As 2010 came to a close, it felt like every 5 minutes someone was asking me what my 2011 resolutions were going to be. Last year’s resolutions were a bit of a fail. I had promised to do hip strengthening exercises 4x a week to prevent injury, but I don’t think I did them 4x over the course of the ENTIRE year. And you know what? I didn’t get injured. And my back and IT troubles are actually better now than they were 12 months ago. Results like this don’t really encourage repeat resolutions ; )
Anyway, the last few months I’ve been in a little bit of a post-marathon/winter blahs funk. I kept wondering why I was so cranky and then I finally realized – being happy isn’t something I can just expect to happen. I have to work toward it. And so that’s what I plan to do in 2011. I’m often really hard on myself – second guessing my race efforts, stressing out about being the perfect friend/daughter/employee, feeling guilty about my coffee and cookie habit, etc.
I know that it’s cliche, but I think that life is too short to feel unhappy about those kind of things anymore. My love for Starbucks mistos and $10 Chop’t salads may not be the best thing for my bank account, but they make me happy. Likewise, skipping a planned workout in favor of happy hour may not help my running, but it sure is fun. I’m not saying that being responsible is a bad thing, but sometimes doing what makes you happy in the moment is most important.
So in 2011, I’m not going to resolve to do the things I feel I should do. I’m going to do the things that make me smile from the inside out:
Drink coffee everyday. Even if stains my teeth.
Run 30+ miles a week.
But not beat myself up for occasionally choosing wine over a workout.
Eat what my body is craving. Sometimes it will be vegetables. Other times it might be cheesecake. Speaking of cheesecake….
Spend time with friends who make me feel good. And not feel guilty about ditching the people who don’t.
I feel happiest when I live boldly and don’t over think my decisions. Last minute road trip to California? Count me in! Tough marathon goal? I’ll go for it. And that’s how I want to spend the next year – being happy, not stressing over the little things, and taking good chances.
What was your happiest moment in 2010?
Here was mine -
