My, my, we’ve come to the end of another year my Salty Vixen friends. The holiday season is here and it is time for everyone to start thinking of next year. Yes, it is resolution time. Goodbye 2022 and Hello 2023! Salty Vixen is hear to say!
If you remember, I did not give you an assignment for your sensual woman journal last time. I was just letting you rest up for this time. Hope you enjoyed your break because there is lots to do now!
Seriously though, the new year is a time of resolution making for lots of folks and whether you make them or not, it is still a great time to take a look at yourself and see if you like who you are. Sensual women enjoy life and live it to the fullest. That means feeling good about yourself and how you spend your time.
So, now is the time to get out your journal and take stock of you.
On one list put down all the things you like about yourself, the things you did in 2022 that made you happy – even the little things like buying those pink fuzzy slippers that are so comfy. Make sure you give yourself credit where you deserve it. It helps to look back over your calendar or diary and see exactly what you did do in 2022. Look over photos and emails to jog your memory.
Once you think you’ve got that done (and you will remember little things here and there to add to it,) on another list put down things that would make you feel happier in 2023. I could be resolutions for improvement, things to add to your life or just making sure you continue to do something you enjoyed in 2022.
When you have made your lists, pat yourself on the back for all the good things you’ve done for yourself and others. Then look at the “to make me happier” list and choose one or two things to tackle for 2023. You can’t change everything at once, so don’t even bother to try or you will set yourself up for failure.
Maybe your list is small, that makes it easy. My list usually has more than two things on it so I have a hard time deciding what things to try and how to go about achieving them. Here are some suggestions on how to tackle the list and make yourself happier in 2023:
1. Only make resolutions for things you want to accomplish. If you decide to take a computer class because your sister says you are out of touch or if you are thinking about giving up eating meat because your vegan friend says you should, you aren’t likely to succeed. You must believe in what you want to accomplish. Think about goals you personally want to meet and make those your resolutions. Learn a new language, put some money in savings, volunteer at a shelter, learn to make pasta – spend your energy on what matters to you. This is about making you happy, not anybody else.
2. Make sure your goals are attainable. If don’t have $100 a month to put on your credit card balance to help pay it down, then don’t make that a change for next year. Setting yourself up with a list of things you can’t possibly accomplish will only make you disappointed with yourself and the idea behind these changes is to be happier. If you aren’t sure if the goal is reachable, research what you’d like to do to make sure you have the resources to do it. If you need help or advice, seek it out before you start.
3. Be definite about what you want to accomplish. Saying to yourself that you want to lose weight or spend more time with your family is hard to achieve when you don’t set definite goals. Instead of thinking broadly, be specific and say, “This year I want to lose five pounds a month,” or “I want to plan dinner with my mother once every other week.” By giving yourself a measurable goal, it is much easier to work toward.
4. Plan for success. Write down a step by step list of things you need to do to reach your goal. How will you change your attitude from negative to positive? Where will you volunteer for an hour a week? What day of the week will you have dinner with your mother? Put it all down on paper so it becomes a series of steps instead of one huge change to your life.
5. Make your changes small enough so you will see results in a short period of time. Five pounds of weight loss a month is just a little over 1 pound a week, but that adds up to sixty pounds in a year. One pound a month seems much more manageable – even to me who is addicted to chocolate truffles in a horrible way – than saying I want to lose sixty pounds next year. Saving money for a trip to Italy can happen a few dollars a paycheck instead of hundreds of dollars at a time. Sure, it might take longer to reach that goal but you have a much better chance of reaching it and that is what will make you happy, not giving up on it because you pushed too hard.
6. Tell everyone what your resolutions are, what you are planning on doing in 2023. Verbalizing your plans can make them more real to you, plus the support from your friends can be very helpful along the way. If all of the people who are eating lunch with you know you have that one pound a week goal, they will be sure to pick at you (in a friendly way I hope) if you order a gooey dessert. Or if they know you are planning a trip to Italy, they will give you money toward the trip, or maybe a guidebook, for your birthday instead of another silly t-shirt with a monkey on it.
7. Celebrate your victories. Did you make that first week’s weight loss goal? Did you save enough money for your plane ticket to Rome? Great! Celebrate in a way that makes you feel even better. I have a friend who went back to school to get her degree after her kids left home. Each time she would pass a semester she would add a charm to a bracelet she wore on her wrist. When she graduated there was a tiny diploma she added to the bracelet to finish it off. Sometimes a physical representation of what you are trying to achieve helps to keep you on track. Buy a new skirt in a smaller size or a photo album to put your Italy pictures in.
8. Don’t let a missed goal be the end of the line for 2023. OK, so last week was stressful and you had one too many ice creams. This week get back on track and lose that pound. Don’t try to lose two – that feels like a punishment and will get you nowhere but back to the ice cream, just shoot for that original goal of one. Once you make that you are back on track to make the next. Enlist the help of a friend if you need extra help.
9. After a few weeks, reevaluate your goal. Could you really lose two pounds a week? Can you put a little more money aside than you planned? If so, let everyone know you’ve been successful and what your new goals are. If you have set your goals to high, lower them so you can make them consistently. Slow progress is better than no progress.
10. If you meet one of your resolutions, congratulate yourself by making another! Yep, you are on a role and you should be feeling really good about yourself. Once you get close to making that goal, start thinking of a new one. Sensual women are dynamic and always improving themselves – for themselves. It is all about being a better you from your point of view and adding to your life the things that matter to you and make you happy.
Finally, 2023, I hope that myself, finds Mr. Salty Vixen – I miss getting texts from the one I really cared about a long time ago lol:
Yep. That was four years ago – when Salty Vixen was happy. Now all I do is work.
See you in 2023!
