It’s approximately six months into the year and while we are inundated with talk of New Year’s Resolutions around the first of the year, one rarely hears about the six-month checkpoint! As I reset myself for the second half of 2019, I want to share with you some of the reasons why I love the “second New Year.”
- Summertime and the livin’ is easy. It’s far easier to get back into a routine when some of the busyness of life is out of the way. For example, I no longer need to make school lunches for my three kids so I can spend more time on my own lunch and snacks, allowing me to reset my meal planning and nutrition plan and refocus on my health goals.
- Summertime = wider access to healthy foods. Between farmers’ markets and our own gardens, plus most of our country in its prime growing season, we can access a whole lot more healthy foods than other times of the year. What’s more, the grills are out again, allowing us to cook up all that high quality protein. Our herbs are growing strong, too, adding that much more flavor and nutrition to our food.
- Gym time uniform changes. Now that it’s hot outside, we wear less, which allows us to see the fruits of our hard labor in the gym. And, I don’t know about you, but I work harder when I see my reflection and can actually look at my muscles I’ve built!
- It’s daylight longer. This means our days are inherently longer. For me, it allows me to read more, which is accomplishing my goal of reading the Bible cover to cover, as well as my total books read goal for 2019. Plus, I have more time to work on my cross stitch projects.
- Work is a slower pace, at least for me, since the students and faculty are gone. This means, I can catch up and be more productive but it also means bringing less work home. This frees my evenings and weekends up to work on my goal of becoming a certified personal trainer.
So, how am I doing on my goals? Here’s a quick progress check:
- Become a certified personal trainer. I’m working on this one; my exam is July 30!
- Finish Jon’s Christmas stocking. Still chugging away. I have plenty of time but thought I would be done by now. Refocusing my energy on this one.
- Read 30 books. I’ve read 23, 24 if you count my personal training textbook. So, I’ll definitely reach this goal!
- Read the Bible. Read through 12 books so far through a Lenten Bible Study at my parish. Honing in on the rest of it with a guided journal aid to help me along the way.
- Post 24 blog posts. I’ve published 16 so I’m ahead of goal on this one.
- De-stress with a bath and/or massage twice a month. Not doing so great. Maybe did this two months out of the six so far. Have to do better!
- Gain five pounds. I reached 101 pounds last week, blasting past my 100-pound goal. Boom!
I highly encourage you to take a few minutes, sit on your sunny deck with a nice glass of wine and review your own personal goals. See how far you’ve come since setting your New Year’s Resolution and reset yourself for the back half of the year. I would choose an almost icy cold white or rose for this activity, mostly because it’s my jam in the summer months. Chablis or a light pinot noir rose would be gorgeous for sipping, dreaming and goal-setting. Cheers!