Taking it Back - an update (part II)

Shortly after that party (see part I - yesterday's post) I really started to want to make some changes, and hopefully make them stick this time. I think we all say that from time to time, and eventually a brief hiccup or trip in a pattern eventually leads to two, then three, and before you know all progress is lost and we're all back to square one.



Pretty much like all New Years Resolutions. I think everyone can agree that they know someone, if not themselves, that make lofty proclomations on December 31st, and some two weeks later, 50% or more have already abandoned them.



I have a theory about all that. Aside from the obvious machismo bragging and alcohol induced blustering we all do on Dec. 31st regarding clean slates and starting over, I think the main problem is that most people, (and I've been guilty of this myself) make too lofty a set of goals. We are most likely doomed to fail because we shoot for the stars and believe we can give it the 'ole 150% effort to make these radical changes, but deep down inside, if we are honest with ourselves, we just don't have the willpower. We say, we'll start tomorrow, or the day after next, or even next week. When we approach those new lines in the sand, we tend to re-draw them yet again, extending them out even further. We say (and try to justify to ourselves), "Well, what's one more day?"



But we end up saying that more often than we would like to admit.



So this year, mentally armed with my new mantra of "Taking it all Back", I set some more realistic goals, smaller in scale. I wrote them down on a piece of paper somewhat like a bucket list. Now I may not accomplish 'all' of these things, but I'll be happy if I at least attempt some of them. 'Attempting' and not completing is much better that 'Never attempting' and then give up.



So, to share a bit of my bucket list with you may also help you get a better understanding of me and also helps myself take a personal account and sense of responsibility towards all this.

• Lose 21 lbs by mid March (2.5 months) and get down to my wedding weight of 215.


• Go camping with some friends sometime this year.


• Build a 4' x 8' wood framed layout for my model train hobby and begin to set up in the spare bedroom.


• Reduce our (both my wife's and mine) overall CC debt by 25%.


• Restart some of my lost hobbies like brewing beer and making homemade sausage and then throw a fun BBQ this summer and invite people I want to invite.


• Volunteer at an animal shelter and make a difference for abandoned pets.


• Pray to, and be more Thankful towards God more often.


• Try to let go of the past, relax, and spend more time doing things I want to do for myself and not worry if my wife or anyone else is involved or not.

This is just a taste, and some of these things may morph into other things not yet known, but it's a start. It's realistic. And I'll feel good if I attempted most of these.

More on these later and how I'm doing thus far.

(To be continued....)