New Years Resolutions 2011

This post was updated January 1st, 2012!

Happy 2011!! Are you as excited as me about this brand new start, clean slate, chance for reflection and growth? Here’s how excited I am: me and one of my biffles, Isabelle, rang in the new year with champagne, a bonfire and stinky cheeses before reading ‘Oh! The Places You’ll Go‘ and brainstorming ideas and resolutions for 2011. We got out pens and paper and wrote down all the things we’d like to be better at, & all the things we’d like to accomplish before this time next year. No dream was too big, and there was absolutely no ‘reality’ check/negativity/cynicism, since dreams need encouragement in order to be achieved! We got all giddy and excited about the possibilities that the future holds, and now I am more jazzed up than ever! Bring it on 2011. :)

Looking back to my 2010 resolutions, I can see that I made a mistake. I was fairly vague in some of my resolutions: “take more chances” and “update my blog more” are not, in my opinion, very clear or easy to achieve. There’s no way of knowing if you’ve really succeeded! So even though I think I accomplished about 7/10 of my last year’s resolutions, it’s not concrete enough for me. I’d prefer goals that I can easily check off: done. That’s why this year, I’m only putting on specific, clear goals. Even though this type of resolutions are a bit scarier to put into words than the vague kind (ex. “be a better friend”), I think they’ll ultimately be more effective for me. They’ll kick my butt into high gear! So without further ado, my resolutions for 2011:

Personal Goals

By personal goals, I mean concrete, specific achievements I’d like to accomplish by 2012.

• Post on my blog at least twice a week. Actual total: 78.
• Read 100 books. Actual total: 50. 
• Get a massage. Blissful, in Cancun!
  
• Spend 1 month eating vegan. Not quite a month. About 2 weeks. 
  
• Attend TEDxMcGill. Check!
• Complete some kind of physical challenge. Did not accomplish this one.
• Participate in NaNoWriMo. Check!
• Watch the Top 250 movies on IMDB. Not even close. But this goal taught me something important: I’m not that crazy about watching movies!
• Do one cultural activity per month
  
• Save $1000.00 for travelling.
  
• Get into the honours psychology program at my school. I applied, but didn’t make it.
• Get a pet of some kind. Didn’t do this one! 
  
• Host a dinner party.
• Do some sort of detox.
• Go on a retreat. I wish I had gotten my act together on this one, but I didn’t make the time. 
• Attend a conference on something I find fascinating. Does TED count?!
• Have photos and writing published.
• Find my dream apartment. Maybe not my dream apartment forever, but definitely for now!
  

Focuses

By focuses, I mean non-specific, vague ways that I’d like to improve.

• Bring joy to others
• Live in the moment
• Say yes, be open to new experiences
• Health & nutrition
• Unconventional moneymaking
• Be calmer & more zen
• Travel
• Make a difference
• Practice my French
• Practice my photography
• Be a better friend
• Eat consciously
• Cut down on Facebook and television
  

What are your goals and focuses for the coming year?

xoxo,