Sunday, January 8, 2012

monthly goals

JANUARY

FASHION GOAL
Be instinctive.
I go into my closet and pick out something on a whim, throw it on, then take it off because I analyze it so much that I think it's weird. Well, I've decided that I'm going to try to combat those thoughts. There's really no harm in trying. Everything's an experiment. The worst that can happen is I'll look weird. I can live with that.

POSITIVE THINKING GOAL
Turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
Last month's "I am beautiful...even with a few pounds on" didn't really work with me. Getting caught in a negative thought cycle isn't great when it's attacking self esteem. This month, I am going to try my hardest to tell myself that I am worth the effort it takes to get back into shape. Instead of dwelling... I need to start training my thoughts, turning them into will power, and using that energy to focus on being a healthier me.

HEALTH AND BODY GOAL
Plan meals.
Jeff loves to do this with me so I have been blessed with a wonderful man. We enjoy going through our cook books and deciding what we're going to have through out the week. It saves money, reduces suppertime stress and makes sure we don't eat junk that takes 15 minutes to cook on the days we are tired.
Treadmill 2 times a week.
Quite honestly, if I get on it twice a week for an hour, it's a start. Does anyone know if it's bad to exercise at night and then go to bed? Three days a week it's impossible for me to exercise as soon as the little one goes to bed. One night is date night. That leaves three nights free to exercise.

MOMMY GOAL
Smile more.
It may seem like I'm pushing this goal to the bottom burner, but I'm not. I let little things get in the way of enjoying my day. I say "no" too often as opposed to redirecting her to more positive things. I spend too much time "watching" and not enough time "playing". As parents, it's just as much our job to teach while playing as it is to feed and clothe our children (as least I believe it to be so). 
In Kindermusik, I teach my parents to scaffold: to watch our children to see if they evolve their playing into trying something new. Then for us as parents to mimic and build upon that skill by encouraging something else based upon the skills they already have. 
It's important sometimes to just act like a kid. I need to use my advice more often. Separate from the tv/computer/phone. Not that television is bad--don't get me wrong, I think it can be great in some ways--but occasionally, it can rob us of our most precious moments. I need to get my hands dirty and be more hands on. Then, I think I will smile more.

BLOGGER GOAL
Refocus.
I am trying to redirect my blog--bring it back to it's roots. December was a hard month for me. I took a step away--that's okay and healthy in my opinion. When I started, I had meant for this space to be a place for fashion, personal goals and positive thinking. I don't want it to become a journal of sorts. I scrapbook at home for that. I'll admit, it's much easier to document here, but this is not the place for it. In the spirit of the new year, I am going to pull back into what I had originally wanted.

MUSIC GOAL
URGENT: Sing more.
This is like the classic New Years resolution that always fails for me. It's always on the back burner. So sad. This month it's critical for me to practice because I have to sing in a competition in February and I want to be prepared. In my opinion, in order to be fully prepared I should have been practicing these songs in September, but let's look ahead: if the professionals can do it, I can... try to do it. (Not recommended, though.)

TEACHER GOAL
Learn.
Have empathy. Have patience. Most importantly, have purpose. Last month's goal is hard to beat, and better yet, I never want to let that phrase go. It's important to me. However, I need to remember that as a teacher, when I don't have the answers or if something isn't registering with a certain student, it's my job to educate myself further. I need to learn new ways to teach. Try new things. 
Even more, I want to learn more pedagogy from Meg, but she is pregnant, and I fear that with my performance coming up, we will be focusing more on my singing than anything else. It's all related, everything helps, but it would be nice to do more book work in the future.

RELATIONSHIP GOAL
Smile more. Laugh often.
Seeing double? As I said previously, but in a different way, I spend too much time thinking and expecting and wishing and hoping and not enough DOING. There's no relationship inside my head, and if there is, it is a lonely one. The only way to grow is to come outside of my head and be present. To let things go when they really don't matter. To laugh (seriously, it won't kill you to laugh). To relax (what is that, again?)...



DECEMBER SUMMARY:

DSC_0048 Well, I got dressed. It would've been tragic if I had bypassed that little goal. I did get on the treadmill. I've been speed walking to Gossip Girl. It's working for me. I succeeded in posting a Christmas song. I've become addicted to Twitter, so that takes care of my desire to connect--though not fully. I believe it makes a big difference when you share your thoughts on someone's post. They put so much time into creating them and I've developed some friends that I'd like to maintain.
 I think I did a great job of keeping my mind in the moment of the day. Whether I was working on the blog, or spending time with my family, my mind was with me. That's the most important thing.

Blogging was definitely difficult throughout the holiday season. I hope to create some sort of new schedule for the new year. The time I usually take my photos has been filled by work so I'm a little nervous about how this will play out.

Teaching last month was great, though a little uninspiring since my students and I were scrambling to prepare for recitals. This month, however, I am excited and refocused.
I have been dreading writing this post to address the positive thinking goal I set for myself. The only thing I can say for sure is that as long as I am working towards a goal (such as daily exercise and healthy eating) there isn't much else I can do and I need to be happy with the progress I am making--just by putting the effort in.
At some point I need to make an effort to write these posts on time. But then again, I rarely do anything on time.

xo,
Courtney




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In case you missed it...
december goals
november goals
october goals

Coming up...

a thousand years (piano/voice cover)
inspired menswear and a surprise location

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Thank you for taking the time to read and comment; I really appreciate it. I do my best to follow up on each one.
xo Courtney

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