A new beginning

I love the chance to start over. To start new. I love the feeling that I can change right here, right now, today and be whoever I want to be. Even though many people don't stick with their New Year's Resolutions much past the beginning of February I still love that everyone is so focused on changing and becoming better.

I, like many of you I'm sure, have thought of things I'd like to change in my life. The thing I'm doing differently this year is that I'm not going to lay out a million things I want to do differently because that does not work for me. I fall into a trap where I get feeling down or disappointed because I can't be the perfect girl I see in my head. Newsflash: it's okay to not be perfect. I'm starting with two goals, just
two.

One: Eating healthy

This may seem like a bandwagon goal that everyone does, but if joining the bandwagon helps me develop good habits then I'll gladly buy that ticket. My goal is to eat at least one fruit, one vegetable, and have one serving of protein a day. Protein is the main area where I really struggle. I have never been the biggest meat eater in the world. I think that's largely due to a traumatizing experience I had as a child with a thanksgiving ham and some bone marrow. I blame it on my queasiness that has been passed down from both sides of my family. Anyway, I have stocked my freezer with some chicken breasts and bags of nuts from Costco. I'm going to try and get creative with getting in some protein, so if you have anything that has worked well for you I'd love to hear!

One other thing with eating healthy is that I want to limit the processed sugar that I eat. My mom and sister have both decided to go off of sugar for 21 days and I have decided to join them. I am specifically not eating candy and dessert like foods. I did this for 2 weeks a couple of months ago and it seriously made a world of difference. My end goal with this is to be able to break my body's addiction to sugar. I've realized that I like the taste of sugary things more than I like eating a ton of any one particular thing.

Two: Talking

I'm one of those people that is so beyond quiet when I first meet people that others often think I'm stuck up. I don't know why I'm like this. I usually have plenty to say, but for some reason I just can't get myself to break into a conversation very easily. I do better in small groups. I think a lot of it stems from an insecurity with putting myself out there. I don't do very well when I know there are people that don't really like me. I know, I know I'm being a girl.

I usually have to feel really comfortable and that I know the dynamics of a group before I begin to talk. But how can I expect to get comfortable in situations if I don't start doing things to help me become more comfortable??

Looking at my life I realized that I haven't made many new friends recently. The new friends I have made I love and am so glad that they are in my life, but they are far and few between. I've just let myself become comfortable with my roommates and haven't felt the need to push myself, but the time for that has ended. This year is about pushing past feeling uncomfortable. It's a scary thought, but it also makes me excited.

I have high hopes for this year. I think it is going to be one of the best so far. And you know why? Because I'm deciding that right now. I am equipped with everything I need to be successful and I know it.

If you're thinking there is something hard that you want to do but aren't sure if you can I say go for it! After all, we all can do hard things when we put our mind to it!

I'm excited to see what this new year brings and I hope you are too!