Half-Assing It
I’m not much of a ‘New Years Resolution’ type person, with a couple of exceptions. One year I resolved to eat more pancakes. Since I rarely eat pancakes, that was an easy one. Another year I resolved to floss my teeth more. Actually, that was a resolution MANY years running, until it finally stuck and now I floss my teeth semi-regularly.
I’ve seen a lot of posts where blog friends are very organized and planning how many books they are going to read, date nights, etc. I don’t really track that sort of stuff, so I wouldn’t really enjoy that, I don’t think.
I have, however, decided to make some half-ass changes.
Last year I was pretty good about doing yoga to a YouTube video most week day mornings, for perhaps 3 months. I fully intended to continue that when I went to France, but the space wasn’t really right and we kind of wanted to get going in the mornings, so I blew it off. Then when I came home, I was so jet lagged, then the balance issue. I just never got back to it. Well, I’m still a little wobbly with the balance, but you know what might help that? Yoga. It could also help with tension in my back and so on, and pain from sitting all day. So I started last week, on Wednesday (not January 1st or even 2nd), and I am doing Yoga with Adriene’s 30 Day Yoga Journey, which this year she is calling ‘Center’. I’m half-assing it though, because I don’t really intend to do the 30 day journey in 30 days. Rather, I will work on doing one video every week day, unless that week day is a holiday. I may still do it on MLK day, and I may not.
Speaking of yoga, I used to take an in person yoga class (before the teacher moved to Hawaii, damn her) that I really liked. Way back in 2006 I wrote about the idea of ‘surrender‘, which our teacher was discussing. My goal was to try to help myself not be so frazzled and pulled in different directions. Also, by surrendering to the moment, perhaps we can learn to live a more simple, happier life. If we’re enjoying our time in France, for example, rather than worrying about things at home, we will have a better time. If we enjoy our Christmas holiday, rather than wish something could be different, we will have a better time. I’m not terrible at this…I enjoyed my trip to France, I didn’t worry much about things at home. I enjoyed my Christmas, didn’t spend too much time wishing I could see my family, or that my parents were still alive. But I can do more in this regard, I think. So if I am going to choose a word for 2023, it will be ‘surrender’. I am choosing to surrender to the joy that is around me.
I’m a week late to this one, too, but I am going to participate in Dry January for the rest of the month. I may carry it over into the first week of February to make up for the week I missed, and I may not. Hence the ‘half-assing it’. I participated a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed it for the first couple of weeks, then I started missing a glass of wine once in awhile, and by the end I was really tired of it. I would have expected it to be the opposite…I would have thought that I would have missed it at the beginning and then adjusted to it. It will perhaps be interesting to see how I feel this time around.
Lastly, I am going to try adding another ‘meatless’ day to our weekly menu. I try to participate in Meatless Mondays, though I don’t really call it that, I just make something sans meat on Mondays. That’s tough sometimes because Ted is so low carb, and his doctor wants him to be even more so, so he can’t have a piece of bread/some rice/potato to help fill him up, so I will sometimes make him some chicken or add some sausage to his portion, if I think what I’m making is going to leave him feeling hungry.
Speaking of half-assing it, I have been half-assing my blog commitments. I participated in San’s holiday mug exchange, but I have not posted a picture of the lovely mug that I received. My excuse is that the person who gifted me a lovely mug does not have an active blog, and I DID post a picture on Instagram. But for those of you who participated and have been enjoying seeing the packages that folks received, here is mine. It was a gift from @bookishflaneuse on Instagram, and her Amanda’s Athenaeum blog. I love the mug, I love Van Gogh, and I love giraffes and tea. Perfect perfect perfect.
So, those are my goals for 2023. Hoping to take a couple of vacations, read some books, and so on. Here’s hoping this will be a joyous year for all of us, and that perhaps we will get Peace in Ukraine (and everywhere else as well!)
28 Comments
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
You say “half assed”, I say “specific, measurable, attainable, etc.” I am here for it!
Happy New Year!
J
I like your spin on it, Beckett!
Ally Bean
I like your goals. They seem doable, but not stress inducing. I’m sure that joining in late to the yoga class and the dry January trend is perfectly okay. You do you, boo!
J
Thanks Ally! Yes, I’m not competing in anything where a specific date needs to be hit. Joining late is fine.
NGS
I have done exactly two of the Center practices from YWA so your half-assing it is definitely better than my half-assing! Way to go!
J
Oh, nice to know I’m not alone with the YWA! I did #4 this morning. I find that days when I do yoga turn out better than days when I don’t.
Margaret
I like your flexibility on your goals because things do come up. We don’t react the way we think we will or life gets in the way. (my problem) Anything that causes me too much stress is out the window. I have enough of that right now. I am definitely going to copy that saying because it’s exactly what I need.
J
Absolutely, stress should NOT be the goal. My goal is less stress, not more.
San
I actually quite like your approach of adding goals in “moderation”… it does not always have to be ALL or NOTHING. 🙂
And thank you again for participating in the Secret Santa Mug Swap and posting your picture here again on your blog. I am so glad you liked what you received 🙂 I’ll be posting a recap of all the mugs that were exchanged soon!
J
Thanks San! I realized that I intended to link to your mug exchange, but got distracted. I’ve fixed that now.
I enjoy reading other folks goals for the year, and admire their specificity. I guess I used to do that some when I participated in reading challenges, but wow…goals for a whole year feels daunting!
Rain Trueax
I used to do goals for the coming year. I’d do them between Christmas and New Year by looking at what i’d done the year before and how it’d gone. Now I don’t do that but hope for the best for each year. Why we make a big deal out of a calendar change is beyond me, but guess we need some such time.
J
Hi Rain!
Yes, it’s awfully arbitrary, right?
Py Korry
Well, one good thing about dry January is that you’ll find you have more cash to spend on books, or audiobooks.
?
J
Exactly!
Nicole MacPherson
I love this whole post! I love the idea of surrendering in the moment, I love the doing yoga on weekdays and not feeling pulled into HAVE TO DO IT EVERY DAY, I love the moderation here. It’s just so smart. I think many people get this All Or Nothing viewpoint and then just give up on things that would really make their lives better.
That mug is lovely! What a perfect gift.
J
Thanks Nicole! I agree, I think the reason so many NY resolutions fail is because people are tired of doing something or giving something up, and so they let it go. I heard some people on the radio talking about resolutions the other day, and they said you needed to have a valve of some sort. If you really, really want to be doing whatever it is EVERY DAY, then you need to have a ‘cheat day’ or an ‘Emergency Day’ where you can cheat and not have it blow your resolution. People who have that are more successful.
Meike
Sounds lile we are on the same page when it comes to our yearly plans. i think whatever works for you.
i love the online yoga classes. I attempted a couple of the calendars but never made it through very far. now I usually just pick what I feel like that day.
J
Thanks Meike, I also have been loving the YouTube yoga classes. Back in the day I used to buy DVDs, but of course it was the same thing every day, which got pretty boring. Nice to have variety.
Elisabeth
Love this, although it strikes a bit too close to home because one of my goals for…the last decade?…has been to do more yoga stretching and I fail so miserably. I literally told myself 30 seconds of downward dog and 30 seconds of child’s pose was enough and even that I haven’t managed to keep up with.
But!!! You’re inspiring me. This made me feel a lot better about that “failure” and reaffirms that a little can also be just the right amount.
Now, to I’m off to do that 30 seconds of downward dog 🙂
J
Elisabeth, yay! Do it!
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
I love the idea of surrendering. That is something I should work on. I have gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older and have accepted that less is in my control that I would like. But there is always room for improvement.
And I like this half ass approach, too. Better to come into the new year with realistic expectations and to not ask perfection of yourself! That’s why I didn’t even set goals for several years. And this year I was pretty gentle in terms of goals that I set.
Last year I worked through this 100 day program called “morning meltdown” – but it took me 6 months! I can’t imagine doing the program every day for 100 days straight. My life is not conducive to that. So I’d be stretching that 30 day yoga program out, too!
J
I like the idea of gentle goals, if one is going to make them. 100 day program in under 200 days is pretty great!
nance
Apparently, I was half-assing reading blogs because I missed this entry. Sorry about that.
In any case, welcome to Dry January. I’m not feeling very deprived as of now, but the month is young. And Rick has switched to beer rather than tempt me. There’s a local brewery only a few blocks from us that makes lots of beers he enjoys, so he’s not depriving himself too terribly.
The chocolate tea is intriguing. Does it really taste like chocolate?
J
Nance, we went to dinner last night with some friends, where usually I would order a glass of wine, and I had water. Did I feel deprived? A tiny bit, but not really. Ted joined me in abstaining, so I wasn’t really tempted.
I had forgotten about the chocolate tea. I haven’t tried it yet, I’m going to have to give it a go and report back.
Stephany
I love this idea! I have to be very lenient with myself when it comes to goals because I can easily fall into the “all or nothing” mentality. One of my goals this year is to go for a 10-minute walk every day and, of course, I have missed MANY days already but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up! I’m just going to keep going – I’ll see how many days I end up walking this month and try to do a little bit better (even if it’s just by 1 day) in February.
J
That’s a great attitude, Stephany! The problem for me with all or nothing is that if I don’t manage all, I may give up and go for nothing instead. Some is better than that!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
What a leisurely take on the new year. I think you do have some goals here even when you call them half-assed. Giving yourself some flexibility is key to making any progress. I love your word. First reaction upon reading was that it is a bit negative – and I had very bad experiences with that – but your explanation made me think. I will look forward on. how it will guide you through the year.
J
Thanks Tobia, yes, regarding ‘Surrender’, it can feel fatalistic, like you have to take whatever is given to you, but the way our yoga teacher explained it, it is lovely and peaceful.