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A Photo a Day And Other Resolutions

Crunch time. I’ve been mentally piecing together some New Year Resolutions but it’s nearly January 1 and I need to get them down! My last post was about no more excuses and this is the first step to getting there.

Here’s my own personal list of New Years Resolutions:

• Blog. Just do it. It doesn’t matter if I hate the topic or am struggling to find material. My writing skills need improvement, and this is the best way to fix it. I’m going to start with at least once a week I have to update, no matter what.
• Take a picture of something that inspires me, defines me, or documents my day in a single photo and post it each day. 365 days of pictures to help me remember one of the most exciting and terrifying years that I know is going to happen in 2011.
• Set aside 2 hours a week to clean the apartment top to bottom. I’m a notorious clutter bug and it drives me and everyone around me insane.
• Get a big girl job.
• Do more professional tweeting and less personal tweeting. It’s time I start listening to all the PR pros out there and really back up my claim that I have a passion for PR.
• Exercise. I feel cheesy putting this on there, but I really do need to do it and what better time than now?

Now that I have these goals set, I need to start motivating myself.

My question to you, my dear reader, is this: How do you keep yourself motivated to keep those pesky resolutions past January?

Reverb10 f.a.i.l.

I started December with a gung-ho attitude about doing reverb10. It is such a great concept and I have really been wanting to start blogging more and more. I figured this was the perfect time to do it.

Fast forward to the end of December, and I haven’t done a post in over a week. Every time that ominous email pops into my inbox around midnight, my heart sinks a little. I know I haven’t been keeping up and catching up now seems 1. completely fruitless and 2. just plain impossible. ‘Giving up’ is simply not in my vocabulary, which is why this little big reverb10 black cloud has been storming over my head so violently. I’m not used to walking away from a project. I just don’t do it.

Blaming everyone and everything besides my constant avoidance of the challenge is going to get me nowhere. I realize that. So, to combat my sour mood on the blogging front, I’m going to use the impending New Year as a catalyst to change. Yeah, I know, resolutions are usually hokey and never make it past March, if I’m lucky. This one needs to stick. It HAS to stick. I’m going to be a college graduate in a few months (which, by the way, is slightly terrifying) and I have to do something to make me stand out in the sea of recent grads. Being able to put my blog on my resume is important to me. It needs to be there. I really have no option.

So, my first resolution for 2011 is this: Become a blogger, no matter how hard or frustrating it is.

Reverb10 – Day 11 – 11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

1. Negativity towards myself
2. Procrastination
3. Idleness
4. A cluttered apartment
5. Self-doubt
6. Toxic friends
7. Junk food
8. Judgement
9. Uncertainty of the future
10. Excuses
11. Diet Pepsi addiction

How will I go about eliminating them? Good question. I think admitting you have these toxic things in your life is the first step. Then, you have to make an effort to get the habits, people, and things out of your life once and for all. It won’t be easy or quick, but at least I know there are things I have to change, right?

Getting rid of the toxic things in your life just makes life that much easier. I don’t know if it’s possible to totally and completely eliminate the negatives in your life, but if I could accomplish tossing one of the eleven things on my list out of my life, I think I’d be a bit better.

Reverb 10 – Day 10 – Wisdom

I knew it was going to happen eventually. I forgot to do Friday’s post. :-/

So, here’s the prompt from yesterday kiddos: What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

Okay. I’m going to go have to answer with something that seems to be a reassuring theme in my posts. The wisest decision I made this year was to listen to that little voice inside of me that was telling me that I belonged in the LDS Church. I know, I know, you’re probably shaking your head and saying “Jacky, PLEASE quit talking about religion.” But, take that finger away from the mouse key and promise to read on, THEN tell me to hush up about my religion. Okay?  The wisest decision I made this year doesn’t have to do with my decision I made to join the Church, but it was the decision I made to listen to my heart and what God was telling me.

I’ve always wanted a relationship with Christ, but never really managed to get there. I figured it out this year though. The reason I had never really gotten to that place was because I was too busy living my life and being concerned about the little things that I didn’t actually listen. He had been looking for me for my entire life and I had never made myself available to him. Until this year. It was a weird set of coincidences that I couldn’t ignore and eventually, I listened and wisely chose to follow my heart.

How did it play out? I’m becoming more strong in who I am and even stronger in my faith, something that I had never really thought I’d actually achieve. Yeah, I have set backs. Everyone does. But, I know that I made the right choice and making that choice was the wisest thing I have ever done.