In recent years, I haven't made a single serious new year resolution. Of course, I always promise myself at the start of the year that I'd lose weight, exercise more, save more money, and the other resolution regulars that never seem to be fulfilled year after year. Then I shrug and say, "Maybe next year." I guess I've been too caught up in work and the busy Tokyo lifestyle that I just didn't feel the need to set yearly goals. Just getting to go home everyday had been a goal in itself. If you've ever worked for the first company I worked for here in Tokyo, you'd get what I mean.
Anyway, the point is, now that I'm in a better place career-wise, I want to live my life a little better as well. And I'm going to start by setting clear, specific, and realistic new year resolutions for this year. These are things I can work on throughout the year and which I can track my progress in regularly. With any luck, I not only get to achieve these goals by the end of the year, but I also start the following year with new good habits. :)
Just to help myself a little, I'm going to set tolerance levels so that I get to pat myself in the back when I reach the ideal level, but not beat myself up when I don't do as well as I'd hoped.
- Read one book per month
I've always loved reading and I especially love the sense of accomplishment after finishing a good book, but in recent years, I didn't really make time for it. So this year, I want to read more good books, as many as I can during my free time. By the way, last year, I bought about 24 books but I only got to read 14! Definitely not as much as I wanted, so this year has to be different.
Ideal: 1 book per week
Acceptable: 1 book per month
- Go to church regularly
Confession: I don't go to church as often as I should. I think in the past year, I went to mass less than 10 times! And that's counting Christmas and New Year's Eve!
Ideal: Every week
Acceptable: Once a month
- Eat less rice
For several months during my first year here in Japan, I didn't eat rice at all. With that diet, I lost some weight even without any extra effort to exercise. So I want to try eating less rice this year, probably not eat rice at all in the evenings, and try to lose some pounds. I would have to combine that with exercise, though, as I will detail in my next resolution.
Ideal: No rice in the evenings on weekdays and during lunch for at least 3 days a week.
Acceptable: No rice in the evenings and lunch for at least 3 days a week
- Exercise regularly
I bought a stair climber a few years ago, but I never got to use it on a regular basis. It just sits there beside the closet accumulating dust as I accumulate pounds hahaha! Honestly, I wasn't that bothered by my weight before, since I can still play a basketball game, do weights, and climb stairs with minimal problem. In the past year, however, I've noticed that I've grown somewhat weaker and I've added on more weight. It's REALLY time to take ACTION! Haha!
Ideal: 1 hour every night (on the condition I got home before 9PM)
Acceptable: 1 hour per session, 3 times a week
Good luck!
