This is a first.

I never make resolutions for the new year. I never write them down. I rarely ever say them out loud. The farthest I'll sometimes go is glossing over a few things in my mind. But I don't like to be specific, as to not feel like a failure when I know I won't achieve them.

Well, this year is different. I definitely will fail when I believe I won't achieve. Writing is a way of committing. That's why I love writing. It's a form of true commitment. Commitment to your actions. Commitment to your thoughts. Commitment to your feelings. Putting pen to paper is a way of producing physical evidence of your inner thoughts, desires and emotions.

So, I have put pen to paper this year, and now I am putting fingers to keyboard. :) I have verbally read these out loud to my family, and I am now displaying them for all of you to see out in cyber world.

Physical:

I hope to be two sizes down by the end of 2012. If I shrink even more, great. But two sizes is my resolution. I want to be stronger, and I want to have more stamina in order to more thoroughly enjoy hikes and outdoor activities. The following points will help me achieve my physical desires.

1)I will exercise using my own body weight 2-3 times a week (sometimes using free weights), while doing some form of low-intensity cardio (walking, biking, rowing) for 3-5 hours per week. For more about this visit Mark Sisson's website here. Just click on the Primal Blueprint Fitness Ebook to the right.

2)I will be following a paleo eating plan. Click here to understand more about that.I've been eating this way since August 2011, so don't think I'm kidding myself here. It's not that difficult.

3)I will get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.

I believe it's important to have physical goals. Not for vain purposes, but to always be growing, improving and becoming the healthiest you. I'm not the healthiest me right now. I could be stronger. I could be faster. I could be happier. (And my physical state correlates closely with my happiness. When I'm eating healthy things that were created by God to give me nourishment, I feel better...every way you look at it. Also, moving around...taking a walk...exercising helps me feel happier.) I feel, if I only work on my spiritual self, and not my physical self, that's only rowing one paddle of a canoe, and I'm going in circles. God gave me this physical body for a reason. I need to keep it healthy so my spiritual self has no reason to get deterred.

Spiritual:
I hope to be closer to the Savior, to have a better relationship with Him, and to trust my Heavenly Father more. I'd like to be more patient with the people around me, more loving and more understanding. I want to be much slower to anger or get frustrated (which goes along with patience.) And I want to have the same belief in myself that my Heavenly Parents have in me. I want to feel Their belief in me, and, from that, produce my own faith in myself. The following points will help me achieve my spiritual desires.

1)I would like to have read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, and all the Standard Works (Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) by the time I'm 30. This involves me reading from the Book of Mormon and one other scripture on a daily basis. I still need to do the calculations to know exactly how to pull it off.

2)Something I stole from my friend Crystal Miller's blog...I want to work on a Christ-like attribute or commandment a month. I stole the monthly idea from her. My bishop has said that it can be overwhelming and kind of a downer when we think about all we want to improve on. But if we just work on one...one until we become excellent at it, then it's not so overwhelming. So, I'm going to pick something monthly. One month it may be scripture study...I'll study extra hard, keeping notes, looking up definitions and meanings, exploring the history. The next month may be temple attendance...for that month I'll attend once a week. One month it might be morning prayers, and the next month I'll focus extra hard on humility. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll be a lot stronger in 12 commandments/Christ-like attributes.

3)I want to attend the temple once a month. Along with this, I'd like to visit some sort of beauty in nature once a month, the ocean, a waterfall, a hiking trail...and take time to sit and ponder.

4)Have actual conversations with my Heavenly Father. I don't want to just talk at Him. I want to listen.

5)This one is a wee bit personal, but I want to write everything out. So, I want to completely stop thinking/saying swear words. I'm not a big swearer. Those words aren't part of my normal verbal vocabulary. But, they do creep up in my mind pretty often...and seem to slip out during major frustration, pain or anger. I don't want those words to be in my thoughts any longer. I want to refine myself...my thoughts, desires, and actions. I want to know that if the Savior were next to me, I'd feel comfortable...not awkward and uncomfortable. So, I want to eliminate these words. There's really no point to them...especially if I'm working on being more patient and slow to anger. I believe fasting and prayer is the solution to this dilema. I'm seriously going to work hard on eliminating any swearword from my thoughts this year.

Other:
Improve my writing skills and take it to the next level:professional. I want to write a book by the time I'm 30, and I want to write at least one article this year and get it published in a magazine...and preferably get paid for it. :) I'd also like to improve my cooking abilities...understand different seasonings and spices and how to improve mundane dishes.

1)Write for at least a half hour every day. The subject doesn't matter so much as I focus on the quality and content of my words.

2)Create outlines for possible story ideas.

3)Carry out interviews I've wanted to do with specific people for the past two years.

4)Have 100 pages written toward the book by the end of the year.

5)Learn a new recipe a month and execute it.

6)Cook weekly, try new things...don't stick to the same paleo cookbook I've been using for the past 5 months.

So, these are my goals and resolutions. I know I can accomplish them. I won't stress; I'll just keep going, taking it one day at a time. Life is good. I will find the good and I will make it good.