine has exposed me to a monthly publication that I believe can be an inspiration to me as I pursue the practice of being mindful.
I want to be a better listener and a better conversationalist in my personal and professional lives. Often times I find myself drifting off or spending too much time staring at my phone. My goal is to have more personal interactions with those around me and build stronger relationships with the ones I love. Texting and messaging is not a viable form of commnication.
A while back, I was asked what advice I'd give to my younger self. The answer came to me without thinking about it: People are more resilient than you think. Things matter less than you fear. Get on with your own work. I still think those words are wise. And at the same time I am terrified of tempting fate by not paying close enough attention to what's going on around me. Do I have the courage to put my own concerns first, rather than those of my family? I live with too much guilt and shame as it is - I tend to be very hard on myself and also to resent the weight of responsibility I feel. To sidestep this conflict would undoubtedly free up a lot of mental energy and might be good for me creatively. And yet it seems like a zero sum game - what I give to myself I take from others. Hence the need for the advice above. If I could defend myself better from the demands of others and cut back on the magical thinking, this would be a very healthy way to go.
Set positive intentions and follow up on them. See the good and focus on it. Don't dwell in negative space. Keep turning toward the positive.
I would like to have a nice home; somewhere I can actually feel proud to have people visit. The hard thing is my husband has not been very supportive of this. It's one of the biggest problems in our marriage as we tend to feed off each other's inactivity. Anyway, I don't know how to fix it and I don't know where to begin but I really hope to see us move forward in this regard. We've come so far this past year after two years of misery dealing with being so financially strapped by my husband's unemployment. We're finally starting to feel somewhat secure again. Now we just need to fix the outside.
I'd like to be generally happier...less angry. I don't think of myself as a generally angry person but lately I am quick to it. I think my best chance for fixing this is therapy. So, I'm going to do that (my first appointment in 4 years is today!) and hope it gets me back on the right path!
I want to get in better shape - chiefly, I want to put on more lean mass. I hope to do this through a low-carb diet, eating around 3,200 calories a day, and weightlifting.
Here's the best piece of advice I've received in the past year: "Done is better than Perfect." I'm learning to _just do it_, WITHOUT the promise that it will be perfect or well received. I want to be useful, not glamorous. I want to be more aware of who I am to people than what I look like to people.
I need to be more productive and spend less time online. I need to read more modern works because I tend towards the classics and I think it limits me. The only advice I've received is to keep moving forward. That's what I'll do.
People love to be asked for help and advice. Don't presume you know everything, even if you do know a lot. Always ask people for help, especially if they are in positions of power. As them open-ended questions. Wait before you press send on that email.
I want to build my turtle shell. I do not want hard armor that keeps everyone out but I want to be able to protect myself. Im working really hard on that.
Get wisdom, get understanding. Laugh at the days to come. Do not worry about tomorrow.
I want to work harder, be more motivated, and find even more richness in the beauty of every day. I can't remember a specific piece of advice, but there are people who have been incredible mentors and supporters for me this year. Thanks for making me feel full of worth and potential mom, dad, Kyle, Jackie, dr. Lou, the JITLI team, Sam, Kimmie, Jordan, and the team at HF. You guys continue to inspire me.
Get rest, stay away from toxic personalities, hike more.
I would like to lose more weight. I just saw something that said (to the effect) when you were a child your parents measured you on a wall or door to see how you grew. You were only measured against yourself. Why do you measure yourself against others now? I took it to be a reminder that we need to measure our accomplishments against ourselves, not what others accomplish. I tend to forget this and get discouraged by seeing successes of others coming faster than my own. I need to remember to measure myself only against myself and no one else.
I would like to become healthier. Hopefully this quest would help me lose some weight, but I mostly care about my overall health rather than my size. There isn't much advice I get from those around me regarding this. Since I am a woman, most of my women friends pay particular attention to size only, and don't see the bigger picture like I am trying to. I want to be comfortable with my health and thus comfortable with my body, and I wan that to mean that as long as I am healthy, I can be, say a size 14, and love myself for it.
Just want to keep on going, keep on getting better, improve my lot in life.
I would like to listen more and talk less. I would like to think before I act and not be reactive. I would like to judge less. I would like to pay my bills and not spend so much frivilously. I want to pray more and learn to listen and be guided by the spirit.
My continual self improvement is better organization to maximize my free time pursue other hobbies. I would also like to stop procrastinating! From the past years I have learned, try, and try again.
I want to lossen myself from addictions to food, technology and sex. I want to be more fully present in my life and aware of the ever present help of Christ and the Spiritual World. I want to sleep better and improve my sense of well being. Margareta was a reminder and an inspiration around the life of faith.
Be gentle with myself. Take better care of my body.
Good question. I'd like to be more settled next year. Divorced. Out of my toxic work environment. More in control of my life. A few years ago after I lost my wallet at the beginning of an international trip, a young man told me that I needed to remember that I wasn't traveling alone. That there were others upon whom I could rely to help me out and cover costs until I recovered a way to pay for myself. I don't feel that way in life. I need to have more faith that I'm part of a community of people who care for each other. I need to find that community and become a part of it. My experience is that people haven't been there for me when I need them. And, there's something in the way I've built my relationships that's causing this. I don't know if I give to the wrong people, if I neglect the right people, or if I don't know how to ask or receive. In the next year, I'd like to be more connected. I'd like to be able to more comfortably walk away from people who are so clearly toxic. People who take up my emotional energy and make me feel rotten about myself. I hope I can continue to push myself open, and not shut down through this continued painful and difficult time in my life. I pray that I will look back a year from now and be relieved that I've moved through it, and grateful for the lessons I was able to bring with me with through hell.
I want to be more mindful of future obligations. To place the obligations in the constellation of my future days, so they don't become crowded, leaving no room for thought. When I take on a role, to carefully consider the time commitment, not just immediately, but also the future time commitment. Ann gave me the advice to do that on my calendar. I am going to try to do that.
I want be able to slow down from work and take more time for myself and my family. After 30 years of owning a business, I want to be able to transition out slowly over the next 7 years. It's a love/hate relationship, and all of my friends and family have advised me, especially when I get crazy.
"Let it Go!" That song was ubiquitous this year, but it really is a good lesson. When someone or something pisses me off, I would like to more quickly and easily let it go. When Matt does little things at home that drive me crazy, and there are a lot of them, I need to Let It GO!
The new year will start with classes to hone a skill. It will be I hope an improvement of sorts to move me forward in an industry that is stuck and with stuck clients if they will agree to let me work using this with them. What does "improvement" mean? Better myself? Upgrade myself? Maybe it's to laugh more .. yes, that's it. I need to be as concerned as I am now about the world _and_ make time for more humor read and watched. I need laughter.
Be Kinder
Before I speak, think: Is it true Does it need to be said Does it need to be said by me Does it need to be said by me now
I would like to exercise more. I know that when I do, I feel better. I have more energy. I also would like to do more EMDR with my therapist. I think we've got a lot of issues to explore.
I would like to enjoy my marriage more. We have had some "things" come up in the last year that I am still working with. I hope that we can renew the spark
I want to make eating right and working out a priority. I want to get down to my previous set point weight. I also want to purge my life of stuff I don't use. Maybe make it a goal to do one area each month and then commit to keeping it that way.
I'm coming to this question a date late. That's okay. I forgive myself. On that note, that's how I would like to improve myself and my life over the next year. By being more forgiving - of myself and others. Practicing forgiveness. It's a cheesy saying, and one which they always say in Yoga and which girls in Boulder say on their match.com profile and it's so overused and corny, and maybe I can think of another way of saying it so that it won't be, and is simply meaningful - for me. Maybe the way to say it is that I want to "practice forgiving." This comes down to many aspects in my life. Not just being "wronged by someone" and subsequently forgiving them, but being more patient and understanding of others. Forgiving someone if they don't understand what I'm saying or do something fast enough. Forgiving someone if they mess something up or don't do what I want them to do. This doesn't mean being passive, or not saying anything, or holding it in. That absolutely will not work for me and my personality predisposition. But I can CHOOSE to take a moment, to have some emotional maturity, and to be a little more patient and forgiving of others, and their failings. And just as, or maybe more importantly, being more forgiving of myself. When I don't succeed with something, or someone. When I overlook or forget something. When I don't achieve something I think I should achieve. To forgive myself for my failed marriage. To forgiving myself for my dog getting older/feeling responsible for that. Forgiving myself for hiring and giving increased responsibility to Elizabeth, who didn't earn or deserve it. Forgiving myself for mistakes I make in business - knowing that I have / try to make the best decisions at that moment, and learn from my mistakes. Fool me once.. etc. Forgiving myself for not having a wife and kids. Forgiving myself for having a not so great relationship with my parents and brother. Forgiving myself for not getting more likes on Facebook or having more friends in my life or for my broken fog lights or my sometimes messy home. Forgiving myself for not having a big home and millions of dollars and everything I may have wanted or continue to want. And this doesn't mean that I give up, or settle, or accept defeat or loss or failure. THis doesn't mean I don't go for it or have hopes and expectations or goals in life. It just means that if/when things fail to meet my expectations or goals, that I practice forgiving. I don't beat myself up. I don't let it get me down, I don't take it to a dark place which is harmful to me and those around me. I think that if I could be more forgiving of myself and others, could let little things go, could accept life's set backs as just that - not an indicator of my failure, or another person(s) failure as a human being, that it will GREATLY improve my relationships with others, and my overall feeling of well being and contentment in my life. I've tried the other way for 43 years, I would like to start going with the flow more, and not fighting life so much, not swimming against the current, not putting all that pressure on me or those around me, and to be more accepting, and forgiving. And if I do get upset at someone or someone or myself, to forgive myself for being upset. Because that too is inevitable. We all make mistakes. We are none of us perfect. Let it go.
I want to become more like Christ every day. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
I would like to worry less. There are things that you cannot change or prevent, so I would like to be able to recognize those times and not stress out so much.
I'd like to fully access my true joy / sense of aliveness. Not sure how to do that at the moment.
Just be brave. You can do whatever you want as long as you don't convince yourself otherwise.
I want to continue to live a healthy life style, be more tolerant and more accepting generally, and more outwardly loving and supportive to John. I think the models in my life will guide me.
I would like to be more patient, and controlled with my spending. Someone said to me "pick your battles"- and I think that's good advice as I sometimes let things get to me and I have a go at people, when I should really just let them slide. Life's too short!
I would like to continue to push myself to achieve even better physical fitness. I've started this already, working out generally three times a week, and incorporating an occasion run into the routine. I recently added ab exercises and 100 pushups daily. I would also like some adventures in the next year. I will be turning 50 next year, and celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary, so some exciting travel will be good.
Learn to be calmer, and less judgmental. Learn how to keep external forces from impacting my emotional and spiritual state of mind.
I would like to lose weight and be active in my free time. I have really enjoyed doing things on the weekend. I'd always thought I was just too tired, but when I push myself to do things, I find that I'm happier, even if I am tired.
I would like to be calmer, to not explode the way I do with people at work or in my private life and to be better with my sensitivity problems. For example, I just moved away from my seat at the cafe because a man sat down right next to me AND he was eating an apple. Apples are loud and I cringe when my space is invaded (which happens easily, like right now... this other guy is too close for my liking). I know breathing through a situation is good. I'd like to practice that more. One of my students told me I'm the most easily frustrated teacher at school. I was horrified. I don't want to be that person! I've gotten to the point where I'm aware now when I'm going to lose it...but I still snap anyways. Reading Pema Chodron and Thich Nach Hanh have helped, as well as meditation and church. I heard this wonderful quote at Spiritus Christi via Reverend Mary. She was talking about how she was watching a series of jokes on "Candid Camera". One man, unlike the other unwitting jokees, wasn't exasperated by the joke. When asked why he was so calm, he replied, "I learned a long time ago that anything negative was not going to rent out space in my brain."
I would like to better learn French and be more consistent in my exercising. Steady wins the race.
Moving through it and taking action FEARLESSLY! There is no particular piece of advice or counsel from last year - mostly the accumulation of "counseling" and training programs over the past 35+ years. It seemed to all come to a head this year. Limiting thoughts and beliefs from the past seem to have fallen off - and only focused action on what I have determined are my "Priorities," including writing, are taking up my energies. So - the improvement is to be consistent and persistent in pursing my goals. That has not been so in the past.
I totally want to get stronger, and therefore fitter. I'd love to be able to do some real-talk-pushups and like ONE pullup. A good mantra is "Remember your goals." I say that a lot to myself to keep me motivated!
I cannot honestly say that after many hard years, my life is pretty good right now. I've fought hard for this. Counseling, humbling myself, being honest, seeking help, asking questions, reading books. I've WORKED to get where I am today. I didn't want to settle for depression, codependency, or just not fully living. Do I have things I still want to work on? Sure. But I've also made peace with a lot of things. I think that is one of the most difficult things in life: how to know what to change and what to make peace with. And how to make peace with the things that need to change, while they're in the process of changing. Being at peace with each step. Because everything is a step. To somewhere. And when you're seeking change, those steps can seem painfully long or stagnant. I think the best advice has always come from my parents. And not always explicitly, but how they've lived. Do what makes you happy and put family relationships before anything else. Be responsible, kind, and honest. Those are the things I've always striving to be and improve at. It seems strange to say, but I really want to keep living my life the way I have been. One day at a time. Enjoying and treasuring the moments and people I love.
"Too many people live their life out of fear disguised as practicality" "There is no security in life. Live life as an adventure - or not at all"
I'd love to lose weight and would love a relationship. Something I read many years ago, I believe in a single box comic strip in a N.Y. paper, when I still lived there over 25 years ago. The comic strip was called Ching Chow and said, 'Better to be alone than in bad company.' I'm looking for and really demanding 'good company.' I've had enough of the bad and now I can usually spot 'em ahead of time.
at the risk of being repetitive. I would like to lose some weight. I keep upping the scales a few lbs each year and at my age I really can't afford this health wise. Also, (repeating again) making a decision about our longer term living situation that will honor lifestyle and our values. I feel young and able-bodied today, but in ten years????
I want to be more at peace with things as they are. Breathe, open, and lean in.
I would like to find more meaningful work and get in touch again with my community. The work could be the connection to the community, or I could start volunteering again. No advice, other than if you are not satisfied with something in your life, do something to change it.
I want to be the clean eating, clean living, big exercising, super health conscious person I used to be, the person people associate me with.
I would like to be less stressed and more fit. I have done next to no exercise for the last 18 months and I need a kick start. I'm over 50 and need to start taking better care of myself. My girlfriend told me this year that when I am feeling at the depths of my lows, that I should always remember that I am loved and cherished and to be grateful for the gift that is my husband and kids.
I want to improve my health by eating better and exercising more. I want to eat less meats and more fruits, veggies, nuts, and whole grains. I want to spend more time outside jogging, hiking and playing sports.
Smile (fake it 'til you make it.)
I would like to grow the value of my business and put a long term succession strategy in place. My life would improve with greater financial security. I need to secure the capital value of my business & reduce key person dependency. With Tony's cancer journey, we are less financially secure - our household income has taken a big hit (right at the peak of our earning capacity) & Tony's employment future is uncertain. My business success is more critical than ever.
I would like to really open myself up to dating in the coming year. Last year I said I wanted to have a partner, but really didn't make an effort. This year I'd like to actually start dating, and see what comes...
I want to continue having a healthy romantic relationship and try to make my non-romantic relationships healthier. In some ways, I can see my relationship with my mom and brothers improving, but in other ways, we're still falling into the same patterns. I'm the same way with my friends - there are times when I am proactive and prosocial, and other times when I'm passive aggressive and antisocial. I'd like to keep working on that, on being a better friend, sister, daughter, girlfriend, etc. but also on demanding a certain quality of friend, family member, etc.
My mental outlook on life needs to be examined and turned to optimism instead of the quasi-pessimist view that I currently adhere to. I have not received any advice or counsel during the past year to guide me.
The piece of advice that I just this moment received from my beloved Amy, to whom I expressed a distressful sense that I'm so lost in sorrow that I can't remember ever being a joyful person. And I quote: "You are a moody person, this is true, capable of profound joy and profound down feelings----that is who you are, and to the extent that I wish you peace, I wish you could sit with your feelings a bit and not be so dominated by them, just be able to step back and say "hmmm, I'm really feeling profoundly sad right now (or angry; or whatever); that's how I'm feeling right now; it will pass when different circumstances pop up, because I know that happens." Don't let yourself be ruled by emotions, step back and see them, if you can. Because darling, your feelings in all their complexity are what makes you divinely human." That is the best piece of advice I've received all year. And I will aspire to achieve it. And to be worthy of such a remarkable woman--well, in ten days, remarkable wife.
i want to get moving. get improved skills = back to school. in both communications and design. i want there to be a future i can see in my career. i also want the drive and health that i achieved when i was in a rut the last time. i'll be 40. if i want it, i have to make it happen.
I would like to continue to working on myself like I have this year. My two big goals for next year is to work on my health/weight and reading more books. I think this will help to further improve my life and myself.
Learn to not sweat the small stuff. Most of the grievance everyday comes from it and, frankly, it's not worthy. Meditation and centering are the best tools that I have against human stupidity.
I would like to keep growing into my knowledge. I would like to be bigger and unafraid of it. I would like to let go of the inner critics that hold me back. I would like my work with Greg to have expanded more to be unafraid of authentic conversation - the real stuff with friends - daring to not have someone be friends with me anymore
Self happiness is not the same as selfishness. I'd like to dedicate time to doing things for myself. Part of my cycle of lowered self esteem stems from failure to accomplish anything. I need to set lower, more achievable goals--be it related to weight loss or housekeeping or abandoned projects.
Overall I would like to be a better person and especially be the person that my husband and children deserve to have in their lives. To be the best me I can be through my actions and words. I want to use less harmful words and more words of love. I want to be able to look back at the past year and see that I've been the best me I possibly could have been at the time.
I would like to let things other people do that annoy me go more quickly. My grandma told me life is short and you shouldn't waste it.
I would like to improve my physical fitness, and become financially and physically independent.
I want to move to a smaller house in a less expensive area. A much smaller mortgage would make everything easier for my husband and I.
I would like to overcome my anxiety next year. I want to do what it takes to be a productive, successful, and independent woman who is free of her anxieties.
I would like to work on speaking up for myself. I think I let a lot of stuff go because I calculate that the other person won't change or that my speaking won't achieve the desired result, but, in reality, I'm really just becoming a doormat.
I'd like to learn the lesson of confidence, rather than second-guessing myself. I'd like to follow through on projects, rather than frightening myself off. I'd like to be a more balanced person. I'd like to be more physically active, in ways that allow me to enjoy my environment more: hiking, kayaking, ice skating, like that. "Just do it" sounds trite, but it's something I need to internalize.
Worry less. Be happier. Which is not all about positive mental attitude it's also about taking action so that I have fewer things to worry about, and more to be happy about. I don't know how I'd split it - 60% mental attitude 40% act differently? Hard to say. But yes a bit of both.
I would like to loose 30 pounds. It is important to me so that I improve my health which will make my old age more 'golden'.
If it bothers you, speak up. Don't care what others may think of you for doing so.
I want to be in better shape. I've already started down this path and I want it to continue. I want to feel happy and comfortable with my body. I want my clothes to fit me in a way that makes me feel good about myself.
Take my self and my health seriously, be confident in my own decisions.
Let it go...
ask for it no more waiting posture why not me?
Need to get better organized to stay on top of things and have more down time. Try to finish some of the things started and clean out the house a bit. Better health through working on exercise, nutrition and emotional health. Not sure where the advice will come from. Maybe looking at the web.
As always...get in better shape, develop better habits. Advice...can't think of any I've received in the past year. Here's a lesson I learned: Your number 1 job now is to protect your child, and it doesn't matter what people think of you in the mean time.
I am thinking of the Torah reading about Abraham and Isaac. Early in the portion, Abraham, called by God, replies simply "Hineni." I have often thought about this word. Moses says it too when called by God in the form of the burning bush. Literally Hineni means "Here I am." But it has nothing to do with location. What Hineni means, according to this beautiful sermon from a rabbi in Battleboro, Vermont, is this: "I am here with all of my being, physically and spiritually, ready to do what I need to do and [be] fully present in the moment." Hineni. I am here. Hineni rarely appears in the Bible. It is a powerful word, said by someone facing a great personal test or at a turning point in life. God puts Abraham to the most agonizing test. And Abraham almost blindly and incredulously follows a path that would lead to the death of his beloved only son. At the last moment an angel of the Lord calls to Abraham. Hineni, he answers. I am here. Abraham has shown his openness to God, and Isaac is spared. The Vermont rabbi says this: "It is as if Abraham awakens from a stupor and comes to a new appreciation of the fragility of life. "This awakening can also happen to us," the rabbi continues. "When we go through times of pain, of trauma--in our work, in our family, in our mental or physical health--we can lose touch with reality. We can fall into an emotional stupor. We might, like Abraham, need some help in returning to life.... "By calling out to him, Abraham’s angel helped him break old patterns of behavior. Through this experience, Abraham developed a new perspective, a deeper sensitivity to all of life, an ability to say Hineni and be truly present to himself, to his family and to God." I want Hineni to be my go-to response to my life.
I want to find a way to make more peace in my life as a sum total. There has been too much stress and imbalance in my family relationships, work requirements, and personal development for too long, and it has ground me down. Regarding work, I've been advised to stop tying my satisfaction to the crazy environment of my company; I think that there must be some boiled down form of that advice to apply to the rest of life as well -- although at first it seems on the selfish side.
I'd like to be fitter (possibly even run a half-marathon, although that's a pipedream for 2015 methinks), more confident, and possibly even to have met someone and be in a relationship by this time next year.
I would like to conintue to practice not hearing the voices that are critical and tell me that every minute counts and that I need to be perfect and that others can not love me for who I am.
You can do this. I heard it in Weight Watchers, but it applies to all areas. I resolve to stop negative self talk.
I want to break the sugar habit. Its deadly affects are everywhere but at some level I, like most people, think they are bullet proof. However, this year it seems there are more people struggling with their health...losing the ability to walk, living in pain, needing to rely on medications. If all it takes is giving up sugar and drinking more water I will do it. I want to be able to bend over and tie my shoes until the day I don't wake up anymore.
I am going to practice more time and food management. The advice that comes to me at the moment is "Just Do It!"
Worry, stress and work less. Let Go, Let God.
Recognize what isn't benefiting my happy life any longer and get rid of it - people, things, ideas. Learn how to say NO and develop a backbone to use it. Quitting is alright and beautiful if it opens up room for new adventures that bring more fulfillment and joy.
I'd like to be less overwhelmed with work projects and more available (mental and physical energy) for Ben and Eli...or really for our marriage. I'm especially worried with us seeking another child that I'm not going to be able to hold everything together. The MTP program will be over, and I should have 0.1 FTE more in July 2015, but I don't know if it will be enough.
I gave advice that I'd like to give back to myself: Acceptance of self, others and life's challenges Forgiveness, freely offered, to self and others Courage to be myself.
I would like to take better care of my body this coming year and learn to tap into my flow more easily and more often.
I want to meditate more than never in order to be able to stop and breathe, so that, reliably, in the moment I can choose how I act. This is, obviously, most difficult with my child. I want to improve it.
I would like to become healthier. The advice I got was, "There's an App for that"
Next year, I will be just beginning my sophomore year of college. I will need to improve my study habits and have an idea of the course of an eventual major/minor that I want to follow. I have been forewarned many times that I will most likely change my major over the years, but right now I know that I want to be within the journalism school. It is the only area that I have found that I am truly passionate about.
Bllaahhh. Everything that I have lived by that kept me well adjusted went out the door! So I don't know. Getting better sleep, drinking more water and not putting poopyshit in my body is a good start. I guess not putting poopyshit in my body also means not letting thoughts I take personally manifest themselves.
Improve myself: I would like to engage with people more and avoid mulling over the same thoughts and discussions - unless it's fun like reminiscing with friends. That's all fine, but I want to engage in new ideas and new thoughts so as not slip into the comfort of the past. Improve my life: I'd like to make improvements to my home such as remodeling the garage so that my wife has a great office and it can double as a guest house for visitors. I'd also like to get a music system back into the house so that we can enjoy our library and the radio stations we listen to. Being more energy efficient is another goal as I think we use too much water and too much electricity. Advice I received: I've been getting a lot of advice on how to treat my Mom who has a difficult form of Alzheimer's (if that wasn't difficult enough). This has been very valuable in helping me cope with her changing behavior which is on a downward spiral. It has helped me with the stress of communicating with someone I love (and who loves me) who is losing the ability to communicate.
I was recently made quite aware of the negative impact that my competitiveness and perhaps even arrogance (believing I am in the right) can have on others whom I interat with and care about. These characteristics are very inconsistent with how I see myself, wish to be seen by others, and wish to be in the world. I have also become increasingly aware that I am always preparing for criticism, particularly from my wife, but not only her. This creates an ongoing, even if low level, of defensiveness and irritation. I would like to learn to let this go.
I would like to continue improving my communication skills, both in the work place and in my personal life. I feel I have come a long way but still have a long way to go. My hope is that this will lead to successful collaborations at work, closer personal connections and more genuine relationships.
Stick with things, get things done.
"Let go of resentment, forgive and move on". I want to continue my growth this year
I'd love to be able to lose some weight & get toned up. It's important because I will be turning 50 next year & it would be nice to be healthier.
I'd like to invest in counseling more. Really get rid of the anxiety, and do more yoga.
I would like to be in a partnership with a great man who loves me for me - for my body. If you are going to make up a story, change to be good. Bad things are just plot twists.
I would like to greatly improve my time management skills. This will be vital for my currently PHD program. I think I can accomplish this by setting better boundaries and knowing what is feasible for me and what is not and being kind to myself whatever the outcome. Additionally avoiding social media and excessive TV should help. I once received advice that I should respond to emails as soon as I get them- to seize the moment ! Hopefully I will glean more guidance and techniques from colleagues and mentors along the way .
Lots of ways! Spiritually, as I've answered in previous questions - getting more in touch with Judaism and beginning the steps to a proper conversion. Physically, I want to lose weight and be healthy. Emotionally - I have anxiety and bipolar and I want to finally feel like I'm in control of them. I'm starting CBT soon so that's a great first step. I'm going to keep this quote from 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' in mind: "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic." basically, look out for the silver lining and recognize that the most wonderful things I admire in other people are not as perfect as I might think. Everyone is struggling; if they can get through it and create and be positive, so can I.
Piece of advice: one foot in front of the other. In other words, I want to enjoy living in the moment and not get caught up in the big picture. I'd also like to improve my patience and punctuality.
Continue to work on health issues, lose weight, do whatever I can to regain vitality. I don't want to drop dead before I'm ready.
My principle goal right now is to reduce or eliminate credit card debt - get those cards to the point where it is realistic to expect to pay them off immediately, every month.
I would like to become happier again. Happier in business life and maybe a bit more satisfied with what i have got. But still I want to stay ambitious. However I need to be more patient and better reflect and maybe compare what I have already achieved. Furthermore I may need to better focus on whats really important. Family and friends. Maybe its not the job or the salary that is coming from the job. So its a change in attitute and/or perception that will be important to me. The same is true for my sports activities: stay patient but still hungry for success. Better be hungry to win rather than be afraid to lose. Stay positive. Motivate yourself with positive arguments instead of useless negative don'ts.
I will continue to try to educate myself by continuing school and always striving to do better. I want to improve my life by moving to an area that would be a better fit for our family.
I would just like my life to go up and onwards this year, there is so much that could happen I don't really want to pinpoint it onto one thing. I don't want to do any backtracking or going backwards, just looking ahead and moving forwards with everything!
I just want to stay on a good study habit and have good grades and stay in shape
I need to work on being a married couple and not being frustrated at my husband, and finding a better way to communicate with him. One piece of advice he gave me is that when I try to finish a sentence or provide help (which I saw as my showing that I am paying attention or understanding), others see it as being pushy, or not listening because I may be wrong in what they are going to say. I'm going to work on becoming a better listener this year.
I would like to increase my faith practice, health, and daily activities. I want to be able to move my family towards a more holistic lifestyle focusing on family and community. Searching for change, and being willing and open to direction from G-d. Seek ye The Lord , and Live ... Is on the Temple and really hit me that I was not living my life has become one big to do list/chore. So I need to change and start Living :)
I would like to feel more grounded. I hope that know better who I am and what want.
I would like to eat healthier and exercise more. Some general advice I received is that drinking more water makes people happier, so I would like to curtail my soda intake and replace it with more water. I think this will help me in the long run.
Yoga! I'd like get healthier and calmer by spending less time studying and working and more time excercising.
I would like to chill the fuck out. I want to stop worrying about everything, take things as they come, have confidence that everything will turn out alright.
I would like to make more time for fun. I feel like I can't take time for things I enjoy while there is work to be done, and there is *always* work to be done. I want to develop some systems so keeping on top of the house is easier, and to stop wasting time procrastinating - it doesn't reduce the 'to do' list and I don't enjoy it. I want to make time for my interests - writing, crafting, exercise - and for family time. I don't want to keep saying 'Not now, love, I'm busy' or 'In a minute'. My children are still small and I want them to look back on their childhood and say 'My parents were great fun and we did loads of great stuff together', (even if they add 'even though the house was a bit of a mess'. Heh.) So, I guess, it's about spending my time on the important stuff, not the urgent stuff. 'How you spend your days is how you spend your life', and all that.
As stated previously, I'd like to be more social and expand my friend group and also get good grades.
In contemplating this question, I am reminded of a physician I once saw, Win Engel, who communicated these ideas to me with such calm gentleness (as opposed to the stern authoritarianism I grew up with) that his advice is now a permanent part of my thinking. In the coming year, I intend to take more responsibility for feeding myself properly (e.g., taking the time to prepare good food instead of snacking on junk food), and establish a daily yoga practice to recover some of the strength and flexibility that age is taking away. I realize that I do not care for myself in the way that I would advise someone (anyone) whom I care deeply about, and that is a kind of hypocrisy. I must be strong to make others strong.
I want to learn to come across to people as less confrontational. I want to learn to get what I feel inside to come out as the true thing. Often times what I feel inside is translated as it comes out as being confrontational, either by the expression on my face or the words that I say, and I want to improve my communication skills so that they are better and I can get along better with those I encounter.
I would love to just get a kick out of life...everyday. I want to always look on the bright side of things and not be a victim to anxiety or stress. I don't want the shitty things that happened to me as a child or the emotional crap leftover from my childhood to dictate who I am or how I behave or how I feel as an adult. I guess my piece of advice to myself would be: be grateful for everything you have, everyday. And just smile and breathe.
Focus on what I want, not what I don't want. Focus on being happy and not how something will manifest. There is nothing more important than being happy. Enjoy all manifestations - they are merely indicators of where I am!
Spend less. Save more.
I'd like to start saving for retirement and plan for the future - but still allow time for "childlike" fun and play.
Re: Procrastination...always do the thing you least want to do first. I would like to improve pretty much everything this year. Maybe I should start now?
I would like to be more organized so I stay out of even momentary panic that arises from the thought that I forgot to do something, or that I've misplaced some important paper. Also, to be more generous and to simplify my life by giving away some of my possessions. Blessing them, honoring their existence in my life and how much they meant to me (whatever the item is-- a piece of clothing, a piece of art, whatever it is it has/had value to me in some way), and then letting it go.
I would like to be more patient and less anxious. A piece of advice that annoys me but probably makes sense is 'Why are you so worried? The only thing a person should be worried about is worrying too much." Being anxious makes me impatient...
I would like to be more active in my own life, that is, more responsible and excited about my own development.
Try and be less anxious about things because all it does it feed on itself. Easier said than done, right? Also, more Disney and New York trips- it's been almost a year since I've been to Manhattan and I MISS IT.
I want to read more books. Both for work and for pleasure.
I would like to concentrate more on my interpersonal relationships this year. With my spouse, more closeness, more going and doing, finding new outlets now that we are transitioning to an empty nest. With my friends, making more of an effort to strengthen ties.
I would like to have a nice home, a family and feel settled. Have a financial plan in place. Be calm. The best advice I've been getting lately (bit of a loser!) is from the We Are Humanity page on facebook. I love it! One of the things I saw on there said: then, she began to breathe, and live, and every moment took her to a place where goodbyes were hard to come by. she was in love, but not in love with someone or something, she was in love with her life. and for the first time, in a long time, everything was inspiring. r.m.drake And I thought; I want that.
This is a theme, I want to be free from addiction to alcohol. Trust G-d.
Make time for the things you want to accomplish. Make the time.
I would like to start doing some of the things I've been saying I want to accomplish. Like, play my guitar, learn more about my camera, take a few cooking classes and learn spanish. Also, I would like to con't to enrich my relationships with those I love. Take the time, really listen.
I'd like to drink less beer and wine. It is a detriment to my overall health. My advice would be some that I've given others: breaking a habit is situational and, it takes 60 days to fully break a habit.
I'd like to be better at managing money. We're also working hard to make our new home beautiful, and keeping it clean so that we can share it with others is definitely a goal! I had a lot of help in learning better financial control from a dear friend, and I certainly know how to clean... it's just a matter of self-discipline!
There is an infinite list of things I would like to improve in. My art skills, my practice in yoga, the way I look at myself, the way i think and speak. I need to improve my overall health. My husband is my rock, he always helps me and guides me in the right direction.
Relax! Ha :-) I'm not good at that, at all. This upcoming year is going to be a huge challenge as we move away from family. I have to go out and make new friends, build a support network. It's not a skill I come by honestly, it's something I'll have to really work towards. The advice I received from a stranger made a lot of sense--with every move, act as if it is permanent. Otherwise you'll always be living in Limbo.
Be more honest, direct, authentic. Less controlling. I am working on building relationship with my students and having more fun in class. I need to engage them, not "teach" them more.
I'd like to be happy and be in a good place. Right now I feel like I am in limbo, waiting for my life to start. Everything is on hold until I move and can be with my boyfriend. It's just a waiting game at this point. I hate my job but I keep telling myself to stick it out cause it's only temporary. I did not want to move back to my parents house but I did because it's only temporary. Everything now is only temporary because my life is about to change in a huge way. I couldn't be more excited for that to start but now I feel like I'm just stuck waiting. I'm ready! The only advice I have been following is to follow my heart. I am so grateful that both of my parents gave me that advice and are supporting my decision to move to Georgia. It is an awesome feeling to know I have them on my side. I am making the biggest change ever in my life and I don't know if I could do it without their support. But my advice is follow your heart!
More physical exercise! Thank you, Emily Pulley, for the Fitbit!!
In the next year, I would like to be more present and actively participate in my life. I feel as though I have been disengaged from life for the past year or so...the time has come to change that. I would like to feel more patient with myself and with others...
I feel like there is a lot of advice I've gotten over the last year. I have Sonya in my mind as being a big fountain of it. I can't think of specifics, but I can think of multiple conversations that we had about love, and learning lessons, and benefiting from her experiences about love and men. And about women taking the time to get to know themselves, and taking time with that. When I think about what I want to change in my life (pushing myself, I think I talk about about it in 8 or 9), I think about things that I don't want to let stop me, whatever that may be. So I think about Mary Oliver's "Uses of Sorrow" - "some one I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too was a gift". I think I will have that poem with me for the rest of my life.
This question gets the same answer as question 6; I want to lose weight, but I also want to feel better about myself in general. The other day, I watched a video where Lena Dunham gave an overweight girl advice about confidence. She talked about how when she was at her smallest, she was also her most unhappy, because she was so obsessed with food. Lena said that it's important to find something every day to feel good about, so that's what I'll try to do. At the end of the day, I'll reflect on one thing I did that makes me feel good and proud.
I want to feel more peaceful and focused, less scattered. To live, in the words of Dr. Brene Brown, more wholeheartedly and authentically. I feel like I flit along on the surface of life, sometimes, not diving in and living deeply, richly and gracefully as I say I want to do. What does that look like anyway? Maybe this is the year to find out... "Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen." Brene Brown
Contemplate on important issues overnight (at least) Before making a decision or acting. Weed trivia out of the importance garden.
Build some better disciplines around contemplative prayer and meditation, as well as physical activity. I need to get back in the practices that help me still my racing mind and be more in the present. "You don't have to see the whole staircase to take the fire step. "
I would like to stop drinking as much. It has become a crutch and a way to anesthetize myself, and it is beginning to affect my relationship with Rowan. I have only shared this thought with Brian, and he suggested the SMART recovery system as a secular, scientific approach to dealing with addiction. It feels like an important battle to fight, partly for my own health and partly so that I can live the example I want to set for my son.
I would like to improve my physical and mental health. I would like to get to the gym and also practice yoga in the manner of Amy Weintraub.
Not sure. Opt for happiness. Give more of myself. I always want to be happy. Try not to be selfish. In terms of advice... I can't think of anything right now, but I do see a close friend living her dream and going hard to achieve it and I really admire it. Be tenacious.
I will get into better shape. It feels good to be healthy. Additionally, I think I am going to redefine myself to an extent, since my diagnosis of HSV, I'm realizing I can't live my life the way I did (or the way I perceived myself as living it). The best advice I have seen this year... Take a beer. Watch some cats to give you hope. Forgive yourself. Go back to work. I also like to remind myself... if I get caught in the mire, just forget everything, figure out what one thing I am doing, and focus on doing that thing (only!) until it is done. Forget & focus.
I would like to take better care of my body! Vegetables! Less sugar! Exercise! -Walking with friends! -Swimming! -Dancing! -Yoga!
I would like to become more disciplined and more effective. I suppose Jeff's council in Italy can help to guide me: "Just keep making decisions, it doesn't even really matter if they're not right. Just keep making them" And Sam: "Discipline starts you off, but habit keeps you going"
I want to do better with my insulin or else I want to get real actual help for my ED. I know how dangerous it is to yo-yo with it and I need to keep reminding myself of that. That I'm okay with insulin. That I need it to be healthy which in turn will make me happy. I wish I could have told myself that this year but I'm not sure I would have listened.
I am severely unhappy due to a multitude of factors. My life would be greatly improved if I could take very specific steps to change it, but my job is all consuming, leaving me very little room for creating a new routine (especially with regard to exercise and diet), which in turn exacerbates my ability to have a fulfilling social life. I do not need guidance, I know exactly what steps to take to make my life better, but I am unable to step away from work enough to find that balance.
Better health habits (diet and exercise). Better routine. More balance. No new advice. Just to keep on keeping on.
On his birthday this year, I promised Mike I would be more adventurous this year. I would like to continue to make that a reality. I've embraced the new energy I have through yoga and hiking. I would like to do more hiking, take physical risks (maybe a zip line or something?). For years I've seen the quote "Do one thing every day that scares you." Maybe I should make that my mantra for the year.
I want to keep my recent commitment to fitness. In the long term it is going to be so important to exercise regularly in order to not only set an example for my daughter but to make life easier as I get older. My body is already less forgiving in my thirties than it was when I was in my twenties.
I would like to work harder on my passions and push myself to go beyond my comfort zone. I think the piece of advice that I will use is that you only live once and that I am still young enough to fail and get back up again.
I would like to spend more time going to services this coming year. I didn't attend as often this past year. I would also like to read Torah and Haftarah more often than I am doing now.
I would like to be more at peace with who I am and who I am not. I would like to act from a place of confidence rather than eagerness to please. I was at that place once but the abuses of my father destroyed it. I would like to return to that place, this time with the knowledge that even a person as meaningful in my life as he is cannot take it away from me, cannot confuse my inner understanding of my own worth. I know I can get back there. It has been over two years now, a treacherous journey, but I am beginning to see now that I have been going somewhere, even when I was lost. At the first moment it felt like my life had been severed, that who I was before was killed by what he did. But she didn't die. I have been nursing her these years and now it is time for her to leave the convalescent home. It is time to re-become myself and live the good, hard life I've always known I'm capable of living.
A piece of advice I recieved and think of all the time: always look on the half full glass and not on the hslf empty. And another advice: be brave and try to get what you want - ask what you want to achieve. you already have the no. But what if you'll get the yes??? This year my goal is to achieve all that I wish for: succeed in my job, be in a serious relationship that might bring to a wedding, and make my parents happier!
I want to try hard, be ambitious, don't be shy, and do my best. Sometimes I feel like I convince myself that I am trying my hardest, but I'm not always sure if that's true. I need to step out of my box and push myself to always do better.
I learned plenty of lessons this year, from traveling to dealing with my mom's cancer, but the most important thing I got was: Keep Moving Forward. It was a phrase that Walt Disney liked to use, and in any circumstance, it works. I'd like to improve my comedy and figure out how to hold work and all those other things, but it's definitely an issue of moving forward, no matter what happens.
I'd like to stop feeling as if I don't have any other choice but to work my life away. I commute 80 miles a day in some if the most hostile traffic in the country when I could easily work from home. I need to feel that I have the right to campaign for this. My friend, who seems to have the ability to find balance and as much time as she needs to do it all, asked me (incredulously) Why haven't you told them you can't do this anymore? Why indeed.
run faster & jump higher? I want to be more kind. More patient. There is no advice, just people I admire and I wish to emulate.
I'd like to build my confidence, from a professional standpoint. I don't assert myself as much as I should with my employees and this is important if I want to open and manage my own company. I'm a people pleaser more often than not, and I get spoken down to more than I should. It causes undue stress and dramatically affects my quality of life at work. I've been reminded for years by my brother Lucas to stick up for myself, and outside of the workplace, my confidence has grown as I've matured. And I will forever have my Dad's voice in my head, egging me on.
Maybe I'll try to make my room more manageable. I think following the advice on Unfuck Your Habitat might be a good start.
I would like to feel confident and strong about setting boundaries with friends and family. I thought I had already learned and mastered boundary drawing but I have learned this year that boundary drawing is not something you master but a constant struggle depending on the context and on the relationship. My advice for myself is to stay true to myself, my priorities, and my self-care and slowly add in more as feels right.
I received advise on not worrying about everything, and not living as if I were alone in this world. I will try to do as advised.
Interesting that you ask, because I've been thinking about working to become more disciplined - and thinking of it sends me into a tailspin of self-recrimination that makes it even harder for me to do anything - yet I clearly need the discipline. I just recently remembered that when I have been similarly stuck in the past, the way out was with aggressive self-compassion and self-care. So, I think the first step towards becoming more disciplined is to become disciplined about my self-care, after which I believe I'll be able to add my house and my office without going negative.
Next year I would like to continue to grow and improve in my role at Henricus. So far it seems like my mom's advice of "Don't let the turkeys get you down" is the most appropriate, but not the most inspiring. I think last year I mentioned being more willing to pick up my phone. I still have trouble with that, but less cold chills and dread. I think I will become more proactive and willing to put myself out on ideas, meaning I will wake up and have a ton of things to bring to Henricus.
I would like to focus on becoming more present--less connected to my phone and more connected to the world around me.
Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness. I would like to not rush so quickly from one moment to the next, racing, overlooking the blessings of the present, that I feel the year has gone by in a blur. I remember the story Jane told us in yoga: about scuba diving and looking up to see the rain on the surface of the water. To encourage us to find the place of calm inside ourselves, the luminous space where we recognize the rain as ripples on the surface of an abounding calm. This year: look up to the surface, and feel grateful.
I want to spend more time validating my feelings and working on building constructively and feeling my feelings when i need to and less time beating myself up and feeling bad about feeling bad and not reaching out for help
I would like to get out of town more often for smaller trips, especially out into nature. I think it would do wonders for both my wife and I. Give us some perspective and release some stress. I think I'm a city guy, but every time I go out into nature I feel a million times better. A colleague basically goes off the grid with a bunch of friends almost every weekend. Maybe I could start trying that, either with him or on our own.
Ug. Same thing every year. I'm horrible. I need to get off my ass and lose this weight already. I have zero will power. I have little motivation. I am hurting myself every day by being overweight. I don't need to be skinny -I'm totally fine knowing that I never will be. I just want to know that I'm healthy internally. I want to give myself the best chance at a long life. I want to have all the years I can with my partner. He deserves a healthy me. I deserve a healthy me.
I want to improve my Spiritual condition by listening to those whom have a a condition I want. I want to investigate other spiritual paths available to me. I want to improve my physical health by having my heart valve replaced. Then I wish to return to my biking. I want to encourage B to find a retirement path that will give her peace, serenity and security. Paul S, Ralph W. Norman R. and Betsey have all offered me advice and counsel that centers around the 12 & 12 that supports and adds to my spiritual maintenance and growth. I trust this guidance will continue to assist in my spiritual maturitization.
I don't really like the word improve, when it comes to myself. I understand the idea of doing something better next time, of working toward productive and positive change, but to improve I feel indicates that there is some inherent deficit to who and how I am at the moment. Which I hope is not true. Recently I was told by a drop-in style mentor to not let the institution where I work stop me from being me. He said I should continue to pursue my passions, and do the activities that make me happy, and make me me. This got me thinking about the persona I present at work, and the obligations I feel to do extra things for work, or spend more time focusing on my supervisors priorities, or think about an issue a certain way, because that is how it is presented, portrayed, or supposedly affects the institution. Additionally, over the summer when seeking advice on how to handle the variety of overwhelming feelings that had bubbled up in me, I was advised to hold them softly. As much as I don't have any idea what that actually means, the more I think about it, the more it pops into my head as a response to various situations, and the more I play with it as applicable to me, the more useful I find it. Perhaps part of its use is that I don't know what it means and it encourages me to dig into that and play with the things that I don't understand.
I want to work on being brave, on speaking up for my needs and those of my son. This has become so much more important as I've realized I'm his advocate. The transition to daycare has been really rough because no one will ever take care of him quite like me, no one will ever love him as much as I do.
I would like the next year to be around my health. I realized over the last couple of days that I have not had truly pain free day in almost a year. To be able to get out of bed and get dressed without wincing would be amazing. you take it for granted when you can do it and it's been so long since I was healthy that you tend to forget what that feels like. I would like to focus on becoming the best possible version of myself that I can...both inside and out. I want to start doing yoga again. The best I have ever felt about myself was when that was a primary focus in my life. "What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it" -Unknown
It has always been important to me that my family like my significant other. When I asked my dad if he liked my current boyfriend, he said, "Well, the important question is whether YOU like him." In talking on the phone with an old friend who is getting married, I asked her why she likes being in a relationship. She said: It makes life richer and it fills you up.
Don't take myself so seriously. Listen attentively to others. Laugh many times each day. Lose weight (again)- see lst listing
I should turn my transmitter off and my receiver on more often. Not more listening, but better listening so I can hear what is not being said as well.
I want to behave with integrity and kindness. I think the most important thing for me to improve is my relationship with my husband. My best bet to do this is to be kinder and more tolerant and hope that he can show me the same generosity and respect.
Yes, the advice is quite simple... get your tujes out of the computer and have the house in better sahape.
I would like to be more organized and on top of work and home things than I have been. The best advice on this comes from my husband, who says, "Don't worry about priorities. If you are motivated to do something that needs doing, do it even if it isn't the most important thing. Something is better than nothing."
I long to respond to the call to go on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain but haven't yet received permission from the universe. But like the Israelites, I can prepare for the a Exodus so that when the moment comes, I am ready to leap.
My plate is not quite full enough. I talked it over with my darling son (33, handsome, smart, sweet and successful – if you happen to know of a nice [Jewish, I’m sneaking it in] girl . . .). He gave me suggestions: a book club (nope, my reading is private) – but all his other ideas are possibilities: another volunteer gig, maybe related to literacy; a general studies course at Columbia, maybe on art history; learning Hebrew and Talmud, finally.
I think I want to improve myself by doing less self improvement. This year, I've let myself be ruled by the lofty goals I set, and it's been kind of a hassle to keep up with all of them, as well as gotten in the way of other enjoyment of life. I feel like I am always folding cranes...
I would like our financial situation to be more stable. Our marriage is mostly good (well, our love life could use a nudge but part of that is worrying about finances so much), and our family is strong, so the one real area where we could use some major improvement is money. We don't need to be rich; we just need enough to pay the bills and save a little at the end of each month. (Not that we'd turn down riches if someone offered!)
Say yes to the challenging things and no to the easy things. Helping others causes has become easy, I need to say yes to my own cause. A touch of selfishness and personal fostering is in order. Allow yourself to be "difficult" or even "needy." You can't take care of anyone else if you haven't taken care of you.
Holistic Growth in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions. To expand my horizons and comfort zone by experiencing new things. "You can do anything, but not everything." To focus my efforts on a few things, to do them well, and to say no to the rest. Yet at the same time remain open to serendipity, and avoid being overly fixated on fixed goals.
I would like to be more comfortable talking to Senior management about the work of my group.
"If you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life." Everyone hears that phrase and just sort of blows it off because everyone wants to complain about their job, their boss, their commute etc... I want to strive to NEVER be that person. "I expect nothing less from you." That's a less common phrase that doesn't come from any novel. It comes from a person I admire, respect and love deeply. I have a close family friend that is my mother's old Jewish business partner from when she was in the garment industry. He has stayed very close to our family and I have always seen him as a great-uncle of sorts. He recently found out he has stage 4 bone cancer after he suffered a stroke (he is in his mid 70s). He lost most of his ability to speak but can still move about. Knowing that he is prideful individual who will refuse to accept that his body is weak since his mind is so sharp, I decided to email him instead of calling him to let him know I had purhased my first home, earned a promotion to corporate and partnered to purchase an investment property (all within the first 6months of this year). His response: "I expect nothing less from you." And that still brings tears to my eyes... I can tell how proud he is of me and how sincere his statement to me was. I could almost hear his laugh and see the smile on his face when I read that. So how does this answer the question? I want to continue to improve in all aspects of my life (career, family, friends) so when I achieve a new goal, overcome an obstacle or tackle an issue I can say to myself "I expect nothing less." Love you dearly, Mike. Thank you.
I like to believe that I'm a spiritual person, and I feel that I need to explore that more. I don't know what that means right now, or how that desire will manifest itself. But I feel the pull of needing to do it.
Although I still have a lot of anxiety in my life, I am definitely in a better place this year, and, upon seeing my answers from last year, I realize now that I did achieve a lot this year, mainly working toward my happiness and self-love. and that is the most important. Of course, my counselor is full of gems, like this time in my life is only a season, a phase, like I am not responsible for everyone's actions and attitudes, and if something they do is hurting me, I need to let it go, and like my fears are only as big as I let them become. I LOVE YOU DR. OLDHAM!
I would most like to improve my discipline in self care practices. In this I am already miles ahead of where I was last year, but I would like to be more consistent in my sleeping and waking times, for instance, or else very diligently responsive to my body's own particular rhythms. I would also like to have established disciplined and fruitful yoga and meditation practices, and an unwavering devotion to a healthful vegan, gluten-free diet, an natural foods diet. I would also like my commitment to mindful and sacred speech to be disciplined, and to have learned how to adhere to it even when speaking on the telephone with old friends and my immediate family. I would like to be well grounded in my ability to care for myself and my body as an instrument of worship and communication so that I may be a reliable source of nurturing and guidance for those who depend upon me. My mother gives me counsel to be compassionate toward myself relatively consistently. Ironically, compassion is, I believe, actually the seat of discipline, in that one needs to be compassionate for where one is in one's progress in order to be able to move forward, and one needs to begin with the understanding that neither sacrifice is not required. Discipline should always be inspired not imposed, and as long as we are not made to feel guilty about where we are, then we will be able to really begin where we are, and thus anything is possible.
Hey, fat ass. Stop eating cookies. Start moving more. Pretty much that.
I would like to have a better finances and be on the road to getting back on my own.
Becoming closer to God, praying more not just for help, but to praise Him for his goodness and blessings and His love toward us. Would like to have a church home and pay tithes. Would love to be able to play my piano again with gospel songs to the glory of God....was told to play again because it relaxes me and makes me feel closer to God.
Someone told me more than a year ago that we should 'grow where we're planted." I remember this almost every day!
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou
Be who you are. That's the only way to be the best at living your life and loving the life you live. Don't mistake family for blood or blood for family. Make your own sphere and it will always be a safe place for you.
I have become so work and family oriented that I have neglected myself. And I work in health care!!! My blood pressure and my labs are borderline, yet I continually postpone visits to my doctor. I know better - I SPECIFICALLY know better, and I still don't go. I see, on a daily basis, patients in similar states who have now had heart attacks , strokes, etc. This question has prompted me to acknowledge my egregious lapse. I have made an appointment for a physical and strongly encourage anyone who is reading this to do the same. Taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others begins with YOU.
Mind my own business and get my own dream on...
I need to fear less and risk more in seeking to accomplish tasks at work and in improving my contact with friends and family.
I would like to work less on things that are not the best and highest use of my time
As mentioned in another question, I'd very much like to be in a financially comfortable position in the next year. I want to be able to plan a trip to visit friends without having to be afraid it will leave me with less than 100 dollars to my name. Being financially comfortable in the next year, for me, includes: shouldering my student loan payments from my parents, being able to meaningfully contribute a portion of my salary to a retirement fund, savings fund, and investment fund, not being terrified the next adventure will leave me unable to even go out to the bar for drinks.
just keep letting go, stop making excuses and learn from the best. Surround myself with those I want to be like and let go of those who bring me down. If its not serving life, let it go
I think if I exercise more I will be a happier person. I think if I read more, or listen to podcasts, or continue to educate myself more then I will be a happier person. I also want to work on being able to listen to my friends, and letting them know that I really love them and appreciate them. That's a really hard thing to do
I would love to be able to stick with the exercise program I started this summer. I would be very happy if I can maintain this through all of next year
I want to lose weight, I want to be happy with myself. I no longer want to be completely ashamed of myself, my body, my status, my existence... The whole shebang, I need a brain/life lift. I don't know... I need to make a plan, and then stick to the bloody plan, to allow it to come to fruition.
I would flower to improve myself and my life by vetoing to the garage and away from my house all the way around the house. Advice I received was take down the pine trees.
maintain my low levels of chocolate and ice cream experiment with ginseng as a balancer continue to save energy/$$ by doing the serious laundry at night make my own vegetable stock for soups and stews this winter
Concentrate your efforts on getting clients. This is the concrete advise I received, be it obvious. Next year I hope to have 5 clients of my own and one showroom gathering the rest for me.
Relax. Be healthy. Take care of yourself first. Breathe. Feel your body, be comfortable in your skin. You exist, even if no one is aware or understands you. You are loved.
In recent years I have felt increasingly like life is dragging me along, like I don't have the degree of choice or control that I would like. Part of this is situational but part of it is up to me. I've been hurt by grief, loss, and disappointment, and those things have sapped my strength. I've become impatient and overly focused on forcing a result. I would like to be able to just do what needs to be done, and do the things I love, trusting that the good things will come of it. I've gotten into a cycle of spending a disproportionate amount of time trying to avoid and relieve pain and discomfort. I'm very lucky I don't have any dangerous addictions, or I don't know where I'd be. I end up wasting time and energy dealing with the fact that just being alive hurts so much sometimes. I keep waiting to feel better, thinking that when that happens, I'll be able to take action. But I know that the truth is, it works the other way around. The vicious cycle of depression is that you feel unable and unwilling to do the exact things that would help you the most. I've grown weary of most advice, because so often it's in service of a fix-it. In other words, it's about making the problem go away rather than learning how to work through it more effectively. People are so uncomfortable with pain that they try to make it disappear, and that never works; in fact, it makes things worse. I recently came across an article online called 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose. The first question is, "What’s your favorite flavor of shit sandwich and does it come with an olive?" I find that really helpful because it acknowledges that sometimes, life just sucks, and what you have to do is figure out how to minimize or become better at facing the suckitude. It may sound pessimistic, but to me it's liberating. Having to pretend that nothing's wrong can be more painful than facing what is wrong.
I would like to continue to get better at self care. More sleep, more vegetables, less exhaustion, less on my plate. I admire my friend Rachel so much - she has found balance in her life as a mom of two, and partially because she took some things off of her plate. I want to learn from her example so that I can enjoy what I have earned.
Stumped on this one.
I would exercise regularly and work when at work not at home. work at work.
I would like to learn to swim for health, enjoyment, physical therapy rehabilitation, and personal safety. Not minding how I look in a bathing suit would be a good start.
Don't try to be perfect. Share your vulnerabilities. Be yourself.
Trust the process. It is only temporary. I tend to worry about things that are out of my control, I really need to be more proactive about doing what I need to do and then let it go. I may retire by the time this arrives next year, and it would be good to be calm and trustful
I think I will take one day at a time and get the most out of each one.
Me gustaría ser mejor con el estudio y tener mas responsable con mi vida, por ejemplo mi auto y otras cosas
What would you choose? Awareness. Notice and choose. Constant vigilance. Breathe. Love your lungs. Me=>We. Multiverse. Marginal gains. Butterfly effect. Overdetermination. What is the desired outcome? Vision. Peace. The long view. Greater life for all. Give more value. Remember what's your stuff and what's their stuff. Breathe. Move. Energy flow. Release tension. Open up. Breathe deeply. Find areas of stagnation and breathe new life into them. Stretch. Enjoy every moment. Now. Exist. It is what it is. Breathe. Awareness. Noticing. Choosing. Being.
Get off the fear train. Stop trying to please everybody, while remaining open-hearted, compassionate. They are not the same thing. Be clearer about my intentions. Come back to my intention regularly. Laugh more. Lots more. Be happy as well as serious. Soften.
I want my daughter to be safe, stable, and assuming personal authorship of her beautiful and vibrant teen-aged life. I want to be acting in accord with my belief that we are all here to use our personal gifts to improve the lives of all whom we encounter. The Jewish Buddhist philosopher, Norman Fischer, teaches this: Turn all mishaps into the path. Drive all blames into one. Be grateful to everyone. See confusion as buddha and practice emptiness. Do good, avoid evil, appreciate your lunacy, pray for help. Whatever you meet is the path.
I want to own myself up more to people, I tend to hide things and pretend that everything's fine and dandy even when I'm dying inside. I know I need to trust the people in my life more to not to run when they find out how messed up my childhood was, and instead support me. I know I can trust them not to, but sometimes I still feel like they would just leave once they did out about my shit-ton of baggage that's been loaded on me from my dad.
My dad always says that the only thing you have left at the end of the day is your integrity. And I really want to improve my integrity. I want to be true to who I really am and start fresh in university. I want to be honest with myself and with those around me and strive to live healthier and happier.
1. I'd like to be a better parent. More nurturing, less quick to judge, less impatient. Kinder. Warmer. More forgiving. Less overtaken by the stresses of day-to-day life. 2. I'd like to be more grateful. 3. I'd like to be a better wife-- more open-minded, more supportive, more giving. Not exhausted by the time we get to be together. More giving. 4. I'd like to be a better sister. I think I feel insecure when I think about my sisters, and I am wasting our relationship feeling that way. I need to stop being so fucking judgmental. 5. I need to assume the positive in other people. What if I treated the world as if other people wanted the best for each other? How would that reshape my viewpoint?
I'd like to improve my physical and financial fitness. My extended underemployment and illness left me in pretty bad shape in both of those. Both are extremely important to me in order to live the kind of life I want to live and for the number of years I'd like to live it. I want to return to running and run 15-20 miles per week by this time next year, perhaps completing another half-marathon in 2:15 or better. And I'd like to reduce my credit card debt by at least 50% (and be credit card debt-free within 2 years). My friend's advice to not say "I'm TRYING" and instead say "I AM" will help me achieve these goals.
Remember that life is short, but that work is a marathon. Don't burn bridges but stand your ground. Fight ignorance and fear even in myself. And most of all appreciate all the people in your life.
Get more organized, which I am working on. Once I feel like pieces of me aren't all over the place I can feel more settled and more calm.
I want to improve my relations with people. I don't want to lose the essence of who I am - my sarcasm and biting humor aren't bad things. But I think they need to be tempered by my feeling side. I usually hide the sensitive and affectionate side of myself, but in reality, I long to show affection to those I love. I think I'd be a much better person if my acerbic nature was paired with my fierce devotion.
I just read the statement, "Do not stay where they tolerate you. Go where they celebrate you." Given where I was in my career and where I have made changes, I hope that next year when I read this, I will still feel celebrated. I'm grateful for finding a place I feel like I belong. I will use this frame of reference for my children as they have to make decisions about what works for them in their lives.
Continuing to live life to the fullest. Not taking anything for granted. Living within my means. Life is to short.
Just live. Honestly, just live. Sometimes making mistakes or making questionable decisions is the only thing you can do. Stop trying to make everything perfect all of the time. Life is about doing things that are fun and that make you happy. Get out of your head for a minute and try something new. Don't stick with the "safe" route. Just live.
I have stopped smoking! Now I want to get in better physical shape. That's priority #1, and the most clearly defined. I am currently taking stock of my life in a number of ways -- career, living situation, priorities. The biggest piece of advice I have received lately is to take small steps. Any large change is a series of small steps. I can so easily be overwhelmed by the big picture when I forget this.
I would like to get more emotionally grounded, and not rely on others for happiness. I know I say that every year but... I also want to get more of a friend group. I feel I have the start of one and want to expand that
I would like to take time to reflect, pause and de-stress. I want to maintain a sense of inner peace and calm that allows me to focus on the moment, without anxiety. I received advice that I need to be more open, and stop trying to direct all of life's waves. I need to allow certain things to happen to me, and be honest with those feelings: such as love, such as openness, such as surprises. I need to react to surprises, even if they appear disappointing, with a sense of peace and openness to the pattern of the world. I want to be more receptive, and especially more receptive to the right people and things.
I want to learn how to love deeply and firmly. I want to be in better control of my impulses and I want to continue living like there is no tomorrow.
I learned this during the Rosh Hashanah service at Sixth & I, from the Reconstructionist Judaism prayerbook we were reading from. We are created in God's image, and one way of understanding this is that each human life is the lens through which God could be, act, and see on earth. So, let God work through you as the instrument and your lifetime as the measure; live your life to honor the divine, create harmony, and spread love. Listen to your innermost being, and listen to the world around you. Respond, don't react. Be the light.
I would like to sell my home and move into a financially affordable place. I would like to get my finances under control with the help of my FA.
I was recently asked, "why are you in such a rush?" The answer is I don't know. I actually thought I was moving at a sluggish pace, but from the outside, to this person, I was hell bent on making a change now. And while I still think I need to make a change, I'm realizing that I just need to be present in the moment and give myself time.
I'd like to let the little things roll off my shoulders. I'm very OCD about certain things. If I misplace something I go crazy and rip my home apart several times. I feel such relief once I locate what's missing but somethings do not show up and it drives me crazy! Let it go or Never give up are words to live by I think? I would also like to get more involved with the Jewish Community-It's a bit family and who can ever have too much family/support?
Again, weight loss. Just that extra 20 #. Words I have taken to live by: When you know better, you do better.
I would like to carry on working on being open and communicative. I'm trying to not run away so much
I want to do things that mean things. I wonder how much of that is doing something different, vs. how much is just infusing meaning into what I'm doing?
I am hoping to be more open to meetin gpeople in their lives and less stuck in my life- physicall y I want to be more healthy- mentally less distressed- spiritually more faithful- God is God- thankfully- I am not-
Biggest risk and danger is my overweight. Losing 20-30 pounds could make a big difference. Advise and counsel probably but I have forgotten it.
I want to start living my own life, and be free of drama. My mom had always told me that no one else has to live my life and no one else has to pay my consequences, make my decisions according to me.
I wish I would have told myself that being strong and perseverant isn't necessarily the best or most important thing. I've come to realize that happiness stems from within rather than from those around me. I want to be able to accept that although I may be different, and have good intentions, society won't always see them and see the surface which isn't what is necessarily desired. I need to stop blaming myself for this. I am a good person, and I have good intentions, whether others see it or not.
I need to quell my bad habits. These include: -Smoking -Procrastinating -Making excuses -Blowing off my work -Negative self-talk The most powerful words of advice I received were from a rabbi who counsels me. She told me to take the path of least resistance - that I need to stop making my own life more complicated. All of the above complicate my life every day. I need to work on it.
Waste less of my precious time ... eat better, exercise more consistently... not get irritated at my beloved spouse... Some good advice was the reminder that this is a long haul, no point in getting frazzled to do it all at once. You can't run a marathon in an hour.
Getting fitter and healthier - I know I'm lazy, but I don't like being fat and not being well has held me back a bit this year. I've tried the acceptance how you look route, but I'm very good at it, and I'd just like to like myself. Doing more creative stuff - music, writing, sewing, acting, baking, anything I can - and somehow trying to find a way to make enough money to live on doing something creative!
I need to remember to be present in every moment and not spend my time worrying about what is to come. I bought an inexpensive ring that has these words of scripture etched onto it: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 If I am always worrying about tomorrow, how can I truly enjoy today?
I keep my own counsel. I'd like to be in my own creative living and working space. DON'T STOP BELIEVING
Keep up the yoga. Develop a more consistent home practice. The yoga is good. You can follow it all the way to the end. Show up. Soften at the breastbone. Don't take stress in the joints. Only move into the space that is available.
I would most like to be organized. My home, my finances, my life. I'd like to be more social which would mean inviting people to our home. I can't think of any advice or counsel I've had in the past years. I seem to have distanced myself from my advisors, not always by my choice. Advice I've often given myself but have not yet heeded is "less is more." My hope is that this will be the year.
I would like to solve the "blank page" problem that I constantly have. There are many things I would like to try, I would like to actually try one or more of them rather than just thinking about which one would be most fun/rewarding/useful/etc. Brew the first batch of beer, build something, make the website ... it doesn't matter what it is, just do something.
"Everything that someone says to you is completely about them and everything that you say to anyone is completely about you."
By this time next year I would like to be in better shape physically. This is important to me less for aesthetics than for quality of life. There are things I would like to do but need to be in better physical shape in order to do them. I would like to work for increased strength, endurance and flexibility so that I can accomplish these things. More importantly, if I am to be the best servant I can be for God I need to take the best care of myself and so keep myself in readiness for service. Advice about moderation needs to be more fully implemented.
I used to have a simple motto of 'choose happiness'. I haven't been able to do that this year. There have been times when I've thought to myself 'if you won the lottery right now, and could do anything, with anyone, what would you do?' and the answer has still been to sit and cry. That's got to change. So, I need a new motto, or bit of advice. I haven't found one yet, but a letter from Stephen Fry to a fan that compares moods to the weather is a good start: "It really is the same with one's moods, I think. The wrong approach is to believe that they are illusions. They are real. Depression, anxiety, listlessness - these are as real as the weather - AND EQUALLY NOT UNDER ONE'S CONTROL. Not one's fault. BUT They will pass: they really will." I'm starting to get help now. I had a telephone assessment this morning, which has led to me being signed up for a CBT class. I'm not going to carry on thinking I can ignore the problem and it will go away. I'm going to fight.
Pay better attention to my wife. Admire her out loud, so it's not a secret or surprise to her. I realized recently that (in a world of DVRs) I can stop and look and listen when she or anyone else talks to me -- and pay attention THROUGH what they're saying, and not have equal or greater attention focused on "when is this going to be over so I can get back to what I was doing?" Paying Attention is one of the most powerful gifts we have to bestow on others.
Organization! I would like to be a little more organized and a little more healthy in the coming year. I feel like I never have enough time to get everything done in a day, such as exercising. Maybe if I was better organized? Here's hoping that next year I will have lost a little weight, gotten a little healthier and a lot more organized in my personal life.
I would like to reorder my life and develop a routine for my new retired state. I have been unfocused and drifting through each days. I need some new goals and a schedule of some sort.
I hope that I have stopped my nasty summer habit of smoking and that I'm living life more freely of stress. I hope that I am also still thriving in my current relationship. Traveling more wouldn't hurt either.
There are countless ways in which I would love to build myself. I want to become a more effective time manager, I want to be debt free, I want to read more-both for growth and for pleasure. I think my biggest improvement to make is to become more decisive and assertive in my life. To really chase what you are passionate about with conviction and clarity is a beautiful damn thing in any person, but doubly so in women. It's such a rare thing in this world, and I want to have it for myself so when I leave this place I know without a doubt I lived in it as full and as thoroughly as I could, and made things happen for myself and those around me. 'If not me, then who? If not now, then when?'
The answer to the latter part of the question is a sad no, because I don't have anyone on this earth to guide me. My mother and daddy and two eldest brothers are deceased, my other brother and I are not very close, I don't attend a church so I don't have a pastor or church family, and I don't have a husband. I have a few friends and we give each other a shoulder to cry on and advice of sorts but I can't think of any one thing in particular. I miss having a church family and I miss having a best friend that I can really feel close to, trust, and open up to. Of course I have had the bible and the Holy Spirit to guide me every day and my own conscience and I try to do what is right but still my answer is no. Now back to how I would like to improve myself and my life next year: The first thing that came to mind, and this is a big one that has been ongoing for years. and that is to lose my excess weight and become healthy with some sort of exercise regimen and eating healthy. I am 62 1/2 years old and I have been overweight all my life and I have been obese all of my adult like and I AM SICK OF IT! Today I weigh 288.5 pounds. I would like to lose 100 pounds by this time next year. I would like to be completely not using Aspertame and if I'm still drinking coffee, I would like to not be using but just a teaspoon or two of creamer in it. I would like to be eating smaller, more healthy portions and be moving around more, walking or something. I want to be off my blood pressure, thyroid, and other medicines and in general be more healthy. That would be a doable loss of 2 pounds a week for 50 weeks. I need a miracle. I know God can’t do it for me but he can give me the continued motivation and willpower to see it through and maintain it. And of course as I alluded to in the first part of this answer and in a previous answer, I want to become closer to God and find a home church to become part of. I would like to get out of the rut I have been in for years--out of the wilderness so to speak--and discover where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing. I will be retirement age in 3 1/2 years and besides having no money to do anything, I don't know for sure what I should do. I hope by this time next year it is all clearer to me and I am moving forward. I would like to be improved financially somehow as well, not just for myself but also to help others and to start consistently paying tithes. I don't know how but God can show me. And I would like to learn the Spanish language. That in itself may be a God given desire that has something to do with my future.
I want to continue to build a positive outlook. I let this past year get a strong hold on me and it drug me down. It took me taking a step back reevaluating what was important and starting again to wake me up. I was told by a friend that things happen for a reason and that worrying and letting life get too firm a grip on you is for nothing. And I believe that, although, he didnt really practice what he preached. His words were enough to give me the perspective I needed. I hope that thought resonates with me throughout the next year.
I would like to be more driven. Advice...apply yourself everyday. If you're not working hard for it, you must not want it badly enough.
In the next 6 months I would like to have all my credit card debt gone. In a year, I'd like to have my personal line of credit/home improvement loan paid off. My car will be paid off in two years. Depending on how my daughter's homeowner experience goes, I'd like to have my house on the market, move in with her as an interim stage until my final move to Oregon. After losing my friend, my aunt, my little dog, and assisting my elderly uncle during the past year, I've realized how temporary my existence is-- how everything can change in an instant. I don't want to die wishing that I had tried to be a farmer. I'm on the downside of my life and if I'm going to do this thing, I have to do it NOW or I won't be able to physically achieve this dream. I must reawaken my creative side, it's been dormant so long. I feel like I've been cut off too long from half of who I am. My piece of advice-- get busy living, or get busy dying à la Shawshank Redemption.
Everyone can be better - it is a condition of an awareness of life and your own person. I can see how I have become much better and handling friends, children and situations and especially myself. Patience is not my virtue but I have dug it out and used it more often. I also know what I cannot do and I don't do it. I am not a joiner so I don't join. I am very solitary and reflect on why and I find the reasons reasonable. I consider how I got where I am and why I made bad decisions and how to face them and go ahead. Next year is its own tabula rasa.
I want to start practicing mindful eating. Half of the time I eat in front of the computer without paying any attention to what I'm eating. It always surprises me when my food is gone!
I recently read the 'Yes Man' by Danny Wallace...a friend recommended it as a form of advice, I guess. Saying 'yes' to more is a sure-fire way of improvement. I hope I'll be less negative by this time next year and I hope I will have experienced more good in my life by taking it on board.
I want to be calmer, and more confident that things will be OK, and be not so quick to panic.
In the next year, I would like to focus on my health because it has sort of taken a backseat to other priorities while in school, mostly due to time constraints and fatigue. There's nothing really wrong with me now, but I know how quickly that can change- and it's true- without health, you have nothing.
Make time for yourself. Your creative projects matter. Forgive yourself at the end of each day rather than berating yourself for whatever you didn't accomplish. Make time for friends. Be lavish with your expressions of warmth and love.
Continuing progress on the anxiety situation would be nice. I think the recognition that I can continue to drill down in a situation to ask "what's the worst thing about that potential outcome" is helpful. ----- "How do I get rid of the fear?" Alas, this is the wrong question. The only way to get rid of the fear is to stop doing things that might not work, to stop putting yourself out there, to stop doing work that matters. No, the right question is, "How do I dance with the fear?" Fear is not the enemy. Paralysis is the enemy. -Seth Godin
I need to start working out, knowing full well how much of a pipe dream that is.
I think doing well at college like I've been talking about is a huge key to improving my life. Not just for the typical reasons people list for going to college being good, but also because learning is just what I need to do at this point of my life. Every time I study is strangely fun and exhilarating, which means it's the right part of my path to be pursuing right now. So I would like to see myself throw even more at it and turn it into the most important aspect of my life. I also want to have put more roots down. We have a home now, so I want to see us actually settle in. I want to see us actually feel at home in our home and our neighborhood. I think it would greatly help our state of mind, too. I also want to see myself have more friends. I think that would really help me accomplish the goals I want to accomplish, and I think it would do me good to try and not stay in my safe little bubble. I think the best advice I can give myself is to not be too hard on myself, and let the past lie. Future, too, actually. Just learn to not worry about things you can't change, dude.
Yes! "Surround yourself with good people" For WAY too long I tried to when over people that seemed to be more "successful" in ways I don't care about anymore - "good people" are genuine, warm, caring, mindful, more toward wellness, are authentic, self-examined. "good people" reduce suffering in th world.
This year I've been trying to take it "a day at a time"- and that's helped me work through cravings, get out of bed, go to work, cry, and have joy. It has kept me in touch with my feelings- or at least aware when I'm having them or checking out. What I have not gained through living it one day at a time is a greater sense of my place in the world or my path. I want to continue one day at a time this next year but also place that day into the bigger picture of life and meaning- so that I can keep growing and seeing where I am moving towards in my life.
I would like to keep losing weight, even if it's slowly. I need to follow the general life advice of grabbing the bull by its horns and move faster with my plans for things like rec center gym membership and investing in a good bike. I can't let the doubts of others hold me back forever.
Go to therapy. Let go of other people's shit. You can only control your own actions and not other people's reactions. I need more yoga. And I need to let it go. Everything else will come in time. I don't want my rage issues to define me. And I think that the baby steps of fixing that would make me really content. The body issues, the OCD cleanliness, etc --> that'll come in time.
Stop feeling guilty for feeling guilty. Slow down. Take time for myself. Be specific about what I want to achieve, and go for it.
Exercise, exercise, exercise. Be even more choosy about what I do and who I spend my time with. Listen to my gut.
Over the next year I would like to improve a lot. There are three main areas: School Organization Relaxing School, pretty easy. I just want to stay on top of my grades and my studies, etc. and just be a well rounded- college-ready student. Organization- ANIT-PROCRASTINATION DOMINATION yall. aka i want to get my shit in order and make my life make sense for once. Relaxing: When I went to the hand doctor last week, he literally told me this: "Hannah i've known you for 2 minutes and I can tell you're an intense person. You just need to relax a little and you'll get better." And ultimately, that is the advice I want to take. JUST RELAX A LITTLE. I also just want to put this quote out there: "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." Benjamin Franklin Also good luck with AP Lang
I would like to approach everything with more energy and focus. All the words of Alex Jefferson and my counselors about "ruach, kavana, achdut, ahavah" this summer could help guide me in this.
I want to procrastinate less. it f-cking kills me every time, and I keep doing it. hell, I'm doing it right now.
I'd like to complain less, read more, learn more, watch TV less, trust G-d more.
I want to be more mindful and spend more time in the moment stop over scheduling and always be on the move and not enjoying time with my love
I learned just this week that I can trust and find strength in the universe and myself. If I breathe and stay calm, and trust myself, I can do anything.
I would like to be calmer. Things have a way of working out- I've always been telling myself that- and yet there are moments when I doubt that and it sends me into a downward spiral of anxiety and stress and doubt. People around me constantly tell me that I can relax, that I need to relax, and usually I smile and I'm calm for that second but what goes on inside my head doesn't stop. The piece of advice that will carry me through is "everything will be okay."
Be true to yourself. To thine own self be true. All the variations thereof. I hope that this is more of a habit and takes less conscious effort to follow.
I want to continue to be more vulnerable and open in my relationships. I would tell myself to not be afraid to ask any question that is on my mind.
Be me open and inviting. Allow my self to be vulnerable and accept others into my life.
I'd have to say: trust myself more. Trust my instincts and be more honest with myself haha! Learn to let go of toxic people in my life and take breaks when I'm feeling stressed/tired. It's okay to be demanding too! It's okay to ask more of people for attention or to hear you out. I found that I need to talk to my boyfriend and mom more. My mom knows lots of stuff and I need to get all the info as I can get! And for my boyfriend, I found that by talking to him, I become more relaxed. It is good to have a chubby for companionship and support. And most of all; remember that I can make time for anything, as long as I want it. You can always make more money but you can't make more time.
I think I'd like to be better at sleeping while I have a lot of things to consider on my mind. I've heard a lot of random advice but I haven't actually followed any of it except for the drinking warm milk one (doesn't really work though).
I want to spend less time on my phone. I know that FaceBook is a time suck, so I'm going to set parameters around when I look at it: five minutes before 10am, five minutes between 10am-2pm, five minutes between 2pm-8pm, and five minutes after 8pm. Less on Shabbat.
Getting a clear sense of my financial situation.
WRITE LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER. It's time for me to start writing my story. I'm starting here. NOW.
I would like to live my values more actively in the day to day. I value patience, flexibility, forgiveness, nuance, openness -- I would like those values to show up more clearly in my choices. Advice I recently received was to take to heart the Rilke suggestion to live the questions now. To start from curiosity about what might stand in my way, about how my life might be different if I made small different decisions particularly in moments of challenge.
Mostly, I'd like to reassess and alter my lifestyle choices... I want to cut my alcohol intake...up my exercise ...get back in the pool more often. I'd also like to improve my relationship with my partner which isn't always easy as we have completely opposite personalities. We were separated for two years so we still have a lot of work to get back on track. Yet, this is a joint venture so we both have to put the work in. If things don't improve in our relationship this year we may have to consider whether we are really suited. The one piece of advice that will guide me is that I can't make all the changes at once.
I'd really like to take better care of myself moving into the next decade of my life. I'll be turning 30 next year, and I feel I've spent the better part of my 20s running myself into the ground because I thought I could take it and reassured myself that it was only temporary. I don't want to carry this mindset into my 30s and would like to carve out more time in my schedule for self-care by including more spiritually stimulating activities and outlets for physical stress.
Create an identity that is more in line with what I know about myself and not what I've heard from other people, especially people that are abusive and negative. The advice I received was to ignore the tape that plays in my head which was recorded over 20 years of an abusive and dysfunctional marriage. Instead I need to play the tape of what I know to be true about myself at that very moment.
I hope to have become better organized with my finances and time management, so that I can focus more of my time and money on the things that are truly important to me and my family. I didn't receive any specific advice, but losing two friends and several acquaintances has made me even more acutely aware of how short and precious our life on Earth is. I want to die without regrets.
Get my shit together: looking and feeling fit, clear headed, purposeful, mindful, authentic
There is always room for improvement.. mentally and psychologically I think I've come a long way, and I don't think I really need to change that. I'm more of a listener now and I feel like I'm a more genuine person. I would like to improve my fitness in the next year, but I'm also like 130 lbs so it's not like that needs too much fixing either. I want to live more. No one has ever laid on their deathbed and wished they studied more. But my studies lead to a degree that could potentially help positively change the world, so a balance is necessary.
I would like to improve my life financially. My grandmother's last words to me were, "You make your own money then those people cannot control you." I have allowed myself to be controlled and for people to tell me my worth through their words and through diminishing my contributions in the workplace. My hope is that by this time next year I am valued as an employee and that I am in a role that is paying over $100k. That will be a milestone for me and then I can pursue the next great thing.
Exercise daily in addition to the nutritional changes I have made in the last twelve months to stay even more healthy with the changes I have made. Yes, physicians' guidance and for my own personal mental, emotional and physical strength !
In the next year I would like to improve my focus. This sounds and broad and cliched but it is something I wish to do. Like my people my age I suffer from procrastination. This can be a simple as looking out a window or all together stopping what I am doing. Thanks to the wonderful device known as my iPhone distractions is never mor than an armreadh away. I hope to be a more focused individual I want to be able to fully block out all the background noise around me and focus on my work that needs to get done. Frequently I run out of time to do activities I like simply because I take far too long on things that shouldn't take more than thirty minutes. I beleive if I can more fully focus on the things I need to do I will have more time to do the things I love and I will be a more balanced individual.
I would like to improve myself in the next year my getting a sponsor in al-anon and making progress on being present instead of worrying about the past or the future (or both!). I think that's a transformative act and one that would be such a welcome improvement for me. One piece of advice would be (sort of tongue in cheek) was "Just chill girlie, and trust yourself."
I want to have lower expectations and be less disappointed by people. That sounds awful to say, but my expectations for those around me and myself are hurting relationships and making me crazy. If you don't expect anything, everything's a happy accident.
Read in my field more in areas I am interested. Change jobs or resign because this job is too stressful. Exercise more for my health. Read more about my health issues without becoming fearful. Be able to give and receive love more easily, and therefore become less judgmental. Best advise---be mindful of every moment, whether in meditation or in life and check your experience of the event against the facts and the real consequences/results without catastrophizing. Become more consise (LOL) Be alive.
I would like improve my life by carving out time for myself in the next 12 months. I got this piece of advice this year, "Put your own oxygen mask on first"....meaning as family members, mothers, etc. we often 'do without' so that the other people in our lives get what they want. It is killing me slowly...mentally, physically, and emothionally.
Np: I would like to be more patient and calm. There is a teacher I watch who I could model myself on. Jp: I would like to not get quickly over angry about minor inconveniences in my home life. I don,t "sweat the small stuff" generally at work but somehow do at home. Rs: More. More. More. One word. It,s not always good but it,s always more.
How I'd like to improve myself.... learn more about what corporations are doing to be sustainable. Advice I have received is 'Do what you want to be doing, don't just look for a job that might have that as part of its functions.'
I want to be a happier person and a more relaxed person. I want to be more at peace with myself and my life. I want to be a lot nicer and friendlier with everyone that I meet. I want to be as open as possible and never see people with judgement, but with kindness. With regards to my life, I want to be out of the job I am at now and on to adventures that actually make me happy rather than anxious. I want to be living my life to please myself, and to achieve my own goals, not to work for horrible people in order to get to a far-off goal of saving money for travels - I want to travel NOW. I want to be guided by the belief that everything will work out somehow and that life isn't over until it's over, so whatever happens in between is not actually that serious, which I should stop making it out to be.
I want to see my confidence and self-trust improve over the next year. I think improvement in these areas will help me to continue living my life in accordance with my values. One piece of advice I recently received was to always to always be authentic self. I think authenticity is essential in this process.
I feel very adrift at the moment. I'm facing a lot of uncertainty -- I'm not sure how long to stay at my current workplace, when to ask for more money, when to move on. I want to start the process for my husband and myself to adopt a child. I have so many beginnings looming on my horizon (and endings), and it feels so very overwhelming -- especially at my age. And I say that and it feels stupid because I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to wish we had accomplished some of these things already and I'm old enough to fear that some of the things I desperately wanted to do in my life won't happen. Mainly in the next year I just want to feel like I'm moving toward SOMETHING instead of just treading water.
Didn't we just answer this one? Full disclosure: that was my thought upon reading this question, so I closed the window and went on with life. Now in a fit of pique, on Day 10, not-very-solemn-nor-reflecting, I'm returning to fill in the two blank answers from Day 7 and Day 8. Advice or counsel: what has stuck with me from this past year? The only thing I've got is that bit from Harold Ramis, via some apocrophyl rabbi: Start each day with two pieces of paper in your pocket. One says "this day was created especially for you" and the other says "you are a tiny speck in a vast and infinite universe" or something to those effects. Keep them both with you, because they are simultaneously true and neither is true. (The punchline probably included both truth values, but I don't see why it needs to.) Wouldn't it be nice to be beautifully zen and peaceful in social situations, especially around the small exasperating children who push me past my serenity set point, instead of merely when I'm by myself? Maybe I could improve that.
Get out of your way. Do that thing you want to do. To sum it up: Be a fucking wolf. Be a fucking lion. Take no shit. Set goals. Smash them. Eat people's faces off. Be a better person. Show people who the fuck you are. Never apologize for being awesome. Stay the motherfucking course I saw this online one day....and it stuck with me hardcore. I have it on my mirror in my room and I read it daily. I'm hoping that one day (soon) it penetrates my depression ridden head and gets in there enough to stay.
I would like to continue moving forward and growing. I am learning in therapy that feelings don't require me to *do* anything. Growth, however, does.
0 fucks (where applicable). Or, the opposite if it's something I'm try passionate about
I feel very fortunate to be extremely happy with my life as it is right now. I just hope to continue being satisfied with everything. This time next year.
In addition to the answer from yesterday, I would like to find my passion - my passion at work. I would like to discover what it is I want to do for the rest of my career. Some advice that was given to me this week is to be the absolute best employee I can be in my current role while deciding what I want to do in the future. I hope I will know that in a year.
I would like to be a more spacious person. Yes, to simply live with more space inside myself - spiritually, mentally, physically. To just be spacious. To expand and make more room for silence, connectedness, spaces in between things. To not fill everything all the time and be so crowded and so pressed.
I want to work in my own project but i know i need more money to start, so this could happen next year (i hope so). It was a tip from my teacher, the men is too wise: don't give up no matter how hard the situation become, because you learn from every single one.
I need to be less angry. Let go. Relax.
I want to be more positive, kinder, and bolder. I want to live my life and to avoid passivity. I will publish something. I will not let fear hold me back. I will sleep more, eat better, and exercise more regularly. I will take care of myself. Advice to Self: Stop making excuses. Do better.
I would like to become a better employee and a more dedicated friend. I want to stop speaking negatively of the people in my life.
I want to have more patience with my loved ones. I'm too quick to feel attacked and try to defend myself with harsh words and tones. I wish to be more patient, so I can realize that most of the times I feel attacked, I'm not actually being attacked, and therefore be nicer to those that I love
Let go of resentment against myself and others for mistakes and bad choices that were made by a less evolved person than I am now.
I want to relax more and live in the moment. The years are going by more and more quickly and life is short. You never know what might befall you or if you will get to the next year. I want to live my life knowing that I was present and accepted each and every moment just as they are.
More work, less play - or more appropriately, more constructive behavior and less "while away the time" behavior.
I need to act: getting clients figuring out how to help kids learn financial literacy fixing the climate dealing with my mom There's a lot on my plate.
I would like to plug back into my creativity in the coming year. My therapist Michael Barnett thinks that that is the missing piece for me. I want to get back into creating art as a spiritual practice - on a daily basis if at all possible. I want to feel creative and free again. I feel like it's been so long since I've felt that way.
As part of a continuation of the ongoing effort I have to be present, I would like to focus on doing singular tasks more than multitasking, both literally and split between literally what I'm doing and mentally where my headset. I'm coming to believe that it is indeed impossible to multitask, rather doing so is just looking like you're trying to do things at once and really you're doing nothing at all. So I'd like to focus more on doing one thing at a time and giving that thing all of my attention. And also like to go down the route tonight is life I begin to doesn't a surly have to be the same, but I'd like to make meditation, reading, and other intentional breaks regular parts of my daily routine. Lastly, in the spirit of focusing on one thing at a time, I'd like to give more attention to that thing and have less of an ADD-like approach. I'm not sure if I've become this way because the amount of work I've had to do in school and in turn the slow disconnect I began to grow with that work's purpose in my life; or maybe it's just a laziness I've developed. What I do know, though, is that while there is lots to do, the grass isn't greener, so I might as well focus and give due time to that which I'm doing now. I'd like to be able to say I gave it my best effort.
Be less arrogantly provocative and more curiously provocative. I like to have people think, but they won't think if I offend them -- most of the time that is. I wish I had my notebook, but Candice secretly wrote in it (paraphrased): he is out there. Don't give up.
Next year I would like to practice forgiveness. Forgiveness for myself for not being perfect, forgiveness for the totalitarian management at work, forgiveness for my husband and family when they don't meet my expectations, or rather, when I let them dictate that they and their happiness are more important than me and my health. Just forgiveness. Some of the best advice I have ever received, by a dear friend that passed away and was so much more influential than I realized, is "keep your chin up," which I intend to do.
So much of the valuable advice I receive comes in the form of sermons at church: Be content, generous, forgiving, obedient, respectful, patient and so on. My life improvement would be to work on those areas of my character. I also want to be a better more involved with my adult children. As we approach empty nest, I would like to see my relationship with my husband evolve and grow stronger.
My dad had a health scare this year and my boyfriend lost his father. I want to spend more time with my dad and make sure he knows how much he means to me. I'd like to be more patient. Life is too short to let the little things get to me the way they do.
I need to become more prompt. Even for Kol Nidre services tonight I was rushing to get there on time. Amidst my ever-busy life, I need to find the time, or get in the mindset, to build in some buffer time for where I'm going so I don't have to rush everywhere. I think it will make me a lot happier and I'm sure my friends and colleagues will appreciate it.
Go slowly. Take your sweet time and be patient. Do things deliberately with care and compassion, don't be rushed or rash- that's when you get into trouble. Be there for loved ones, and especially look out for yourself. Always tell the truth, even when it's painful or inconvenient. Follow love in every sense.
I want to take better care of my body.listen to the advice I give others
I would like this nascent spirituality and belief that life is truly as worth living as I thought it was when I was 25 to send down roots and to start revolutionizing my life. Advice: programmer, program thyself. Teach your unconscious spaces ot delight and celebrate and to know of deliverance to come, through enlightenment. BELIEVE, my friend. I know it is not your speed, but that is how the brain works BEST!
If it needs to be done, do it, don't wait. Stop procrastinating, but also, stop making ridiculous lists of things I'm not going to be able to get done.
I'd like to be more physically fit while at the same time be more accepting about my body and limitations. The advice to follow is enjoy life today and don't let the things you are working on hold you back.
Physically, I want to get back in shape and stay there permanently. I think the weather in New England is what threw me off what I had achieved and maintained. Now that I'm back in Florida, I should be able to maintain, once I get there. Professionally, I want to have all aspects of both businesses up and running and generating income. Personally, I want to be able to exert self control and be a better parent. I want to be able to be calm and patient and respond appropriately to the different situations he presents.
I would like to work on getting to know myself a little better this year. I have become so wrapped up in my roles in the workplace and with the kids that I don't feel like I know who I am or what I like anymore. A piece of advice I received was from my mother - life is too short to be miserable; but if you do have to do something you're not fond of, remember it's only temporary.
Time allocation between myself, my family, my friends, and my special friend. No. Just that large voice inside speaking to me because my time allocation for the past 10 years has been completely lopsided and unfair. Presently it's like 95-96 pct with the "special" friend, 1 pct for me, 2 pct for friends, and 1 pct family. NOT RIGHT.
I seem to be on a growth path right now. My current work/personal situation is bringing up some long buried issues for me. And surprisingly enough this situation feels like the right way to address things, in a slow and consistent way. I would really like for this to continue throughout the next year. It just feels right. I find little snippets of advice from various sources daily and often. It is hard to pick just one that is the best guide. I think I just need to stay aware of the blessings coming my way and stay calm.
Enjoy the rest of your day, be kind to others and yourself. The light in me honors the light in each and every one of you. Namaste
1. Do all possible to foster "disciplined creativity." 2. Let go of the struggle -- and by doing so, stop avoiding all situations that could potentially produce drama -- as well as the "juicy bits" of life. 3. There is no reason to fear pain; it is just a temporary shift in energy flow. 4. Be who I am -- be more, not less, like myself. 5. Keep asking: What could I be loving right now?
Go for it, I think I've told you this before but you are incredible at accomplishing what you set out to do. The world is rooting for you, so don't worry about the small things and go for what you want.
I would like to start driving my own compass. I believe that I have spent this last year attempting to do what I think that would satisfy others instead of myself. I still make my decisions based on what I believe is morally right and what I believe is fair to most people - that isn't the issue. But I do think that I have spent the last year trying to impress and gain respect from others and I would really like to do what I do from the space of what matters most to me and will give me the most pleasure instead of feedback from outside sources. The counsel that I received recently from Dr. Jerry Bell is that what is most important is that you are centered on your own desires and beliefs. When you do that, you act from your authentic self and people tend to be drawn to you anyway. I think that I ought to do this to drive my own happiness first, but I can quell the concerns of my need to be valued in knowing that is a side effect.
Simplicity. Simplicidad y sencillez.
Don't take failure personally. It's not s reflection of you, it's an opportunity to learn. Not all who try to critique you are against you.
I would like to improve myself and my life next year by practicing more yoga and meditation. I can feel their benefits immediately after practicing, but I am still having a hard time making time for my practices. "The best day of you life is the one when you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to rely on, lean on or blame. The gift is yours. It is an amazing journey, and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins." This really hit me and I think it will take some time to fully understand the meaning, but I am hoping that once I do actually understand it, I will have the courage to live by it every single day. Another quote that has been an eye-opener is the one by Marianne Williams: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?" and "Your playing small does not serve the world."
Lose weight Worry less about money Build friendships Self-acceptance Do the things I want to do Follow my passions Don't worry
I'd like to become, and stay, better organized. Maintain my exercise routine. Go back to meditating. Find a spiritual home base. Stay in touch with friends and family. Advice to help me: you can do it!
I would like to live more intentionally and to accept things as they are. My advice for myself is to "lean into the discomfort" and to accept the inevitability of time passing and things changing. Allow yourself to feel uncomfortable, to be confronted by change. To change yourself.
Oh , I would like to learn to be happy. And to be free. I feel like a slave, unworthy person and a coward. I would like to change that. There's no quality in life that I am living now. I want to regain my joie de vivre, find that sparkle again. Should I change career? Finish university? Be alone? Return to Croatia? I wish I could feel I can trust my own judgement and stand behind it, no matter what it is.
Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude. I want to be healthier, trust God more, love better, and be more myself than I am now.
Learning to say "no". Not taking things so personally. Not placing so much emotional weight on work and my identity around my profession.
I would like more patience & ability to keep cool when Rick is going ao slow at thing. The one piece of advice was to read Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor which I did and will reread it again.
There are so many ways I could improve myself and my life. I'll focus on two. I would like to be less of a worrier. Sometimes I get so sucked into anxiety and worrying, it keeps me up at night, I can feel it in my body, my mind is always active. My boss always tells me "don't worry over that which you have no control." Even though she can sometimes cause me more stress by fixating on why I'm stressed out all the time, I think there's some truth to this statement. I don't have control over everything, and even when I do get all anxious about things (90% of the time work-related) - it almost always works out just fine. And if it doesn't, you learn from it. Things can't be perfect all of the time. Nothing really catastrophic (knock on wood) has happened to me at work yet, and I would feel a lot better, sleep a lot better, and be a better role model for my colleagues and students if I worried less. Connected to this, is focusing more on the positive. I tend to fixate on one negative interaction / word that was said / event or way I may have handled a situation, rather than thinking about all of the positive in my life - my relationships, my health, my financial stability, just being able to read a good book and take a walk, all of the love and joy I get to experience because I have a lot of privilege and support. I would like to improve myself and my life by being more reflective and positive. This shift can only improve my anxiety, my outlook on my life, my interactions with others.
I'd like to take full advantage of the class that Mary's teaching in being more awake around my compulsions. Sugar being an addiction that I want to understand in order to make conscious that which is a present unconscious.
I will like to workout more and eat healthy. I want to be at 150 lbs by the New Year. I can do anything!! I want to start ASL classes and learn Spanish
I would like to listen better to my children and husband. I want to pay closer attention, focus my brain and hear, rather than think I know what they are saying and drift off. The feedback from my daughters has let me know how I come across and I want to change this in myself.
Just continue to stay healthy...lose some more weight. Continue to exercise...be nice
I continue to work on my musicianship even as I teach. I would like to get to a higher and more competent level. I am also working on my appearance and trying to gain back some lost personal years that are beginning to show themselves physically. Part of personal maintenance. I am working with an facial specialist, and I have two piano teachers guiding myself and my own teaching. I also need to find and work on a new and improved outlet for my art work.
I would like to take much better care of myself. Enough sleep, first and foremost, but also treating myself better in general. I sabotage my efforts because I don't really believe I'm worth caring about. Certainly nobody in any of my families thinks I am. That's hard to fight against. A friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer several years before me has been incredibly helpful in so many ways, but most recently she told me -- as I was complaining about the difficulty I'm having with side effects on my current cancer medication, which is supposed to be several percentage points more effective for a woman of my age and diagnosis -- that it would be OK to consider going back on the previous medication instead if my overall quality of life needed it. I have to look at the whole picture, not just the %, to figure out which would be the most effective treatment for ME. That's good advice for the cancer, but also more generally: if something isn't working for me, even if it's supposed to be so much better, then it's OK to go backwards. Life isn't a linear progression. Newer isn't automatically better.
I am currently in therapy and I want to achieve calmness on the inside. I am tired of not being able to let go. One of the best pieces of advice I have received it to turn your mind off and allow yourself to feel, let it happen.
Life is too short for bad books. This is a piece of advice I received several years ago and I would like to remind myself of this advice as a way to evaluate how I spend my time. My improvement would be to use my time better. If I eliminate even half of the waste, I expect to be able to keep ahead of my obligations, grow a garden, keep the paper under control, etc.
There are a lot of thing I would like to improve about myself. I want to become a happier person. I want to improve my stubborn attitude towards everyone and make my home a happy place to live. I want to help my child feel better about himself but first I need to work on me before I can do this. I hope to own my own house by then with a man that I love. I will be starting counseling next week to help me deal with the problems my child is having and at the same time I will work on my own instabilities in my life and hope that 2015 will be better because of this.
Overall I'd like to allocate more time for myself, whether it be reading, writing, drawing, or doing yoga. The best advice I've received is that in order to help others, you must help yourself first.
NO DEPRESSION JUST CONFIDENCE
Work towards complete congruence. What I do is what I say, what I say is what I think, what I think is what I feel.
improve myself, hmm. always try to improve. i should always have a pen and paper on me , last night i had a beautiful thought and did not write it down, and now i forgot it. there should be a pen and paper next to my bed. improve to be myself?!! not worry so much about what others think plus since i have given myself the great character of being a follower ~ ha, i should carefully consider who I follow. i am a follower of not an animal, this much is true. I get advice everyday, i choose the ones that are closest to my heart. ~ Also ~ i like to read Rumi. very poetic and yet so much honesty. Rumi has advice too, here's one i like ~ 'love is lightning, and also the ahhh we respond with' amazing stuff right there ~ hmm anyway ~ improving myself is really about thinking and meditating on me...who am I. not in a selfish way, to improve everything and everyone. i should read MORE! even though its hard for me to do.... i do it....:) this will also help me improve myself.
Getting over the assumption that I'm perfect.
I'd like to be more cheerful in general, and less reactive in the sense of feeling buffeted by events. Having made the decision to cut my travel substantially, I'd like to find a meaningful balance of time with family and time on my own (of which I had more when I travelled more). I want to continue getting to better shape, but that's more about solidifying the habit than achieving specific results.
I would like to be more forgiving. Forgiveness has been difficult because I grew up with a sibling that was a bully, and setting my feelings aside has never seemed right. However, I must find a balance between my feelings and being able to move on to have healthier relationships.
Be more social, have more friends, be more comfortable with myself and my body. "Life is what you make it, make it good"
I would like to be less self-deprecating.
In the next year, I want to improve the following --my understanding and mastery of marketing in the digital world --my moment to moment attitude. I want to be less neurotic and pessimistic, and more appreciative of what I have. Which is a lot. I think the way to do the is to course correct when I feel my grumpy side come in, practice gratitude, and also see my friends more and build and have more community at work and at home. I didn't have that at my last job because I was always trying to leave, and now I have the opportunity to be captain. --I mentioned this before, but better at yoga, and better about going. More regularly (saying no to other things). Dolphin pose goddamnit :) --better sister to max. Check in regularly. Talk more. The piece of advice guiding this is gratitude and make lists and follow through. Also boundaries. That's something I need to get better at setting and enforcing.
The rabbi last night spoke about complete and utter forgiveness- that we would not need a scape goat if we could fully forgive others and ourselves. I want to be able to forgive myself for the pain I may have caused my son these past year and know that he will make his way through this world with my support on his own path - that my job is to guide and move forward.
I want to be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about. If I am hurt or frustrated - control my reaction. Be aware of my audience. Go forward ever. Go backward never. Be open and flexible.
Make me an instrument of peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. --- My father offered this to me as I was struggling with jealousy toward my sister. I need to stop hoping for it all to happen to me. I need to just pay it forward and be as kind as possible, as much as possible. I would like to do more for my intellectual life; to engage in a practice of reading and writing, with a goal in mind. I want to be engaged in interests of the mind outside of work. I would like to be more faithful in other practices, such as meditation, yoga, and healthy and sustainable living. I don't need to be perfect at these things, just to move towards them to the extent that is possible. I would like to remember more often that I do have something to give and share and contribute to others, and to engage in the practice, in every situation, to look at what that is, and do it. I want to put my best face forwards rather than assuming that no one wants to see me. I want to be more connected with my communities. I want my priorities to become clear. I want to be more gentle with myself, too, and whenever I notice that my actions have moved away from the vision of the person I want to be, simply to move back towards being that person, without casting judgment on myself.
I would allow more time for myself, and also be more creative. The advice I've gotten is that I need to be more creative to balance the analytic side that I use so much of everyday. So I would try to write more this year & maybe play the cello.
I'd like to be more humble. By careful observations of those who are especially humble and opening myself to their auras and emulation this should be possible.
I would like to participate in more comunity and/or social/cultural events, and at the same time I would like to save more time to meditate and to take care of my health, mind and body
I want to cherish every moment with my kids. Truly try to cherish and appreciate.
In the next year, I would like to get myself into good physical shape. I would also like to be slower to anger and try to be more understanding even when I'm frustrated.
decreasing judgement and increasing effort. that what i do for self-improvement, and more importantly, self-care, can be small, enjoyable, easy, and fun. i need fun!
The advice. I am complete - just as I am. I am not perfect but I am enough.
I would like to be more authentic. I would like to finally put myself first. To thine own self be true.
Once, I was telling someone that I feel whole and validated in everything I do, in all that I am, except as a wife. The person leaned in and asked me, looking directly in my eyes, "Why are you still there?" I was stunned. In the next year, I need to let it go, walk away psychologically. Thirty-seven years I have been carrying this anger and grudge. Thirty-seven years I have been waiting to be his priority or at least in his line of sight. LET IT GO! WALK AWAY! GET ON WITH IT ALREADY! It doesn't matter. If I look back at this and have the same angst in a year that I have had the last 37, I will be very angry with myself. LET IT GO! MOVE ON!
life is short -- don't get in my way -- do what i need to do to be happy.
"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will go its whole life believing that it is stupid." Don't let anyone EVER tell you that you can't, because you CAN "TIME IS A CONSTRUCT" "PERCEPTION IS REALITY"
It's not about doing, it's just about being... and being love, trusting, opening, and sharing your spirit.
Follow your heart, your talents, your passions, what brings you joy and peace.
I would like to continue to the path of health and strength. Understand how to be a partner and to let someone be a partner to me. I would like to find ways to have more hours in my day contribute to the best things I have to give (more family, more art, more giving, more mission, less whack a mole crises) I stumbled upon the best advice which I came upon looking at my answers last year. Heck, I must have had a wild moment of clarity (THANK YOU) that reading back made my new mantra ever clear. Progress - not perfection - just always progress.
I want to focus on the joy and the love and the positive. I don't want to exude stress. I want to exude coping and joy. There have been many things that have resonated with me this year and I have tried to capture each one. Reading the Law of Attraction and thinking about mindfulness and focus are putting me on the right track.
Do one thing really well a day. Develop a more solid philosophy of life and religion. Remember Phil's advice that anyone who says they have all the answers is lying. Get in shape. Keep the house in better order. Practice more. Quit wasting time.
I would like to change the amount of gossip that I am talking about this year. It is very rude and I would not like it if someone did it to me, so I should not do it to them. Also, to not hang out with people that make me feel bad at times, because those are not my true friends. One important thing that my friend told me, that was really helpful advice was, that if people are gossiping about other people, then they will gossip about you.
No better advice than to live in the moment; live in the now.
Spend the extra time to get (and stay) organized. There is less stress, less family strife, and more joy. Avoid over-scheduling, and avoiding collecting extra stuff.
I haven't particularly received any advice this year that had really stuck with me so instead, I'd like to focus on something that I decided for myself "the best thing to do when you make yourself nervous is to make yourself laugh." So I suppose in the next year is like to improve both of those things. I want to get out and experience the world. I want to make myself nervous. But I also want to make myself laugh when I need to. Most of all I want to know when it's alright to do those things. And that is what I want to improve.
I want to be a better person to do my homework.
If there was a piece of advice or counsel from the past that I could use to guide me, I'd have bloody used it by now! I've been given a lot of advice, some of it useful even, but can I use it properly? Can I hell. Even my own advice I can't take. I make the same sodding mistakes over and over, fall short in the same ways, cave to the same fears, give up just as easily as ever except on the things that seem to do me harm. I want to live with less fear, I want to live with more courage. I have little waves, moments when I believe in my own voice telling me I can do it, then I fall back into the hole again and repeat the same old patterns. If in the next year I could actually make some progress in being brave in the ways I want to be – not caring what people thing, shaking off at least some of my social anxieties, believing I'm worth the things I want – then I might finally feel I've improved myself and my life. I want to stop the little bits of history repeating that add up to this seemingly endless go-around over the same bad ground.
I would like to build up my integrity. There is no reason I should be as down on myself and embarrassed of my opinions/thoughts. There is a lot of goodness in me and there is no reason I should be ashamed or self conscious about sharing that with the rest of the world. I can be stronger about that. The Rabbi at the 6th and I service (Rabbi Perlo) spoke about this in his sermon on Rosh HaShanah. He spoke about it as middleschoolers who are too embarrassed to ask questions, be different than the crowd and think that everything is only happening to them. Looking back on that we all know that those debilitating thoughts were foolish. I would hope I can keep in mind examples of how I have matured over the years when I start to doubt my confidence.
Stay mindful of the fact that our life experience is driven from our perspective. An understanding that God/the Universe will work toward the manifestation of our Personal Legend/calling in our favor, we need only stay patient, be open to the unexpected tapestry of twists, turns, challenges, and changes that take us there, and take time to stop and smell the roses along the way. We only go around once after all, and if we do it right . . . once is all we need. Advice: What is, is supposed to be. The power this realization brings is an acceptance of the past, a focus on the present, and the ability to control who, what, and where we'll be in the future. Love yourself. Be undeniably you - you're perfect. Practice gratitude. And, keep heavy feet and a light heart. The keys to happiness are yours!
I would like to have a secure financial base. Hopefully I can rely solely on myself by this time next year and not anyone or anything else. Some good advice might be to see money as green energy, and will it to come to me and flow through me freely while always allowing me to feel it is abundant. I deserve to make money through the skills I am offering people. I am valuable.
I want to make sure to tell my friends that I love them and why specifically that I love them and care so much about them. I want to show appreciation and gratitude towards them more often, not just by staying in touch, but my thanking them and telling them how much I appreciate different things that they do. I want to continue to reflect and journal as much as I have done in the past, and begin to define how I consider myself successful and what a good and happy year should entail. On a physical level, I would like my foot/ankle/leg/back to be completely healed by this time next year. I would prefer it to be much sooner, but as an absolute last day I would like to be at full 100% functionality and exercise by High Holidays 5776. Again, I am working hard to treat my body well so that it can occur within the next few months, but looking back next year I would like to see that as an achievement of the past year. There are a few pieces of advice I received that could guide me. In regards to gratitude, Quan shared with my information about the 5 love languages. It is important to understand how my friends like to receive love and give it to them in that way. In regards to reflection, I am inspired by Olivia journaling everyday and always being able to look back on what she was doing 1, 2, or 5 years ago this day. In regards to improving physically, I am just going to feel the encouragement of friends and family and know that doing a little bit everyday and doing all of the small things correctly and positively will help me get better faster.
I want to take care of my health. I want to get more done in a day. I have been feeling less energetic when my days aren't filled with work. I want my house to get unpacked and looking like I'm an adult human.
What I have been given is a gift of knowing that I can slow down now. I have done my part. I can relax and let others carry on.
I would like to become more disciplined with my time. Something has happened in the last 2 years and I have become very inefficient. Was this always there and I'm only realizing it? Regardlesss, if I want to be an academic and have it all--career and family--something has to change with my time discipline. Advice I need to follow: Say no, and be selfish!
I have this gal pal who I get together with quite often. She is a moody, angry person and when push comes to shove, she can really be quite emotionally abusive. She will say nasty things to me, speak to me in harsh tones, tell me what I can and can't do, order me around and more and then turn around and apologize and be all generous. To me, that all smacks of an abusive relationship. I have been advised by a number of people that I would do well to cut this toxic friend out of my life or severely limit my contact with her. Being with her can be really fun, but I'm often on guard for fear that I might say something that will piss her off. Simply put, it's not fun. I think it's time that I heed the counsel of my other friends and those who really care about me and take a step back from this "friendship," such as it is. I think it will improve my life to rethink the way in which I am in relationship with Cathy. It might be hard to let go of her at first because sometimes we have a lot of fun together, but it will be better for me in the long run and I need to look out for number one.
Unfortunately no. I can only hope to make good decisions and act accordingly after fully researching.
id like to become more of a positive and accepting person! at times i can be absolutely unbearable to be around!
I would like to continue to get to know myself and be more sure if what I want to do with my life. I would like to be more settled doing more of the things I live to do. I would like to improve my social life with some friends that I can just hang around with. I have received some great advice and some not so great and lots of in between advice. I take what works and use pays off some and disregard the rest
More tattoos, more yoga, more running, maybe karate, more books, scintillating conversations, more of a streamlined focus on what my destiny is rather than worrying always about supporting other people's destinies, as Leonard Cohen says "If you don't become the ocean you'll be seasick every day." Maybe and probably we are moving to Portland in the spring of next year, I want to be both more organized and more free, not so much always striving to be a diplomat, keep boats from rocking, be more interested in how the world actually affects me and document that.
I'd like to be a more open and caring person. I'd like to be attentive and realize what and who is important in my life. Take time for the things that are more important, but still have fun of course. I want to be able to express myself more easily, and be a better person. I'm not sure if there is any advice that could guide me, but I like to think that "if you believe it you can achieve it."
This house will be cleaned out. it will have my own furniture and I'll be on the way to owning my own place... I'm always counselled to be patient...But my main counsel is to focus on one thing at a time..
To start seeing myself as more than a Person whose self worth is wrapped up in wanting children when I cannot have them. To see myself as important and as talented as my friends see me.
I'd like to improve myself by exploring different hobbies or going to places. I just think I don't have time for these yet, or I should start making time for these. Well, nothing in particular re: advice, but talking with my friends, I realized something. We are at the age where we feel pressured about what life offers to us, though we still don't know what to do, what's important is to continue to be happy and enjoy.
I would like to improve me... in all areas. Through my hobbies, spiritually, business and personal well-being. My own advice would be to make a plan and stick to it- do not give up or take the easy route. Stop procrastinating and get your life rebooted. Imagine being able to accomplish everything and what that would mean to be able to do it.
i would like to have more energy for life. i have been used to less energy and little room left in my brain for my own pleasures. i would like to say yes more than i have been, i would like to connect spiritually as much as i hate using that very overused statement. i would like to have the same feeling i had at shul this morning; connected t something other than myself and those around me
I want to be more authentic in my communication. I want to hear myself complain less and instead to address issues that bother me with the person (s) concerned directly. Less moaning and more owning!
I want to not be a perfectionist or an excessive worrier. I want to have self confidence, self love, and self forgiveness.
So many things! All the things! - Get my savings above $45000 - Build a relationship that's actually forward-looking (and looking forward) to a shared life and family - Line up post-PhD paid work and further education - Take on leadership and creative roles
I would like to be taking better care of myself in the coming year in terms of diet and exercise. I think that would be a good example to the kids as well. We visited a nutritionist for my older son who advised "half fruits and veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 carbs." That does not fit with my usual workweek diet: candy bar, bag of chips...
I believe that this coming year will be filled with too much emotional turmoil to consider any kind of personal improvement. Two things to remember: This too shall pass. All changes are for the better.
I want to be less angry at school. I want to be more physically fit. Not necessarily a vegetarian or teetotaler, but someone who makes exercise a priority.
I want to continue on my path of health and healing. Exercise is on my list. Baking and brewing. Probably drinking less too. As it is now, I am enjoying cocktails less and less. Overall, I am feeling much more balanced in my life right now, and I think it comes through in my writing, my performing and my relationships. One other thing I need to work on is my physical relationship with my wife. We haven't had sex in a year. Our relationship is fantastic except for this one aspect. We've both talked about it, but nothing has happened. It's really up to me, and I keep putting it off.
Be more patient with my mom, who is losing her memory. Take one day at a time.
"No amount of guilt can solve the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future"
i want to be healthier. the reasons are all around me. i need to listen to myself. the most interesting parts of my most recent studies are around systems and having the right ones in place to unsure your success. i need to update my systems and create new, healthy habits.
I would like to obtain more knowledge about executive assistant job which is my desired future carrier. i will include some volunteer hours in that matter in my plan which will be very helpful.
I would like to enjoy more sex with my husband.
I want to keep being weird and I want to be a better listener. I feel that I really need to work on this skill. A piece of advice that can guide me in the future is what I've been telling myself these last few months: it gets easier every day, even if it doesn't feel like it. I want to be more confident in my self worth in a way that doesn't waver when something small goes off. My confidence in that department is very shaky when I feel that extreme loneliness creeps up.
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work." A high school basketball coach said that once, and someone recently said it to me. I'd like to improve my life by fully committing to it. Committing to my responsibilities as a performer, as a band member, as a writer, and as someone who see's themselves as a necessary component to a team. Maybe i'll start by committing to a practice regimen, or a workout routine, or a writing schedule, regardless, I would like to commit to it.
I would like to focus less on the future, and more on the present, on being content with what is now. When things in my life have seemed out of whack my instinct is to fantasize about how great things will be when X works out or when Y is in place. I'd rather be happy today! I would like to think of that daily...
I would like to be better at balancing my responsibilities as a stay at home mom so that I feel better about being able to get things done. Possible guidance would be to spend less time online!
I would like to learn to say no unapologetically and not look back. I often overcommit and have too much on my plate. Things I in theory enjoy, want to do. But time is limited. Sometimes no is the best answer. Though another answer for this question should also be, "to master the art of time management" because I realize some opportunities do not need to be passed up. But basically, I need to learn to let things go. I cling on too events with too much emotional gravity long after the event should matter (says my rational mind). Emotional slights annoy the fuck out of me and have the power to resonate for years. I should work on letting personal attacks, and misunderstandings, go but maintain that fire for community issues. It's that spark that will serve me well in politics. Forgive but don't forget. I replay situations that I don't have the power to change, or choose not to, too often. I don't have time for that. It's time to live and let live. I guess all those renditions of Frozen's "Let it Go" sunk in after the umpteenth reprisal, lol.
A former coworker of mine told us a story about how, when she had gained a bunch of weight after childbirth, her mother had put her on "The Depression Diet." I don't feel comfortable with admitting I might be depressive, but I'm willing to try eating a boiled egg, toast, and a grapefruit everyday until I feel like myself again.
I think this past year was about healing, and I gave myself a lot of room and permission to do that. Following suit, I would like this next year to be about strength. I'd like to get stronger emotionally, physically, and financially. And I'd like to do it with grace.
I'd like to continue gaining self-confidence. I'd like to become more focused and swift. The art-therapy and the other proccesses I've been going through thist past year have been helping greatly. I'd like to be able to smile without the gaps between my teeth and I'd like to be able to afford it and to maintain it. Till then I'd like to be able to smile without thinking about what the person I'm smiling at thinks about those gaps...
I am changing from being sedentary to being active and in Question 6, I stated that one year from now I will weigh less than 200 pounds by adopting a healthy lifestyle. This involves getting exercise. Right now I am starting by walking 30 minutes every day, but I would like to strengthen myself so that I can take a Zumba or Pilates class without feeling embarrassed or falling back and dropping out. I want to join the fun, but I am not there yet. But I will be. I just need to build up my strength and stamina and that takes time and hard work. Before you know it, I will be good at it and I will love it. I hope so! The only advice and counsel I have is from the doctors I have seen and from the folks who are also working on their fitness - whether in person or online. Frankly - I feel energized by the motto: Fit as Fiddle and Ready for Love. To me, that means a whole lot. Once my body is in shape, I think my heart will be as well.
I would like to be exactly where I have wished to be without hindrance and fear on my part. To truly let go of all that is negative and of no value to me. To be free,do what makes me and my children happy.
You know, it's hard to say that I've received any significant advice or counsel in the last 12 months, beyond the typical "work hard, do your best" or "listen to your heart/gut". The second one, especially, can be tough for me to follow, as I live so much in my own headspace that I second-guess what my heart or gut tell me. So, that might be a great choice in the next 12 months: do a better job at listening to what my own body and my own instincts are telling me. One great way for me to improve upon this would be to finally incorporate regular meditation into my daily routine. I KNOW how beneficial the practice would be for me, now I just need to practice the discipline it takes to make this a daily practice.
I really want to be able to give more of myself. I'd like to find more ways that I can participate and volunteer my time in the community, and once my credit card gets paid off, I'd like to start making more financial donations.
Practice. Joy, peace, gratitude, love, respect, awareness. Yell less, hug and be open more. Time for "Yes - And" with the kids.
I would like to improve my emotional and mental well being. I have lived my life for the past 30 years believing that I am worthless and no one will ever want me to be their wife and partner. I want to learn and practice putting those negative, and incorrect, thoughts to rest and to keep them from controlling my life. I truly think that I need to find a counselor that I can share and work with. I need to do the hard and painful work...I have let it take too much of my life and happiness already.
My therapist reminded me to think of what I can do for me, how I can make myself happy. She pointed out that I'm an intellectual person and that I should make sure to do things for that side of me. I'm trying to check-in with myself more, using her body/mind/heart/soul matrix.
To know no matter what that I'm okay and to accept, approve and love myself. Also, to create community because this is where I (and we!) get to share our love and light with all (counsel I received about why be in relationship with others).
I'd like to be healthier. That's going to be a bit of a challenge, but I think I can do it. As for advice, I rely on what Marc told me when I was holding back from pursuing my PhD: you can be six years older with a PhD or six years older without one. That goes for other things as well.
Next year, I would like to not over schedule myself. I would like my free time to actually feel free. I want to be able to have made this change in such a way that I'm not scheduling alone time, or time for exercise, and cramming as many people, places, and things in my schedule. Instead, I would like these things to happen organically at a pace that is supportive of my sleep schedule, making healthy eating choices, and overall emotional well-being.
I want to get more sleep. I want to continue making new friends and commit to building those relationships. I want to get better at being on time and feel more confident about my life. One piece of advice for myself is that small steps in the right direction do help get you there. I want to remember that I have a very good support community with my friends and family and am lucky. Doing a meditation, silent retreat, something of that sort would probably help clear my mind and help me figure out what I want in life. GO DO THIS would be my advice.
I am going to find my soul song again. I am going to pray, meditate and exercise more often. I am going to heal my past by loving my present. Quotes: Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
Can't think of anything in particular, but there have most likely been much good counsel. Otherwise I wouldn't be the content and relatively good person that I am.
Make better use of my time, both for doing things for others and for effective relaxation.
A piece of advice I received by my mother and a few teachers was "if its meant to be, whatever it is, it should never be forced." It taught me that I shouldn't push or force anything to happen, because eventually everything will fall into place. With this I hope to improve myself relationship wise and educationally
Do the scary thing. It will be scary. That's why it's called The Scary Thing. Keep doing the scary thing until it's not scary anymore. Then keep doing it because it's fun. Never do anything you are not prepared to regret. Always take a moment to appreciate where you are when you're away from home especially. You really never know when you may ever return to that spot, you certainly can't return to that time and that moment. Geography is a little easier.
Get back to the gym! This ties in to yesterday's question. Over the past year, my life has kind of been turned up on end. As a result, we have absolutely no 'regular' schedule. The thing I want most for myself is to get back to taking better care of myself ... and with that, getting back to the gym. I am not happy with where I am in life right now. In comparison to where I was 2-3 years go, I have really taken steps backwards. I just need to get back into a routine.
I would like to STOP PEELING MY SKIN. It makes me look awful. I can't believe that I, who preach about self-control and am generally very disciplined, can't stop myself from peeling my skin. It's been years already and it needs to stop! Advice? Hm. Nope.
I would like to ratchet down the myriad things I do and get focused on (1) my own platform; (2) Your Book Is Your Hook and growing that business by 25-50%; and (3) have even more balance between my time with Andy and my business endeavors. The advice I give I want to honor myself: I want to spend my life with the man I love and cultivate the most amazing experiences with him! I want to be even more cognizant of how I can get that delicate balance and work together with Andy to live our lives to the fullest as an amazing couple and dream team. I also want to maintain and sustain my good health!!
I would like to worry less, be present more, not get caught up in the illusion of time. I have been able to make this shift in perception for days, even weeks at a time, but it has not lasted. I want to figure out how to maintain this perspective, particularly when the going gets rough.
How to improve myself for life next year... don't let anxiety get the best of you. Live life happy and full because you never know what's going to happen to you tomorrow or the next day or in a month from now. Just live a life you can be proud of. Never settle for anything less than that.
I would like to be more patient with my children and learn to obsess less about the state of my house.
BE AWAKE AND PRESENT AND HAPPY! Be confident in yourself and your abilities. Follow your heart and your gut. Enjoy the ride and stop over analyzing so much! Life is short and meant to be meaningful and experienced - do the things that you love, spend time with the people you love, and bring goodness into the world!
Over the course of the next year, I want to establish the discipline of writing every day. I also want to take healthy risks in my personal life, like taking tango lessons and trying online dating again.
When the last of the four "significant" events happened (see ? 1), a friend sent the following as encouragement: "An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it's going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep smiling". I'm sure this could work but only if I do my part for the "launch". To that end, I hope to improve my health by losing weight, increasing my energy and improving my outlook. I'm very impressed with the Choose to Lose program. I've mentioned wanting to do this with my husband but I may have to be the originator. Looking at my desk as I write this, I'd like to return to the neat, organized person I used to pride myself as being. Whatever happened to her?!
Care more. Listen more. Judge less. Speak nicely to my parents. EMPATHY!
I would like to feel like I was trying to hold the pieces of the my life together with tape while losing control of it. I would like to have the confidence and belief that I am smart enough and good enough and will achieve things in my life That I am not just floating in oblivion. So advice I am generally getting is that I have should have faith in my abilities and what I am doing and faith in the future. I would like to feel comfortable in my own skin and not so paranoid about who I am. So I guess I would like to focus on developing a sense of who I am and come to peace with that person, to be able to flow with the challenges of my life right now, and take each step deliberately and in faith that where I am headed I will take with me the knowledge and experiences I am gaining now and know I could not have gotten there without the journey I took to get there.
Learn to have patience and increase my learning. Read and exercise apart from work!
Be kinder, be more understanding, live in the moment more and be healthier.
Thanks to a canny friend, I learned that college tuition is free as a benefit of retiring from a University. So I'm back in school exploring the history, language and culture which interested me, but which were neglected the first time around when I was attending Uni to get a job.
I would like to shake my ability to only focus on the bad stuff happening in the world so I can focus on the positive stuff happening in my life and, therefore, do better at just being good to people around me. "Good stuff happens in the world, too!" - a quote from my fiancé
I'd like to get in better shape. I'm tired of feeling so soft. I'd like to be better with my money and save more so I can go on more trips.
Be healthier through yoga practice, lose weight because I am eating healthy and being more active. Yoga class had provided advice on both these aspects. I see many of the yogis in my class that are my contemporaries that are in better shape than me because of practice. I would like to be more organized, using a planner and structuring my day as if I were working may help. Be more encouraging to Ron in his goal of becoming more healthy. Be less controlling with my children, allow them to make mistakes. Less support more positive acceptance.
I would like to get back into shape as I have fallen out of it. I would like to figure out how to better manage and balance my time between my commitments/obligations and doing the things that make me happy. Remembering the phrase, "Do you want to be happy...or right?" will help me throughout my life.
I want to ask more- learn more- risk more- play more- act more- and do it all from a place of love, trust, and joy. I want to really feel and experience my own magnificence, brilliance, and greatness, and use that empowerment to serve others. Words to live by~ Trust yourself. Take positive risks Keep it real Tap into your inner child Make choices out of love - not fear Stay committed to practicing good habits Instigate. Ask Questions. Dream AND Create Manifest authentically from the heart Believe it's always possible, regardless of circumstances.
Fail more. Try bigger projects. Also, some small changes could help: #1 is create a daily meditation habit.
Live this year as if it were your last. Throughout much of the last half of the year I've been focused on coming back to a more spiritual path of grounding and not letting my head get in the way of better, more sound judgement. In a recent talk at ATS, it became clear that if I were to truly evaluate my life as if it were my last year to live I would work, act and respond far differently than I do now. Or how I often catch myself reacting. I would spend far less time sitting on the couch and more time experiencing life. I want 2015 to be a year where experiences count - meaning less time waiting on the sidelines and more time jumping in and getting messy.
Do less, do less, do less.
I want to continue to live my values and continue to evolve and improve myself as a person, artist, mom, wife, friend, community member and citizen. I think I'm on the right track at the moment, and I just need to keep going and stay the course, and deepen my practice. My new year's resolution/intention was to "find satisfaction", whether by practicing gratitude around what I already have, or by letting go of things that aren't satisfactory and replacing them with things that are. I still think this is a good guide.
“Id like to do more yoga. I know this is a recurring theme. But i think its such an important thing, and even though I am working my body very hard, i need to find the time to treat my soul too. Also I want to be less reactive, in all fields, work, personal, family, etc...” These are all answers from 2013. I want to keep them there because I also want to use them. Though I think I made strides especially in the second one, still lots more to keep going. However I would like to add that I want to become softer in my communication, in how I talk to people. Be less aggressive.
I have made a deal with a friend I used to work with years ago that we will do 3 things that scare us to push ourselves further as we are both wimps... So far I have signed up to a pay it forward scheme that I have never committed to doing so thought it was about time, I have also signed up to do a volunteer fair at the university near where I work to encourage students to come and work with us. I just need a third one now..! I think this is the message I need to take with me, to challenge myself further and say yes to more (like Yes Man!).
I need to start valuing myself and my contributions more. I also need to start letting go of responsibilities or activities that are not creating value for me. Helping others is important but not at the cost of my own needs and desires, and recognizing that my time is very valuable.
Every year I've written that I want to stop procrastinating so much. To a point, this has gotten much better, but I'd still like to continue improving to become a more put together person. I was told by my sister during a melt down to "get your shit together." It was blunt and to the point and worked more than any flattery or empty words could have. I'd also like to be able to fix any broken or fading relationships in my life now that I've "gotten some of my shit together."
After nearly two years of not feeling like my body was my own since trying to conceive my child, I hope to re-discover myself be it wearing a top or dress that I couldn't possibly nurse in, polishing off a bottle of wine with a good friend, or happily losing myself in an intriguing knitting project.
I want to improve my healthy lifestyle and my music. I want to write songs, think songs, scribble songs, consider songs again.....just with a more mature perspective of what I want to do with it. I admit I haven't figured out the goal, but maybe it will come with the perspective. I think it's "The War on Art" and "The Creative Habit" that have provided some advice that I wish I had 10+ years ago. And with the music of Patty Griffin and Ray LaMontagne, I have the "permission" to cross genres and still be myself, still have my voice.
I'd really like to spend time doing something where I work as part of a team, and where we all have mutual respect for each other.
I want to live in a house I like. Either by fixing this one or moving. I would like to do more things on my own. I want to learn to be truly independent. Paul K from my high school reunion told me not to be so hard on myself.
The realisation that the start of the twenties for both my mother, grandmother and sister have been troubling makes me see that this problem is not just me. quiting anti conception has worked a lot. But I want no more lines, i want to step over. I want to go. I want to do things. I want to learn to let go, I want to learn to love, I want to learn to laugh.
Sounds like the typical New Year's resolution: I need to put even more emphasis on my physical health. I see the doctors, take the meds, manage my diet pretty well, but have not gotten back into a healthy exercise routine. I have some limitations, but I must do more than I am doing. My risks are serious--coronary disease and two cancers already. This is not only about my longevity, it is also about quality of life in the years to come. It would also be healthier for me emotionally to get into the practice of gratitude. This has been a year of so much loss, it's been challenging to think about what I still have. Even with the health issues, I should be grateful for early diagnoses and readily available medical care. I have a home, a loving family, food. I can pay my bills with some to spare. My daughter is disabled, butI still have her. I do not walk out into a war zone every time I leave home. When I look around the world, I realize I have such enormous abundance. I should be enormously grateful.
Gosh, we all like to keep moving forward. I want to improve everything, to continue on a trend of ever-growing fulfillment. I guess that's it...I never want to stop learning. My improvement will come through learning...learning about myself, about my culture, about the world, about food, about training dogs, who knows, maybe even about walking a tightrope. My current boss told me, "I don't expect you to retire from here. I want to help you build the resume that will get you moving forward". I like to bring that to mind when I'm scared or doubting something. To me it means do the best you can now, for the person you want to be then.
I feel like this next year is about living a soul-filled and soul-guided life. I am pulling from a wide range of guides and a deep and growing self-loving and self-knowing.
Worry less. Do more. The best piece of advice I ever got was from a colleague who taught me to ask "What's the worse that can happen?" No matter what I thought, the worse was never unremittingly bad. Now that the worse has happened, I realize that I have to go on. And I've learned that the things I worry about are not the things that come to pass.
Build my Shaklee business in a sincere way and achieve the rank of Master Coordinator by June 2015. Advise: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be CONSISTENT, CONFIDENT and LOOK INTO YOUR DREAMS TO REMIND YOU TO ACHIEVE IT
I would like to lose 25 pounds, build muscle in my arms and legs, and commit myself to working out 3-4 times a week. Eliminate the excuses and actually make it part of my daily routine. Like hair and makeup. My piece of advice is one I give to everyone else but myself. Forgive yourself. Go easy. Everyday is new. You can always make a new choice.
I would like to do more things less well so that I have more time for the things I value most. Also, put the big rocks in first, then fit little rocks in around them. From Maria Vargas.
I'd like to be more efficient but at the same time more laid-back and flexible. I'd like to not stress so much about small stresses (like my baby's napping) and focus on the big things that are going well (like getting tenure, having a happy healthy baby, etc). I'd also like to be more patient with people I love. Yes my husband can be annoying or disorganized sometimes, but he generally means well. And don't I want people to cut me some slack too?
The usual--more mindfulness and love for myself would be great! Just keep doing what I'm doing and then some. Advice: Breathe! Enjoy stuff, stress less. Just be. Advice for the ages!
I want to lower the stress, raise the passion, and not be afraid of the death that is inevitable--whether or not it is imminent. Life is precious--for everyone who lives it. I miss my sweet gracie dog. She is my counsel and she taught me to love passionately, live with intention, and make sure the people you love know just how much they are adored.
I'd like to be financially sound and have health insurance and make sure I'm as healthy as I can possibly be. No particular advice comes to mind, but the expression you've got your health. I guess maybe take care of your body, it's the only place you have to live.
I would like to be healthier - this includes physically and mentally. I am getting older and know that I need to start making sure I am eating properly. This includes fruits and vegetables, which I hate! In a mental way, I want to continue to surround myself around people that strive for more. I do not want to be around people that only care about completing a simple 9-5 and then going to get drunk. I also want to be around people that are healthy for me and want what is best for me. I do not want to be around anyone that is toxic and/or that will bring me down. I just want to keep continue striving to be the best me that I can be.
I would like to be more confident in my skills and knowledge. I always underestimate myself at work and more than once, someone has told be that I need to speak up because my ideas are strong ones. To my future self: you're doing so great. Don't forget where you were three or four years ago. You've made it so far.
I would like to improve my physical health and my physical surroundings as they are getting the way of my doing activities that would enrich my life.
You're doing great. Keep doing what you're doing - keep growing and trying and loving with an open heart. I am so proud of who you are now. I will be proud of who you are next year, too.
As I said in the last question, I would love to change my life in the next year by finding a partner and challenging myself for the first time to give myself completely to love. I hope that I will be changing and perhaps improving myself in many ways by working and living in Nepal and India. I hope that I gain a broader perspective on the world, and the potential I have as an individual to make a positive impact. I hope that I can test myself and come back assured of who I am at my deepest core, of my spiritual beliefs, and my faith in humanity and kindness. I also hope that I have a deeper understanding of my Jewish heritage and faith. This past year I have been so inspired my my friend Hailey's choice to transition from a woman to a man. He is so brave to make this huge decision, and he has truly found himself amid the doubts, questions and judgements. He is so brave to take on a whole new world filled with habits, expectations, and assumptions that he has never experienced before. He inspires me to leap at my dreams, to put utter faith in who I feel I am at my truest self, even if that means I have to change in a very deep way. His knowledge in what he needs to do and be in order to be happy, is what I aspire to understand about myself- and his confidence in the love and support from those surrounding him gives me hope. He truly guides me to be brave and unique and daring, and I love him for that.
I would really like get more organized and develop some internally generated motivation, some intrinsic motivation. I very much hold on to my late mother's view, that everything will be all right. While possibly not agreeing with her sentiments concerning this viewpoint (I feel I drift further and further from faith, rather than towards it), I do believe that by moving forward, everything will shake out.
connect with the inner fun and joy and creativity and follow that, and express it and just be gentle and kind with yourself, and an uncensored divine expression in the world
I plan on being organized and getting rid of more clutter. I continue to get better but have much room for improvement. This will free up more time and decrease frustration too.
I want to continue to connect with my daughters and delve more deeply into my relationship with my wife. I also want to continue to develop more of a Judaic understanding of the world and of our history/liturgy/practices.
Every year, I say that health is a goal. It's always been a priority because I want to look better. But I want to think more about my health. I'm doctor-phobic, I would say. I hate going in for treatment and spending money on visits and medicine, but it's important that I get serious about mine and J.R.'s health. We're both getting too old to act like we're 20. We need checkups and screenings and to watch our diet and exercise. And if we look better in the process... well that's a bonus, isn't it?
I would like to improve myself and my life by finding a way to earn a living that also feeds my soul. I cannot think of any advice or counsel that I've received that could guide me.
Need to be more active - have just started on this and hope to be far more active and feeling better next year.
I would like to improve myself and my life by remaining committed to and increasing my commitment to fitness and healthy eating. I would also like to beat myself up and hold on to anger less (which happens a lot less than it used to, but it still happens). Since this is the shmita year, maybe I can bring more forgiveness into my life, into all aspects of it, beyond the physical goals.
I still love not using the word "should." Trying to limit my use of this word as much as possible is incredibly liberating. I feel so much less obligation. It's helping me figure out what I want. I want to focus more this year on deciding what I want and being okay with that. I also want to try to worry a little bit less. I think I have done a bit better job though. I want to try not to focus on optimizing. My dad tells me it's okay to be okay. I want to focus on sometimes aiming for okay.
I think moving out of London will help me concentrate on the important things in life. Living above a pub is still an adventure with friends on my doorstep and a 'young mans' game. Once I move then I will be closer to family, friends and in a whole house with Jemma!
I would like to start being physical again and get my husband to start moving as well. I realize that we aren't getting any younger, but we aren't old enough that we can't turn things around. I would also like to start working on saving more for a rainy day.
I want to rest more. I push myself so hard, that I want to get through graduation and FINALLY take some time to just enjoy life. I'd like to see what my upcoming improv class does for my sense of adventure and fun. Maybe next year, I'll still be doing it!
I want to become a more honest person. I would like to be secure enough in myself to let others know the truth and let them into my life. I want to be a better friend and extend my heart farther.
Lose 5 more pounds, exercise more, practice being in the moment more. Best works of advice" Be where your feet are.
I would like to improve on balance in life. Balance in my body, in my schedule, personal vs. work vs. school work, balance in my relationships and balance in my emotional/spiritual life. The advice I have received is take time to make a plan or schedule. If I can plan it, I can do it. It's just getting to the plan stage that's the tricky part.
I would like to be 100% disciplined living for my health and bodybuilding instead of being a bit lax on the weekends. I want to see what my body and brain are capable of when I devote myself 100%.
I want to be less selfish. It is something I have been working hard towards across the last year, and my goal for 5775 and turning 28. I think that I have done a good job putting me first, but sometimes forget that I dont have to steamroll others to get there. I don't have a particular piece of advice, but I look to people that I trust and want to emulate. I also think it will help me be a better coworker, friend, partner, and family member.
I would like to eat better and drink less. My diet and drinking have gotten totally out of hand and I don't know how to get it together.
I would like to be less stubborn and flexible about things I cannot control, like traffic. And, when I'm insufferably stubborn, I hope I can recover from it quicker. I would like to be more present; my mind is always fluttering in 1,000 different ways. You can do anything for a year. Life is too unpredictable not to have fun. Do what you want Because you can So why not.
- improve my emotional health (through therapy and/or self-improvement/leadership literature) - start and keep to an exercise routine - set up and keep to a better daily schedule, especially improving my going to sleep/waking up times to match the lifestyle I aspire to
Be more healthy, have a more stable job situation, and help my children succeed in school.
I wish I'd gotten a piece of advice or counsel this year that would help guide me. Because I'm lost! And have been for the past 2 years. People seem to assume that it's so easy to figure out what you want to do with your life, and that realizing what you want to do is easy as well. Well, it's not. And I'm not unique in that sense, at all. And I'm not as great as everyone thinks I am. If I were, I wouldn't be in this situation right now, now would I? So how would I like to improve myself? I would like to be less introspective and more active in achieving and doing the things that I talk and dream about. I want to get over this crippling fear of failure so I can get out there and be someone and do something that matters, instead of sitting here and wallowing in self-pity. I also do not want to measure the most important things in my life by the accomplishments of others by next year. I want it to be all about me and the things I've been able to accomplish -- like it used to be. I want to stop having things happen TO me and start making things actually happen myself.
continue to work on my health and my anxiety. keep using my "tools", continue to yoga. continue to use the dharma as guidance.
Fuck 'em. Basically. No one else is responsible for your happiness except you. Look at the big picture. Live in the now. Dream big. Think ahead but do now. You have to work for your dream. Opportunities will pass you by unless you learn to recognise them and grab them while you can. Experience things in life. Enjoy the small things. Appreciate what you have. Always strive for more. Never settle. Don't be afraid to try. If you give up after one attempt you'll never give yourself the opportunity to practise and become good at something. Just because you fell over as a child doesn't mean you can't walk as an adult. Try everything once. Give things a go. Be open to change and new experiences. Do things for you and not for anyone else. Just because they don't agree with what you have to say or what you do, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. You are worth more than what you think and even if only a handful of people recognise this, they're the ones who matter anyway.
Slow down! Before hitting send on that email or text, before expressing an opinion, before sharing data results with others.
I'd like to improve my vocabulary so that I can have conversations with my parents. They keep telling me things like "don't play with the dishwasher!" or "don't eat food out of the garbage can!' and I just want to ask them why they keep putting food in there if they don't want me to eat it. My parents read to me every night and often point to random things and ask me questions about what they're pointing at: what color is that block, what animal is that, which Lovecraft monster is destroying the universe in this image, etc. For a while, I thought I was teaching them because they didn't know but now I'm beginning to think that they do know, and that they're trying to teach me things through repetition. So maybe repetition is the way to go. So I will keep eating out of the garbage can until I am able to have a discussion about our food storage procedures.
I'm increasingly worried about my substance consumption. I rely on anti-anxietals and I know I've begun drinking far too much. Far too much. I fear going the way of my aunt Diana, or other relatives. I don't know what can guide me but my knowledge of my family's past. I do think I'll need external help. I want to be substance-free - and largely anxiety-free - next year. I don't want to feel beholden to medication or alcohol. I don't want to live my life with the feeling of an awful, unnameable shadow hanging over me. I want to be free.
Travel more.
Love without fear. Listen without judgment. Give without expectations. Purge what I don't need from my overabundance of material things.
In the words of a favored local artist: DO WORK. Pretty sure that will take care of everything else. Maybe get back into taking care of my body as well. I'm pretty happy with ME these days, I'm just having a really hard time keeping ME steadily creating wealth. This has always been so, so even this I try not to beat myself up too badly about.
100% I want to love myself unconditionally. I've spent the entirety of my life hating myself and feeling worthless. Everything I do in life are mere ways to counteract a deep-seated level of self-hatred. I dont know if there is one piece of advice that I could put my finger on, mostly because I have the worst memory, but I think the best guide in this scenario is to use that pain to create something wonderful. I've been talking so much about writing a book, with no real idea for it to grasp on to. And I think this is it, writing about my own pain and self-loathing and finding my way out of it through words that I can share. Hopefully, improving my own sense of self worth mentally and physically.
I'm trying to be more active. Not just physically, but in getting out there and trying things, doing things. Volunteering. Meeting neighbors. Setting meetings. Finding opportunities. Taking risks. I feel like I hold back more than I would like to, and that's not the sort of life I want to look back on or the example I'd like to set. Especially while I have more control over my daily activities, I want to make the most of my time and not let inertia, fear, laziness, and even just ignorance about what's out there hold me back.
Become more at peace with myself and my life. But yet my peace is so intertwined with others that I often struggle to see a path to achieving this elusive peace. The random, short times in which I am at peace bring me incredible joy. The best counsel I can recall is to keep my face turned towards Jerusalem.
I'd like to finally be at my goal weight (15 lbs to go!) and consistently working out 4x/week.
Get messy, go on adventures, be vulnerable! I was created for a community and that people and connections are an important part of my life and I have the willingness to see that strength lies in being vulnerable to my emotions however exposed they make me. I will be authentically me. I can choose recovery every day and make it an intentional choice I can't have any piece of my eating disorder and have the fulfilling life I want Practice gratitude daily Lean into joy Commitment is staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the feeling set in.
In the past year, I received Schematherapy. There I learned a lot about my patterns of behaviour. Right now, I am in the last stage, where I learn techniques to help me change unhelpful behaviour. Also, the more I continue my Buddhist studies, the more I feel their potential to release me from suffering. Not just suffering in this world, but suffering in the cycle of existence. And not just my own suffering, but also the suffering of other sentient beings. Lastly, I want to learn to discipline myself without beating myself up. More often than not, I lose balance or energy through beating myself up about my “mistakes”. Even though I can use some discipline, I no longer want to beat myself up about anything.
Improve my depression and depression management practice and general outlook. Live a more meaningful life (and find out exactly what that means to me). Be a more positive, loving, person and embrace the spiritual of the everyday (nature, creation & destruction, energy). Be part of a community. Create and maintain a regular routine for mental, physical, and spiritual health. Explore possibility of grad school abroad. Can't think of any advice.... Do the next right thing.
I want to bring out my "D" qualities. We took the DISC assessment and received feedback, which I'd like to work with. Bringing out my D qualities will make me the image of a strong, powerful woman. Only allow what serves me and what is nurturing to enter my life and dismiss all else. Bring myself higher, to a place closer to the divine. "Take the teacher, not the class." I want to get to know faculty more, the Scholars fellows more, and baby scholars more.
I want to be healthier. I need to be taking care of my body and soul. And in order to fully do that, I need to be at home. In my space. With my things. With my husband. Making meals that are healthful and good for my heart. Exercising along the beach and making the most of the life that I have.
Old me---really? did you need that bagel?
Take action, don't wait. Figure out what support I need early and how to ask for it.
Get out of crazy town! Don't look in the mirror unless while doing so, you can see yourself as healthy and well, the way that you are, instead of seeing yourself in a distorted manor. Create a budget to alleviate the financial "what-ifs", which continue to add to the stress. Reduce even further, the amount of contact with people who are hurtful to me. Tend to your spirit, your spirituality and your beliefs - it's real and it matters in the end.
Day 6 tells it all. BUT I really want to stop being angry. Whether it is at work or at home, I feel frustrated. Perhaps it is from work and personal stress, or it is a time of life, but it doesn't help that I am critical and angry. My piece of advice is two-fold I should re-read Dale Carnegie - How to stop worrying and Start Living. Always ask the question - what is the alternative - or in Dale Carnegie speak - what is the worst that can happen?
I'd like to quit smoking, to continue going to therapy, and to pick up running again. This summer has robbed me of so many good habits that I want back, and I'm going to try to get back to them. I'd also like to start a retirement account and invest.
I believe in living with, acting with, and embracing integrity and acknowledging others who do as well. Integrity is the cornerstone of character, success, love and joy. Without it - I feel lost, careening forward without purpose or faith. I would like to continue this journey of living with great integrity. I would like the wake I leave behind me in all arenas of my world, full of people places and things who would say, "Yes, I would do that again with her."
I would like to be accepted into UT's nursing school and not be so anxious all the time. I have been told to let where I want to go guide me, but I still feel so lost. I have such a hard time being away from my family and I just want to not feel like I am going crazy so much.
I would like to be more organised at work, so that I am clear on what my 30 day and 90 day plans are
I'd like to improve my health. I know I am far from over weight or unhealthy, but I want to make a conscious effort to explore new ways to enjoy exercise and healthy living. I enjoy cooking so, the eating healthy portion is relatively easy. But the exploration of new ways to exercise is a bit nerve wrecking. I am not one to just jump into a new type of fitness. I'd also like to really take the time to enjoy those around me more and make a conscious effort to try to make more friends. This will probably take me opening up more to people, which is often hard for me. I'd also like to be better with keeping in touch with other because I'm often an out of sight out of mind person. It's not that I don't want to keep up with people, I'm just so in present that I truly forget to.
I know I need to be more carefree and less stressed about things. Not sure if having a kid will help or hinder that. lol I need to be more open with my husband about needing money for things. I need to be ok with not working. I don't know how I will get there, but it needs to happen
Stand up for yourself. Know your strengths and put yourself out there. CARE for yourself by taking prepared, focused action.
Don't be scared!
The best advice I received in the past year is "Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone." I hope to take that motto to heart and continuously strive to push myself into new situations and learn and grow. If I can't answer "When was the last time you did something that scared you?" with a relatively recent response, I'm not living the way I want to be.
"Happiness is being satisfied with what you have." I want to become more satisfied with who I am, so that I can be more honest about my shortcomings.
Walking daily. Walk so that I'm not winded when I climb the stairs. Walk to keep my blood pressure low. Walk to lose weight.
I am improving my life daily. I strive and seek improvement every day in my life. On a broader term, I would like to improve myself financially this year. I would like to save some money and be able to say that I am on a plan to banish my debt. I know I won't have everything paid off, but I want to be on the path. I know I that I will probably have to start thinking about purchasing another vehicle by this time next year (LORD PLEASE KEEP THE LITTLE RED CLUCKER GOING FOR ANOTHER YEAR). I would also like to be on a daily meditating schedule that involves less of electronic media and more of inteacting with people face to face. And yoga, MUCH MORE YOGA this year!!
Just do it.
I want to take really good care of myself - physically and emotionally. Historically, I've let things get me down and it has hindered my growth. I want to thrive more. I want to be more patient and kind, particularly to my partner (even when he drives me nuts). I've received counsel from many mentor-friends to cultivate more equanimity, and so that is my goal... to find peace and a healthy loving detachment, even during the toughest moments.
I'd like to improve myself by watching less tv. It's the only thing I get addicted to and I HATE that about myself. I think the advice I should follow is that there are way too many good things to do and tv just stops you from doing them.
I want to be more comfortable with the idea that I have no idea what I'm doing and that no one else knows what they're doing either and that being not 100% certain is what makes life interesting and makes art good.
You can't do it all. Learn to let go. You do yourself and those you love a disservice by being too busy. Invest in others and build deep relationships. You are good just as you are. You don't need to impress anyone.
I want to be able to forgive myself for the small mistakes that I make on a daily basis, and to not question every single friendship that I have. I want to take more risks, and come out of my shell more. In Dan Howell's Existential Crisis videos, he talks about how you only have one life, and it's up to you to live it. I don't want to look back on my one life decades from now and just wish I'd done more with it. If I don't want to regret my life, I need to start making good on what I said in the first paragraph.
I would like to be better at keep the apartment clean. The way that mess builds up is particularly visible because there's no where to hide here, and I tend to let messes continue once they've started. It's bad that I am only vigilant about the beginning of things, when in fact it is the middle I should be concerning myself with. I hope that I have mastered the art of closing my screens when I no longer want to look at them. To be better at doing, not just complaining. I want to be perfect, and I know that I am already setting myself up for disappointment....
Beyond the home, life balance - I would like to be healthier, to not ache, creak. to lose weight. to have more and more varied exercise. To have good knees, good ankles, a small belly. To feel sexy, healthy, hot, together. To reduce my risk of heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure. To enjoy waking up, to have a rebirth that will be a positive affect for many years to come.
I would love to be healthier (consistantly healthy) And be able to eat well, be fit (not skinny) but fit enough to run and not be tired, and to be strong enough to get through life. Living simply, eating healthy, keeping my body fit, and helping my family do all the same to achieve a lifestyle we can pass along to our future children.
There are three areas in my life that I'd like to improve, and I believe that they all share a similar theme: accountability to self and to others. 1) I would really like to improve my health and fitness. Enough said. 2) I would like to be more reliable and accountable at work and with my volunteer activities. I don't always do my best work and I don't always give my all. I know that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. I need to remember that more often. I would also benefit from recalling that "perfect" is the enemy of "good." 3) I would like to be a better daughter, niece, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. I need to reach out to my friends and relatives and cultivate my relationships with more care.
Challenge my preferences. Continue to be more kind and gentle to myself and others More exercise (yoga, gym, swimming, tennis, daily stretching...) More reading, less tv More meditation More going in the ocean More focus Eating more consistent and better quality towards Vegan Less stress, greater understanding, surrendering to life More trust in my experiences and less cognitive processing...
Besides exercise, I want to get more creative time for painting, sewing and gardening. More theater. More laughter. I need to recharge more. Spend less time in front of my computer. Find some activity that my husband and I can enjoy together. Advice? I give advice. I'd love someone to give me advice!
I want to speak more wisely. But not in an obnoxious, self-important platitude kind of way. I just wanna be less talky and more listeny and encouragey. Best advice I have gotten so far is Tolkien saying in LOTR that the wise do not give advice. It's like in the first part of the first book when Frodo is chillin with some elves.
Next year, I would like to improve my ability to live as an adult, and as an adult member of society. Specifically, this includes learning/knowing how to cook and drive, having taken at least some significant steps towards a career, maintaining friendships, and taking responsibility for myself and my actions/inactions (even if this just means cleaning up after myself at home). A piece of advice that can help me on this journey comes from this guy's blog (markmanson.net): "Action isn't just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it."
Surrender to life as it is. Enjoy each moment like I'm living in a wonderful dream or fairy tale x to feel more grateful & peaceful & to help lots of people do the same x :)
Improve: Health, fitness, self talk, attitude, food quality, friendships, phobias, travel. Advice from Dr Brown: start 5 min on tread Keep working at friendships after 50+ Take some calculated risks and travel Advice to self: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou actually... Think about how I leave other people feeling...hopefully good or better. Ignore the fool downstairs
I just want to go back to being a sympathetic person. And a good listener, with a good memory. Over the past 2 years I got too self involved.
I would like to lose weight and be consistent in my health goals. I would also like to continue my daily personal development to grow myself and to learn new things! My piece of advice would be to remember that failing is okay! Making mistakes is okay! What isn't okay is not allowing myself to LEARN from these things!
Plan when to sleep based on what time I'm getting up the next day, and make keeping to it the most important task of the day. As far as advice goes: "One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery over oneself." - Leonardo da Vinci “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” - Gustave Flaubert "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force, but through persistence." - Ovid
As last year I'd like to work on grounding myself more. I'd like to take better care of my physical body, I'd like to learn about medical care, and ham radio, and small electronics, and I'd like to make more Art. Their is no counsel that comes to mind at the moment.
Be kind to yourself. I need to be kind to myself, it has to stay my motto.
Same answer as #6. And I've gotten a lot of advice about it. But the main thing is you can't go by someone's words as your motivation, because that never lasts. I just know I don't want to be unhealthy, I don't want an unhealthy heart, I don't want diabetes, and I want to run a 1ok by next year, a half marathon the next, and a full marathon before I turn 30. That's all the motivation and guidance I need.
Listen. Speak up!
I'd like to become better at managing stressful situations. Taking more breaths. Not reacting to stressors. Stepping back when there's a challenge and considering how to react.
I would like to have greater patience with everything, and to be less fearful of doing new things or in living my faith.
I need to be more disciplined in caring for family, career, and home. I would counsel myself to take the time to relax when that time has been earned and to work diligently when there is work to be done. There have been to many times this past year when I have let time slip away to silly distractions and I will never get that time back.
Be smarter financially. Take more (healthy) risks socially.
I would like to reform my eating habits. Essentially change my diet. I would like to ingest whole foods primarily. I do not want to eat anything processed if I can help it. Is like to increase my intake of vegetables and other vegan foods. I want to decrease my intake of sugar (which can be found in almost everything). I've read a bit about how changing ones diet like this can lead to weight loss and improved health. It's also prophylactic when in ones mid-40s.
"Lasting Truce Between You and God...." --Hafiz. But also, Alice Walker's words about laying your small stone in the pile. Don't think that your stone because it is so small is not worthwhile or that it is inessential.
I'd like to improve my life in the course of the next year by continuing to redefine my life and career. My "job" and how that will change- and the steps I'm already taking to make it so- has been a presence in my life, and the advice I keep hearing over and over is to take small steps; don't stop because you don't see monumental progress, just keep taking those small steps, and eventually you'll get to where you belong.
I'm not sure if I received this advice during the past year specifically, or if it's something I've been told through the years...Regardless, I need to learn to follow my gut & believe in my initial instincts. I need to be confident in my beliefs & not allow myself to be swayed by guilt or popular opinion.
Take risks and keep up with the degree. Once you get it. It will be worth it!! if not continue fighting for those jobs!! Its your life!!! And it goes by so fast!!!! Learn to embrace it. Now seek the next day but enjoy the current day.
"Are you happy?". That's been my guiding principle for the past few years, and it will continue to be for the future. Are you happy, when you choose whether to go back to work or not. Are you happy, when you choose to spend time with family. Are you happy when you have to make the big life decisions. I will try to hold on to that, acknowledging that not always my happiness is the measuring stick of everything, and my family will always come first, but I will absolutely try to make sure I still keep this in my sight.
I would like to be a better listener. The piece of advice? Stop Talking.
Work-life balance is super important, and somehow keeps getting pushed to the side. I'm currently working in a turnaround/transformation situation and it simply requires 110% of my focus. Turns out the baby also requires 110% of my focus. That basically means time for myself and time with my husband take a huge hit :( To be honest, I haven't received any great advice on this one. I need to build systems and structures at my school so that my individual time isn't so stretched.
Every year, well, every day I tell myself to grow and improve myself in some little way- any way at all- so that I can look back and see how much I've grown or changed as a person. Little changes add up to big ones, and adopting this mentality has only proved that. I am growing and improving myself in little ways every day and seeing those add up to dreams coming to fruition is so rewarding for me.
Focus? Or perhaps, more self awareness: of my energy and how to harness and manage it, of my emotions, of my values.
Do more of what enriches and enlivens you. Do less of everything else. I'd like to figure out what that means for me.
Live life more fully. Enjoy. Be a little wild now and again!
I'd like to be more focused through having a clearer sense of purpose via listening to my intuition. I want to stay more in integrity but also continue to set boundaries and take time for/care for myself.
Pay attention to health, excercise and diet. Take up yoga and meditation. Start the day early, become more focussed and self-motivated.
Less stress. More exercise. Be in better shape. Find that creative outlet. Find that creative outlet. I need it desperately. Advice? breathe more, try meditation. Take the time to do what matters b/c we never know how long we have.
I want to finish my qualification and make significant inroads into my credit card debt. I also want to start planting my garden. Advice or counsel? No, not really. Just, as always: be who you are.
