Can you believe we're already in the third month of the year? I still keep almost writing 2014 as the year.
So by now your new years resolutions might have fallen by the wayside (who has time to diet when cupcakes exist, amirite?). They were perhaps too amibitious anyway.
So what you're left with is nine remaining months to do with as you please. Maybe some goals are coming into focus, realistic ones. But they will take work and determination to achieve. But you've totally got this!
So what do you hope to get done with this trip around the sun? Learn a new skill? Get your clutter under control? Reach a more peaceful state of mind? Abandon modern society and go live with the wolves? Share your goals, and let's cheer each other on!
Like evry year, I always say I'm lose weight, and honestly, there are periods were I do but then I gain it back.
However, I'm working on becoming a nicer person, and I'm trying to compliment one stranger a day (when I go out at least XD).
I'm trying to eat better, not really diet, but just not over eat and eat too much junk.
I'm trying become a better artist, and I hope by the end of this year my skills will have improved dramatically.
And lastly, I want to grow out my hair. not really a resolution, but I'm trying to cut the ends every 2 months. My hair was getting long last December, but when I went for a trim that was 5 months overdue, she had to cut it back short because it was all dead ends. T..T
Those are great goals! And I can tell you that making easy changes to the way you eat can be so much more effective than a diet! The issue with diets is that they feel SO restrictive. So one gets really tempted to "cheat," and the moment the diet is over... back to problematic eating and weight gain! Because you just can't eat that way for the rest of your life. But making healthier changes that you can live with... well that sticks!
And man, complimenting strangers can do wonders. Once you start thinking nice things about strangers, it can even boost your own self-esteem and mood! It helps keep you in a positive, cheery mindset rather than getting grumpy. I get grumpy too much.
I have two goals:
The first is to get a new job that can support me. My current gig at a supermarket just isn't cutting it, and won't pay any bills. So I've built a nice resume, and am applying for jobs a little better than retail. Fingers crossed, I'll be sitting at a desk within the next few months! My poor back can't take many more 8 hour shifts on my feet.
Second goal is to get my crap in order so I can move out once I get that nice job. I need to through everything I own with a fine tooth comb, and get rid of all the junk that's accumulated over my life. Clear out the attic, empty every "junk drawer" and closet corner, and par down so that all I have left is the stuff I really want. It will make moving so much easier, and I won't be leaving my parents with piles of my crap in their way.
As for progress, I've got the resume finished and have applied for a few jobs. But then I remembered I forgot the cover letter, so... things are on hold until I get that typed up. And I've been making some slow but steady progress on getting my crap out of the house! I've made a few runs to Goodwill to drop off donations, have thrown tons of papers into recycling, and... I can see my closet floor again! It's a miracle!
Well, my biggest goal was to lose enough weight to fit into this pair of jeans that I love (that I used to wear all the time before I gained weight) and I actually reached my goal a couple of weeks ago!!
So now my biggest goal is to maintain my current weight, just tone up my body a little so I'm not as flabby. I think I'm doing pretty good with that, I am always really excited to exercise because I get really excited to see my body when it's in shape!
I also wish to become a better writer. I've been writing some fanfiction and I feel like my creativity is coming back. I'm happy for that, I just hope I can keep it moving!
Congrats on being able to wear the jeans again! Hope you feel super cute in them!
As for writing... practice, practice, practice! And reading helps a lot too. Reading published works that have gone through multiple stages of professional editing can help set a good standard and get your brain thinking about how things sound best. Reading critically is good too - noticing what the author does and doesn't include, and why that works. I think one of the biggest hurdles I ever overcame in writing was realizing that not every single detail needs to be described - to have faith in the readers to have active imaginations that can create scenery, wardrobe, and tone of voice without me explicitly laying it down for them.
Oh, i was afraid my goals were too plain but I'm glad you don't see them that way!
Yes, I've noticed slight changes, such as feeling more awake and not as hungry. i may joke on RAK about eating bacon and other unhealthy foods, but I really only eat "junk" like 3 times a week which is major for me!
Yes, i hope to make a habit of this and then eventually start eating healthy all around, i really want to take care of myself. I'm overweight my like 15= pounds but you can't tell (imo) because I'm pretty balanced (bless my cuban blood XD). But still, knowing I'm not exactly healthy bothers me, ya know?
Yes! I've made some friends doing this since I do it a lot at college. And it makes me feel good too, kinda hard to explain why tho XD
As for getting a new job, I need to do that too. I work at an animal hospital, I love the animals but my co-workers are very mean and my boss is so cheap. :( I want to work somewhere else where I'm not so stressed and people are nicer..
I wish you luck in finding a job, and kudos to you for having a resume, because you'd be surprised how many people don't have one or even update theres.
What's it like working at a supermarket? i'm assuming it depends your position, but it seems as if it can get tiring. 8 hour shifts are long! I work 12 hour shifts with one 40 minute break which is ridiculous! i'm not trying to one-up you! Work is work, and 8 hours is still long and time goes by foreeever
Haha, i recently accomplished your second goal! I have a habit of hanging onto to junk, since I'm afraid I will need it one day. It took forever but my room is so DAMN CLEAN . Granted, that's just my bedroom, so I can only imagine a whole house
Haha, that's great, though, I'm happy for your progress!
Feeling better is definitely the best part of eating healthier! Once you tune into your body like that, it becomes really easy to see what does and doesn't make you feel good. For example, yesterday I didn't treat myself very well. I didn't drink any water all day, and ate nothing but a big ol' pot of mac n' cheese. And as a result, I felt really shitty. My head felt weird, my stomach felt weird... Whereas today I'm drinking water and had a salad for lunch, and I feel great! Your body is pretty good at cluing you in when you're not treating it well.
Aww, I hope you're able to quickly find work somewhere better! If you like the job but not the people, maybe you could find work at another animal hospital or vet's office?
Working in a supermarket... eh. I work in the bakery department, so I get to do some fun things like decorate cupcakes and write happy birthday on cakes for people. But it's mostly stocking, cleaning, and telling lost customers where the cheese is. I hear lots of horror stories about insanely rude customers, but luckily I don't get many of them. People are rude to me sometimes, but so far no one's screamed at me or been a complete nightmare. Just the sort of "can you believe what this customer did..." sort of story when I get off work.
I just do my best to help everyone out as much as I can. I try to go the extra mile to make everyone's cakes look super nice, make suggestions to people who can't find exactly what they're looking for, and generally help people plan their parties and dinners. Once in a while, it pays off. I've gotten some customers gushing about how I saved the day, and sometimes they fill out a comment card up front about me, and I get some official recognition for it. I just recently got a little pin to wear at work that says "I went the extra step!" for helping people out. It's silly, but a little bit of recognition goes a long way in making me feel like my work isn't completely pointless.
My shifts are usually about 5 hours since the department's hours got drastically cut. It's really annoying because I can barely get any work back there - I usually work about 16-21 hours a week! I'd like to work a lot more. But at the same time... I don't, because standing that much hurts. I want a desk job!
Congrats on getting cleaned up! I just tidied out a drawer in my dresser that had become a receptacle for every bit of junk I didn't know what to do with. I pulled out picture books, broken iPod speakers, stuffed animals, three unused notebooks, a stack of recipes, a pack of stickers... so much random junk. So I threw the plushies I didn't want into a Goodwill bag, set the rest to go upstairs in a tote along with the picture books, took pictures of the recipes I wanted to keep with my phone and recycled them all, and repurposed the drawer to be for bedding! I folded up a spare blanket, stuck in a travel pillow and some spare pillow cases, and have just enough room to put in my other pair of sheets, once they've been washed. It didn't take more than twenty minutes... why did I put that off for so long?
Last edited by Cherry Who?; 03-04-2015 at 11:54 PM..
I need to reduce my waistline by about 20cm. At the beginning of the year I set a goal to reduce my waistline by 5cm but unfortunately I'd gained 1cm instead.
Last year I'd lost about 9 kilos in a period of a few months, it was insane and at the time I was very energetic, physically active and focused on anything but the weight. It was strange because I had been wanting to lose weight for years with no progress and then I had a bit of an epiphany where I switched on and figured that my overall health is more important than my weight, and funnily enough that's when I started to lose weight.
I've since gained about 5 kilos again but I am healthier than I was prior to when I started losing weight, but there's still more I can do to improve my health.
My main goal for this year is to find a meaningful job where I can utilize the skills and knowledge I developed during my studies. I've been applying for jobs with no success so far...but I'm optimistic something will come up.
Omg yes! I've had those days where I have soda only and cookies and junk and I feel horrible
I thought about that, my close friend who worked with me managed to leave and got hired at a much better one with nicer people. I thought about going there, but honestly, I don't want to pursue this as a career. Interning and then working there at a young age (17-18) has let me figure out early on what I really want to do. I wanted to be a veterinarian for the longest time, did the 4-year vet program, interned, and became a licensed Vet assistant, but once I actually went behind the scenes, I realized this wasn't my forte. I can handle the gore, the deaths, the injuries (I've been bitten, clawed, and almost messed up my back) but idk, it's just not what I wanted. I'm, instead, majoring in Wildlife Ecology and wish to become a wolf specialist to continue restoring the population. My best friend is going to specialize in siberian tigers! :D
(sorry for blabbing a lot on this subject)
Ugh, seriously, people can be so mean. I've heard bad stories where this one client refused to have a female technician work with him because he didn't believe women belonged in the field (even though they make a majority of it). There's also been people who have accused us for killing their pets which is horrible, we feel bad enough not being able to save them all, and being blamed makes it worse. My co-workers are jerks but they truly love animals. I teched a room with a guy and his fiance and they were so high, it was horrible
I've seen people at supermarkets yell over the dumbest things like items being misplaced or false ads, idk like come on, those aren't robots, they're people!
That's so wonderful that people say nice things about you. I too have been there and it makes me feel like a million dollars! I used to be a kennel technician so i was incharge of all pets staying/boarding at the clinic. There would be people who left their pets for the first time and were sad, but I would call them everyday with updates and they were so happy. And I've had clients try to pay me as a thank you which I rfuse because it's my job, but its also my pleasure. Seriously, I've met the nicest dogs and cats ever (and meanest XD). What makes me happy is that we get a lot of pitbulls, which are my fav breed. And they are ALL so sweet
You only work that much? No wonder you want a new job! And, yeah, my job has me walking/running all over the clinic and it's like heaven when we find time to sit to type prescription labels or therapy logs. However, it's short-lived when we find time to chill, since its "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean". Which we do a lot of ANIMAL FUR SUCKS
Haha! But you must feel so much better being all nice and clean now! I still hoard my plushies since I remember how I got every single one of them and just can't let go (i know, its sad)
That's so great Ava! it's also inspiring to hear, keep it up
Ling; It's good your optimistic, and you will get a job, I just hope it's asap for ya! As for your health, I wish you luck, and I'm trying to be healthier too. It's not easy, but the fact that we're trying is wonderful enough
I studied Social Science majoring in Human Services, so I hope to get a job as a human services professional ideally working to support and empower people in a community setting.
Ling - Yeah, focusing on health is the way to go! And like Chikyu and I were discussing, it can really make you feel a lot better.
Chikyu - Well, congrats on identifying what you'd like to do! Good luck getting there!
I do feel pretty great about that drawer right now. I ought to go wash my other sheet set so I can put it in there. But really, I need to work on cleaning out my other drawers... Throw out all the junk undies, holey socks, and worn-to-tatters PJs! I've also got two drawers full of DVDs, CDs, and video games that really needs to be addressed... I know I'm never going to listen to most of those CDs again.
Oh, I get so many junk drawers. I just cleaned out two others recently. I had two desk drawers just stuffed with all sorts of useless papers and other crud. But those are nice and clean now too!
That's so great Ava! it's also inspiring to hear, keep it up
Thanks, Chikyu!! :)
I definitely plan to! :D And good luck with your goals as well! I think it's great to compliment one stranger a day! I think I might start doing that too. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cherry Who?
Congrats on being able to wear the jeans again! Hope you feel super cute in them!
As for writing... practice, practice, practice! And reading helps a lot too. Reading published works that have gone through multiple stages of professional editing can help set a good standard and get your brain thinking about how things sound best. Reading critically is good too - noticing what the author does and doesn't include, and why that works. I think one of the biggest hurdles I ever overcame in writing was realizing that not every single detail needs to be described - to have faith in the readers to have active imaginations that can create scenery, wardrobe, and tone of voice without me explicitly laying it down for them.
Thanks so much, Cherry. :)
Oh! Yes, reading is definitely another goal of mine! Read more books! I am currently reading one called Speak that I read in middle school and loved. I bought it at a used book store for a dollar! 8D
I'm the same exact way with my stories right now! I feel like I add way too many details and I worry that it will bore my readers. That does make sense, though. Not every detail needs to be described, that's the wonderful thing about reading, is that you can use your own imagination to create how you want the characters to look, dress, how their environment looks, feels. It's a wonderful thing to engage imagination, that's what I love about the stories I've read, I just have to apply it to my own stories! Haha!
Thank you! And I advise that you do~ It was hard at first, some people don't respond but maybe I wasn't loud enough, but now I'm just like "nice tie their brah" lol not really xD.
Yes, read read read READ LIKE A MAD PERSON! I need to find a good series to read, or big book :/
Stephen King has a book called "On Writing," that I found very helpful when I read it many moons ago. Half of it is a memoir, but the other half is just straight up writing advice (and the halves are separated very clearly, if you're not interested in the memoir part). You might want to give that a peek! He had a passage about how you don't need to describe everything that has really stuck with me. I don't remember the specifics, but the general gist of it was to trust your readers. He starts to describe this scene as something like "a rabbit sits in a cage on a table." He then goes on that it doesn't matter what color the rabbit is, etc. Everyone will picture a different rabbit. And that's completely fine because the color of the rabbit doesn't matter. Likewise everyone will imagine a different cage, a different table, and that doesn't matter. The important details (the rabbit, the cage, and the table) have all been supplied, and the reader's imagination is more than capable of filling out the rest of the details. He put it better, but you get the point.
And if you're in college, it can help to take some classes that are very focused on how you write. Plenty of classes will assign papers, but loads of them don't really care how good your writing is, so long as there aren't blatant errors. Literature analysis classes can be good for this. There, the way you construct, organize, and support your arguments are very important. And if you don't do it well, your professor will definitely tell you! Of course, writing an essay and writing fiction are two different beasts entirely - but learning how to properly convey information in an academic way can be useful for altering the way you convey information in fiction. Makes you think more critically about your writing, rather than just a free flow of random stuff that comes to mind.
Last edited by Cherry Who?; 03-05-2015 at 06:26 AM..
My biggest goal is to see myself actually attain some kind of career that i will be happy with, as opposed to the dead end job i've been working for the last year. I also wanted to loose weight since time immemorial, which has never really worked out, but i'm determined to get fitter this year so hopefully i'll get there!
I guess everyone wants to lose weight, and I'm one of them too :D
My main goal for this year is that I should focus more on my studies and try to increase study hours per week to 40-50 (currently it's just 3-5 hours per week and if I keep this up I'm going to fail ). My goals aren't very huge, but this is all I've planned for this year c:
With how things are going I may have to impliment the backups plans of go off on a 6 year Club 18-30 holiday, go to Egypt and become a camel farmer or become a geisha.
I just recently got a little pin to wear at work that says "I went the extra step!" for helping people out. It's silly, but a little bit of recognition goes a long way in making me feel like my work isn't completely pointless.
However, it's short-lived when we find time to chill, since its "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean". Which we do a lot of 
