Resolved

Do you want to hear my New Year's resolution?  Probably not.  And I won't force you to read through all of them although I will mention some in this post.  But I will say that I really love making New Year's resolutions.  I do it every year.  Not that I expect myself to keep all of them, because really, who does that?  But I totally get the point of evaluating yourself and being honest about where you are and where you want to go.  I can dig that.  I tend to make my list of resolutions while sitting in church, usually between meetings on scraps of paper that I keep in my scriptures.  That works well for me because then I can pull those papers out each Sunday and think about my resolutions.  Which are slightly different from goals if you think about it - more of an optimistic, introspective, and can-do approach I think.

Some of my resolutions are really basic and unimaginative, of course.  Like resolutions to go to the temple once a month or read scriptures every day or exercise three times a week.  But my favorite resolutions are the ones that really challenge me to do something hard or maybe even a little uncomfortable, all in the name of becoming a "better" or "more interesting" or "well-rounded" person.  Like past resolutions to talk to at least one random stranger a week (like the checker at the grocery store or the person next to me on the treadmill at the gym) or to get a passport and travel outside of the U.S. (this has turned into an all-time favorite resolution that I have been very successful in keeping but that at one time I thought there was no way I would ever achieve).  One of my more interesting resolutions for 2010 is to try my hand at new recipes this year - especially international ones - by making something different for dinner at least once a week.  Which may or may not be accomplished depending on how motivated I am to cook for just me and Paul after a full day of work.  Maybe that resolution will be modified to a once-a-month resolution.  We shall see. 

Other resolutions I've been tossing around are community-related - like a resolution to attend community events like concerts in the park or outdoor movies or something.  I really want to get to know my new stomping grounds in the Bay Area this year.  I also want to be more involved with the people from my new ward at church this year because in the past I have been really bad about attending social events like dinners and parties and service projects and such. 

Anyway, last year I made up my list of resolutions and then asked my dad, my sister, and Paul what resolutions they had made.  Each told me seperately that they were perfect (or some other joking statement to that effect) and proclaimed that they didn't need resolutions.  And since lots of people don't make resolutions and I was getting a little ribbing about my yearly practice of making them, I threw out the scraps of paper where I had jotted down my thoughts.  Now with two days left in the year I find myself really missing those lost aspirations for my own personal betterment.  And I'm not going to let it happen again this year.  I've got my list all made out.  I may add to it periodically throughout January. 

And if you are a resolution-maker yourself, I've got your back, okay?